Photog basics with Dom Read.

​Photo by Dom Read

GSUK Photographer

So what is involved with surf photography? There are two main image types; in-water, and on-land. We’ll be focusing on the latter for a while, so you can get used to the principals of photography; the nitty-gritty things like composition and exposure.

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   So exactly what have you bought? Chances are you nabbed yourself a Nikon or Canon; these two brands are the kings of cameras and are used by more or less every pro ‘tog that’s ever existed. For good reason too; both brands have produced hundreds of different lenses: from standard 18-70mm kit lenses, to slightly ‘larger’ 600mm prime telephoto guns! However it really doesn’t matter what brand you’ve bought into, as long as you’re comfortable using the gear you have. With this, you can achieve any photo you want, with a bit of imagination. So, assuming you have one of these kit lenses, we can get going on how you can use it to make your mates look awesome.

   So what do we actually need? Apart from a keen eye and our camera/lens combo, you’ll need a tripod. This is an ABSOLUTE must! Keeping the camera steady will increase the sharpness of the images you take, and it’ll really make you think about the composition you’re trying to achieve. You’ll probably also need something to protect your camera from sea spray and (more likely, this is England after all) rain. You can buy, for extortionate amounts in my opinion, camera covers, but all you’ll really need to make an effective barrier against water is a plastic carrier bag, some duck tape and some elastic bands.

So what actually makes a GOOD surf photo? Well to get an idea, have a look outside your window, if it looks dull, miserable and cloudy; then you’ll probably think ‘eww’ and this translates to photography. Lighting really is everything. Landscape photographers only really shoot during the golden hour; the hour before sunrise, and then after sunset. Have a look at Alex Callister’s recent image of a Cornish beauty. However you can still create images with impact with dull overcast lighting. For this a little understanding of swell and what makes good waves is key.​

So what makes good waves, the ones that make the cut? Without wading into the monumental amount of science surrounding wave formation and prediction (as this writer is researching for an honours project) waves are formed through a transformation of wind energy, present from large low pressure systems over the ocean.



You can easily find where the best surf will be on any given day from the huge amount of detailed information presented by surf-forecast websites such as Magicseaweed. Big clean surf is the key for great surf photos. Chances are if the surf is pumping, they’ll be some rippers in too; great waves and great surfers go together like coconut-rum & Coke for a photographer.​

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   So now the conditions for a good land-based surf photo are established, we need to consider composition. The trusty standard 18-55mm lens may be viewed as being a little bit limiting in terms of reach and effective ‘speed’ (more will be explained on this soon). However we prefer to view it more in terms of expanding your creativity. When you can’t fill your frame with the surfer, what DO you fill it with? Beaches make fantastic landscape photos; this is a fact. So consider including the surrounding environment; the beach, marshes, mounds, buildings, cliffs, rocks, dramatic skies and thousands of other features are just waiting to support your surf photography. The fact is a good landscape will create a mood. The mood is created through the transmission of information which the above environmental factors show things like what, where and why the photo was taken all help the viewer establish a reaction.

​Photo by Dom Read 

GSUK Photographer

​Look for strong leading lines through the frame, things that lead into your main subject matter will defiantly help. Lines can come in any form; footprints, rocks, walls. You need to engage your imagination and really visualise anything you can find in the area you’re photographing.

Don’t be afraid to move the camera closer to the ground; shooting at eye-level produces boring photos, lacking in impact. Filling the lower part of the frame with some footsteps, for example will really funnel the viewers eye from the ground towards the surfer or wave.

​Photo by Adam Cornick

Use depth of field to your advantage. But what is depth of field? Depth of field is essentially the range of distance of which is ‘in-focus’, or sharp, in your image. So with a very small DoF; only a tiny portion or area of your image will be sharp, with areas in front and beyond thrown out of focus. A very large DoF will allow more of the image to appear sharp. You can use DoF to create interesting shapes in your composition. Just look at Tim Borrow’s stunning image of Josh Cleaver on this very website for an example of this. But how do you control DoF? Almost primarily, DoF is controlled through the aperture in the lens. This is where we begin to get a little more technical than just pointing the camera at the action and letting the auto setting do the work. A lens’s aperture is a diaphragm inside the lens; it can open larger and smaller. Its purpose is to essentially regulate the amount of light let into the camera. This, my friends, is where it gets a lot more technical.

Manual photography.

Shooting manually IS photography. It gives you the control, it lets you make the most of the camera, and it allows you to make the creative decisions regarding exposure. Over the coming weeks and months we’ll break down different techniques for shooting manually, and show you examples of each. Splitting it down into very simplified terms; manual photography is setting every element of photo yourself, in order to expose the image. These elements include: shutter speed; this is essentially the length of time the shutter remains open for light to hit your cameras sensor. It’s typically measured in fractions of seconds (typically exposure times range from 1/60 through to 1/500 of a second). Shutter speed is one of the most important factors in surf photography, something we’ll explore in later articles.

Now, the Aperture; as mentioned above. ISO, back in the days of film, this was a measure of film sensitivity, these days it refers to sensor sensitivity. Its measured in simple numbers; typically 100-6400 on most cameras, with lower numbers meaning lower light sensitivity, and thus ‘slower’ exposure times, and higher numbers meaning ‘faster’ exposure times. Surf photog’s typically like ‘faster’ to freeze action, but the downside is a reduction in image quality. So these three ‘core’ elements come together to create an exposure. It’s simple really; your camera has a meter inside which measures light and gives you an indication of exposure. Under-exposed images will appear too dark, conversely; over-exposed imaged will appear too ‘white’ or washed-out, for lack of better term.