JUNE 14, 2017
INTERMEDIATE
Reflex Action: A Surf
Photographer's Top Tips
Featuring JAY WATSON
© Jay Watson
Kenny "Skindog" Collins – D300, AF-S NIKKOR 300mm f/4D IF-ED, 1/1250
second, f/7.1, ISO 200, shutter priority, Matrix metering.
Capturing great surf shots starts with the advice you'd get for any sport: know what
to expect so you'll be able to anticipate the action.
The thing is, you can't ever count on the behavior of the next wave, so with the
sport of surfing the scales are tipped toward the unpredictable. There are,
however, ways to level things off a bit.
"Any photographer who does the research and keeps practicing is going to pick
up any sport," says pro photographer and surfer Jay Watson. "But there's an inside
culture to surfing, and knowing and getting to be friends with surfers gives you
better access to better surfers, and you're going to get better photos."
If that kind of access isn't immediately available to you, not to worry. We all start
somewhere, and if your start is at a local beach shooting amateurs or beginners,
make the most of that opportunity to develop your skills and to network. "There are
always good guys around," Jay says, "and if you share your images with them,
they'll likely tell you about other surfers." Plus the local beach might offer an
advantage when it comes to shooting positions. Jay shoots a lot of competitive
surfing events and good vantage points can be hard to come by. "It's best if I can
shoot parallel to a wave that's breaking, and I'll set up anywhere—the beach,
docks, jetties, cliffs, and sometimes I'll be in a boat."
A word about safety here: it should always be your first consideration. On the
beach, pier or jetty, stay aware of what's going on around you; don't bury yourself
in the viewfinder. If you're just starting out, it makes sense to shoot from the pier,
the beach or the bluff until seriousness, skills and the right circumstances suggest
it might be time for a boat ride. If you've hired a boat or a jet ski, it's the pilot's job to
keep you out of danger and out of the way of the surfers. The professionals who
provide these services are experts; as Jay says, "I'm not going to grab my next
door neighbor and ask him to take me out there." In all cases, the bottom line is
that the idea of surf photography is great images, not great risk. Besides, Jay says,
"Get in the way of a surfer and the least that's going to happen is you're not going
to be welcome to come back."
“
© Jay Watson
Zach Wormhoudt – D300, AF
Zoom-NIKKOR 35-70mm f/2.8D,
1/160 second, f/8, ISO 200, manual
exposure, Matrix metering.
Any photog rapher
who does the
research and keeps
practicing is g oing to
pick up any sport...but
there's an inside
culture to surfing ,
and knowing and
g etting to be friends
with surfers g ives
you better access to
better surfers, and
you're g oing to g et
better photos.
”
© Jay Watson
Sunrise at Cowells, Santa Cruz, CA – D300, AF Zoom-NIKKOR 35-70mm
f/2.8D, 1/1250 second, f/4.5, ISO 200, manual exposure, Matrix metering.
Key elements of surfing photography
Position
If you can get parallel to the wave right where it's breaking and shoot over
the top of the surfers, you've got a great spot. With, say, a 70-200mm zoom,
"It's a lens a lot of photographers have in their kits," Jay says, you can shoot
from a pier or a jetty and the surfer is going to be big in the frame.
Sometimes you can even get a bit of the back of the wave. "The challenge
is finding a spot that gives you a lot of options," Jay says. "The surfers will
come into the beach on an angle, and you'll get the best pictures if you've
found a spot where you can cover where they're going."
Focus
If the surfer isn't sharp, the picture isn't good, simple as that. Like other
sports, the success of the shot is judged by the sharpness of the subject. "I
do a lot of testing of lenses and focus modes, and I'll most often use
dynamic area autofocus, set to the camera's 51 focus points, and
continuous tracking."
Advance
As you might expect, Jay favors continuous high speed advance to achieve
high frame rates, but he thinks in terms of capturing chunks of action, not
ribbons of images. "I try not to just ‘spray and pray’ because I don't want to
end up spending a lot of time at the computer because all I did was hold
down the shutter release. I think about frames per second in terms of getting
into a rhythm to catch a good chunk of the action in front of me."
Speed Setting
"If you want to be a better photographer, in any field, learn to shoot sports,"
Jay says. "Shooting sports teaches you to know all the ins and outs of your
camera and how to quickly operate the functions, the buttons and menus."
In a nutshell: stuff's happening; don't be fumbling with camera settings.
Size
"A good tip is to make sure your subject is bigger in the frame than one of
the camera's focus points in the viewfinder," Jay says. "If the surfer, in
motion out on the water, isn't any bigger than one of those points, you're too
far away. You need to get closer or get a longer zoom. I always like to have
a couple of focus [points] fitting on the surfer—that'll give me some overlap
of focus points, and that's especially important if I'm shooting from a boat.
The boat's moving, the surfer's moving, I'm moving—I need every
advantage."
Exposure
Jay most often sets his cameras for shutter priority, then makes test
exposures and checks the histogram to make sure he isn't clipping the
whitewater's highlights. If he is, he'll set -1/3 exposure compensation as a
starting point and, if need be, keep going until the whitewater is no longer
clipped. "You want detail in the whitewater," he says, "so always rely on the
histogram [rather than] the image on the LCD screen for exposure."
Research
Just starting out? It's a cool idea to check out some surfing magazines to
see what's being done. "Surfer and Surfer's Journal have great
photography," Jay says. "You can get ideas for pictures and learn about
camera positions, vantage points, framing, lighting and proximity to
subjects. A photographer doing any sport needs to find out how that sport
translates itself to photography."
Protection
Jay doesn't use an underwater housing or a skylight or UV filter, just
common sense when it comes to keeping his cameras and lenses in the
game. He's not overprotective, but takes "reasonable caution and care" to
keeping the cameras and lenses clear of salt water. It's obvious, but we'll
say it anyway: splashing water is a signal to pay attention to what's going
on with the gear.
Variety
You'll see from Jay's photos that he likes to vary his coverage. He'll take the
camera away from the water from time to time for shots of shadows,
silhouettes and boards on the beach.
"Those kinds of shots round out the coverage, and give people a greater
feel for what the sport, the culture and the lifestyle's like. You definitely want
the atmosphere, the ritual, the details—they're all part of the story."
© Jay Watson
Western Swell – D300, AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED,
1/1250 second, f/5, ISO 250, shutter priority, Matrix metering.
Jay's website, www.jaywatson.com, offers more surfing images as well as examples of his corporate and
lifestyle photography.
Featuring
JAY WATSON
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