Getting Started with Surf Photography

My name is Evan Olbricht and I’m a professional surf photographer in San Diego, CA. I’ve been doing surf photography for over 8 years now. I decided to start this blog to share my personal experiences and the things I’ve learned and will keep learning. The first topic I wanted to share is how you can get started with surf photography and my different experiences and challenges with that.

Gear

Gear is such an important yet probably the trickiest part of starting with surf photography. You want to get a super nice camera and housing to get the best photos possible, but end up spending way too much money. My experience with surf photography gear is that I started out using a GoPro for 2 years shooting photos and videos in the water before I got a DLSR camera. I feel like this was a great experience to learn where to position myself for the best photos possible. It was also super nice because I didn’t have to worry about ruining a super expensive camera starting. Upgrading my camera did make a huge difference but still bought a beginner-level DLSR. I believe that you can get some amazing photos without spending a lot of money on gear. The few specifications I would look for in a camera are a fast shutter rate, the ability to take raw photos and fast photos. These are the 3 factors that I have seen influence my photos the most shooting over the years.

Editing

Editing is such an important part of developing your style as a surf photographer. Personally, I wish I spent way more time doing this starting and learning the basics because editing sets the tone for everything else you do. You could be getting amazing photos but then destroying them by editing. It can be expensive using Adobe but it is worth it in the long run. You will see your photography and your overall understanding of how photography and your pictures work will make so much more sense.

Getting In The Water

After shooting for 8 years I’ve seen myself grow the most in surf photography when I’m getting out in the water as much as possible. It sounds obvious but I think it is the most overlooked thing when people are learning a skill like surf photography. Try to surround yourself and get involved with people and companies so that you are taking as many photos as possible. Over time you will look back and realize how much better your photos have gotten in such a short amount of time. Getting in the water more will also help you have more photos to edit and build your portfolio which is important if you want get clients and start working with companies.

Conclusion

All of these topics are such an important part of getting started with surf photography. If you want to learn more about starting with surf photography you can also check out my YouTube channel below where I share some super helpful tips and even show my full workflow of shooting and editing. If you liked the blog share it with your friends to help them too.