Look for strong compositions and try and shoot a little wider for a more 'arty' look to the pictures. Remember that you make the composition, you don't always have to place your subject - the surfer, right in the centre of the frame, the image may be stronger if the surfer forms only a small part of the picture, as he is in line-up photo below.
You can still get the action shots but they have a different feel to them...
Photograph them with or without people near or on the wave. But if you do include people then they will give a sense of scale to the wave.
Try black and white and you could end up with something that your happy to hang up in your front room.
Look for nicely forming 'A' frames, or heavy, dark barrels. If the angle and the light is working for you get that offshore spray coming off the back off the wave.
Now I'm the first to admit that generally speaking the colour of the water in the North East is not the stuff of the exotic surf locations that frequent the covers of the surfing mags, and I reckon that they are unlikely to do so in the near future, but if you have an awareness of the wave shots and what can be achieved then the next time you have the opportunity in some exotic locale you'll be able to nail it.
Besides, who needs all that deep blue turquoise crap - give me rain and dark grey any day!!??
Shoot at an aperture of around f4 or 5.6 to throw your background out but still keeping it identifiable but there's no hard and fast rule, so go for whatever effect you prefer.
Experiment with different angles to see what you can use as foreground interest. Depending on how busy it is where you are there will be many options if you look for them.
It happens to everyone who surfs, and anyone who surfs regularly and says they have never had a heavy wipeout is lying to ya. It's part of the surfing game. Some are more spectacular than others but when photographing the action it's always worth keeping your lens trained on the surfer as he is either taking off or after his ride appears to be coming to an end.
If he creams in on the take off be prepared for it, alternatively if he has reached the end of his ride the surfer might decide to end it in a spectacular way by launching himself off the lip so keep following with your lens throughout.
Knowing that the take off is one of the more critical moves the surfer is going to perform try and pick up the surfer as he lines himself up and gets ready to start paddling for the wave and keep him in your view as he starts to paddle. This can be harder than it sounds depending on the break your photographing. Many of the breaks I have photographed are problematic because once the first couple of waves in the set have broken then the view of the remaining in the set can be restricted. Add to this a crowded line up and it becomes difficult.
But it's worth pursuing because wipeout shots are dramatic, especially on a heavy wave. I maintain a folder in my photo archive that I keep stocked with wipeout shots, surf magazines always like to see them so it's well worthwhile keeping one.
Also keep an eye out when it's a windy day because a strong offshore can catch the board after the wipeout and lift it right up to the full extent of the leash making a dramatic shot, just remember to leave space in your shot when your framing to ensure you get the board in.
People really do get into some weird positions when they're wiping out so try and capture that, don't be afraid to keep your camera on continuous shooting mode and 'hose' them down as the action happens and they go flying through the air, your almost guaranteed to get some good shots.
So, pick the surfer up early, follow them throughout their ride, right to the very end but remember, be prepared, when it happens it will happen very fast so be ready for it. Concentrate on your focussing, your more than likely going to be shooting on autofocus so keep the focus point on the surfer. This takes practice, you can almost put money on losing your focus as you follow the surfer just as he reaches the most critical part of the ride. But stick at it. You'll get some good stuff.
As you can see you can get some good effects, each wave is obviously going to be different and keeping an eye out for these opportunities can provide some interesting results. Don't be afraid to take plenty of shots, for each one that works there will undoubtedly be many that fail but don't let that put you off.
Surf photographer and surfer Al Mackinnon: 1/8000 @ f5.6, ISO200, Nikon D2x, 500mm f2.8
Unknown surfer, 1/180 @ f8, Nikon D2x, 14mm f2.8 lens, ISO 100Photographed from a high vantage point on a very misty day on the beach in Saltburn, (I can name Saltburn beach in the photos as this can hardly be regarded as a secret spot!) as a lone surfer walks back from the water after a session. Don't disregard the chance to take surf pictures just because the weather might not be the typical definition of 'perfect' sometimes you can still get good atmospheric pictures without the action. And let's be honest, on the North Yorkshire coast your more likely to get crappy weather than good!
Surfer Robbie Hildreth, 1/6400 @ f5.6, Nikon D2x with 500mm f2.8, ISO 200
Tom Davis, 1/3200 @ f5.6, Nikon D2x, 12mm f 2.8 lens, ISO 200This was part of a series of pictures I did for local surfer and shaper Tom Davis (more on this in another post coming soon). The shot is a relatively simple silhouette. Taking silhouette's is technically pretty easy: In manual mode, expose for the sky (not the sun), compose and shoot. Job done, pretty much anyway, have a play with the exposure for different levels of effect and also consider your composition. In this picture I used the sun directly behind Tom to create a 'halo' effect, (It's the only way Tom's gonna get a halo!!) which helps to lift the picture.
To work well, a silhouette should be a subject that is quite dynamic and recognisable because the shape of the silhouette is where the strength lies within the picture.
Check out http://www.morning-glass.co.uk/ for Tom's shaping work.
One of THE most important things in photography is, LIGHT, no surprises there really when you think about what photography actually is. It applies just as much to surf photography as anything else. Good light will lift a picture so much and will make your job easier and harder in equal amounts. Easier because the quality of the image is improved so much with good light, the 'depth' in the picture is more apparent instead of a 'flat' picture and this makes a big difference.
(A 'flat' picture example- imagine a photograph of a surfer, in a black wet suit, surfing on dark, grey waves, in the winter on a wet day off the North-East coast - Sounds like every day surfing in the North East!! - The final picture will be flat and lifeless. My advice then is to leave the camera in the car and go for a surf.
But good light is also a potential problem because you have to be aware of how the light is falling on your subject, in this case, Paul. The light here is falling onto his face as he rides towards the sun which improves the picture, but if he was surfing on a lefthander and was going away from the sun then his face would probably be in dark shadow which might spoil the effect. So be aware of where the light is while your photographing and consider the time of day.
So there you go, a few brief tips to be getting on with, any comments welcomed. Now get out there and take some pictures.
