SURFING PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS

EQUIPMENT If you are serious about surfing photography then you will probably need an SLR Digital camera. Canon are considered the best (a 400D or 30D). Nikon though make excellent cameras too. Try going to www.dpreview.com and they have galleries which give example photos. So you can tell just what a camera is capable of. Look for good colour reproduction. One thing to look out for is RAW mode. Raw mode allows you to make adjustments to photos after the picture has been taken. This allows you to make many mistakes. If your camera is set to RAW then it will record all possible exposures. You can surely remember taking pictures which are too dark(over exposed) or too light(under exposed). If you use RAW mode then you will take both the light and dark photos and then choose after which is best.

Zoom lenses are essential. With canon a 300mm lens is available even in jessops for less than £100. A 300mm lense is a good start off point. If you look on ebay then 400mm or 500mm lenses are available at very good prices. Ebay is brilliant for photography and there is a good new and second hand market. Though do not buy any Compact flash cards on ebay as they are nearly all fakes.

SOFTWARE If you are using a digital camera then you need to use software that edits the photos. Photoshop elements is excellent. Photoshop CS2 has additional features but is much more expensive. It makes adjustments automatically and chooses the correct exposure, shadows, contrast and brightness. These are not always totally correct but they are a good basis to start off from. Simply make adjustments to the photos.

Photoshop may not automatically accept RAW files from new cameras. Some new models are not included in older versions of the software. Simply type in a google search the following key words : photoshop raw adobe and you should be taken to a page which will allow you to download a free photoshop update.

CLOTHING I have a wetsuit and will often wear this during the winter months. I also have some surfer boots. The water gets very cold and so some protection is needed. You need to keep warm as concentration is needed. Whatever camera and zoom lens you have its not close enough. Stepping into the water allows you to take much better pictures. Its safe to go up to your ankles. That extra ten metres will vastly improve your results.

SETTINGS First take a moment to find the right settings. I used to try to take the photos at as fast a shutter speed as possible. 1-1000th second is really fast enough to take all photos. Yet if you are using Time Value (shutter speed priority) then try to aim for around 1000th to 2000th. Shutter speed is not everything. If you go for as fast a shutter speed as possible then you will not get best results. Many SLR's get good results at 400 ISO. The best way to improve quality is not to increase shutter speed! Try instead aiming for a shutter speed where the camera will choose F8 or above. Shots taken at F5 may often be of poor quality whilst F8 will often produce a greater level of detail. So first set the shutter speed. Then take some test shots and see if the camera is choosing F8 and above. If the shots are stuck on F5 then try increasing the ISO.

POSITION Scarboroughs north and south bays both have sea walls that you can stand on. If the tide is quite high then you can stand on the wall. You stay warm and dry and can get some good height. Try looking up tide times. Simply put in a google search for tide times and some local town. Scarboroughs tide times are provided on the council web site.

PIER at SALTBURN and WHITBY : An ideal place to try surf photography is Saltburn pier. Slatburn is about 40 miles north of Scarborough and is at the heart of the north east surf scene. The pier is about a hundred metres in length and really allows you to get in the heart of the action without risking your equipment. The surfers often go very close to the pier and many great shots can be taken with a 300mm lens. Whitby also has a pier and surfers go close to that.