Capturing Surf Photography With Lukas Griffin

Creating epic images whilst visiting the beach is one of my favorite past-times. I could just sit there for hours, watching the people and rolling waves pass by.  

My photography isn’t about illusion or capturing something which we could only see with our mind’s eye. I see every day glimpses and moments in time, like we all do, but I don’t just see them, I can envisage them, just before I click the shutter button on my camera. 

I can predict the shape of a splash as a wave crashes against a rock, I can hear the heartbeat of the ocean, but more than anything I can feel the connection between us as people and the vast landscape of this planet. My inspiration can be found in what may seem as small/ insignificant moments in time, but when I have my camera, they are a representation of lives being lived. 

As a photographer seeking adventure, just longing to create freedom inspired images, one of my top shooting locations of choice will always be by the shore. Surfing is such an incredible opportunity for photographers (of all ability levels) to test their skill and learn their craft. 

It’s no secret that surf photography commonly presents a number of challenges from a technical standpoint so, I want to guide those of who wish to improve their work. The tips and information included within this article are a combination of lessons learnt through experience and study: 

Lighting - Generally, photographers are fairly obsessed with the study of light, and how it interacts with the subject that we are shooting. Surf photography very frequently includes a tremendous amount of light, so before you begin, I would highly recommend taking a minute to examine how the light is hitting the water. 

So, look straight in front of you with a very critical eye and take note of the way that the light bounces off of the waves. Next, look each direction. You will see that in one direction, there may be a lot of reflection on the water’s surface. In the opposite direction however, you will see far less reflection, or perhaps none at all. Depending on the time of day and your specific location, the direction of the light’s reflection bouncing off of the water’s surface will vary. 

If you are hoping to get good quality surf pictures, you are going to need to shoot on an angle off the beach towards the direction with no reflection. The other important aspect of lighting which you will need to consider is the quality of water motion and the way that the sun’s light is shining on/ through the waves. This is usually a large focus for me when shooting surf pictures by the shore as the water in surf photography is often an incredible part of the image. 

ISO - For most photographers, the following statement is nearly always true: The lower your ISO, the less noise you will have to deal with in your image. Since surf photography is generally going to provide tons of available lighting, you should be able to drop your camera’s ISO to the very lowest setting possible on your camera. 

Exposure - Now here’s when things get a little more complicated. Bright sun causes very harsh shadows and unless this is the look that you are going for, you might want to think twice before heading to your shoot unequipped in knowledge. 

As a photographer capturing surf pictures, you will need to get in place and take the time to find the right exposure setting on your camera. Typically, the conventional wisdom on this topic is that you should be aiming to expose the image correctly for your subject’s skin tone. Spot metering often takes the bright sky and waves into account. I often end up skewing my exposure setting to those bright parts of the image, while the human subject ends up very under-exposed. 

Full manual mode allows you to control exactly what is happening with your camera, but this is not to say that every image will be perfect. Over time, you will gain more and more control, unless you are intentionally trying to get a silhouetted subject. In this case, you should expose for the skin and make their skin tone look right, before adjusting the other elements in post-production. 

 
Lens - Having the right tool for the job makes a tremendous difference and in this particular case, you will find that a lens with a focal length of 300 mm or 400 mm will make for the best image captures. Such a lens also comes in handy given my interest in wildlife/ bird photography, so I felt that this was a very good allocation of funds when long-distance shooting is required. 

 
Polarizing Filter - A circular polarizing filter is an incredibly helpful tool for surf photography. As I mentioned in the very first suggestion, light and water causes huge reflections of light up against the water’s surface so, a polarizing filter could be your best friend here. 

However, if it is an overcast day; I tend not to use my circular polarizing filter. The reason is two-fold: Firstly, if there is an overcast of clouds, there will not be many reflections to consider. Secondly, a polarizing filter will absorb a decent amount of the available lighting, but, if you have a really bright, clear day where the sun is creating a lot of reflections, the polarizing filter can then give you some absolutely amazing results. 

Using the clouds and the sky as a test subject for adjusting the polarizer can be very interesting, too. This is a wonderful tool to have in your camera bag and if you don't already have one, I would highly recommend getting one. Just be certain to get one that is the correct size for the lens you will be using. To view the range of surf pictures captured, check out the Water Wall Art Collection. 

If you’d like to keep up to date, feel free to visit my Instagram page @lukasgriffin for further examples of my photography work. 

PHOTO CREDITS

All photos used within this article are courtesy of Lukas Griffin.

All images are available to purchase as prints, view all collections.