I won’t pretend to know much of anything about surfing in Sayulita, or anywhere else for that. And like with photographing any sport, there is a learning curve. I just got too many cool surfing pictures to NOT dedicate a blog post to them in my Mexico Travel series.
The first time I tried my hand at photographing a tennis match, I got some really cool pictures. I shared a handful of the pictures, and I got my hand slapped for sharing a photo of poor form. Oops! I’ve also photographed football, basketball, swimming, ultimate frisbee, and a lot of soccer games. It takes practice and a good understanding of the sport to anticipate the really good shots. No promises that I’m not sharing photos of surfers that they might be a little embarrassed by!
I wish I could have spent more time learning from my new photographer friend who photographs surfing every day as a job. I tried not to be too chatty since he was photographing a pair of surfers at the time. But, he did introduce me to some new surfer terms and help me better understand what was going on with the tide. ¡Muchas gracias, Jorge! Be sure to check out Jorge’s photography over on Instagram.
I also wish I could have borrowed my new friend’s 400mm lens for a little bit. Since I was traveling, the longest focal length I had access to was 135mm. Fortunately, my camera body did a good job making up for the lack of lens reach. I did attempt to find a camera shop to rent a longer lens while in Sayulita, but it is too small of a town.
You can probably imagine my lens envy when I bumped into another photographer who was sporting a 3,000mm lens. I might have drooled a little bit, but I’m pretty happy with the shots I got with my limited focal length.
I know I’m posting way too many pictures, but I should probably make with some bails and wipeouts.
I’m glad I got a little practice in photographing surfing before the annual Sayulita SUP Open on March 1st. I got to spend a good hour documenting the pros before hopping in our Uber back to Puerto Vallarta.
Photography Tips for Surfing
Here are a few tips I can share after my week in Sayulita.
1) I found that mid-morning was the best time to photograph surfers. The light was not too harsh, yet, the beach was a little less busy, the winds tended to be calmer, and the waves were more glassy. Winds tend to pick up in the afternoon, creating choppier waves and less ideal surfing conditions.
2) Evening is also a great time for better surfing conditions, but you may struggle with the lack of light. Generally speaking, you’ll want a shutter speed around 1/1000 sec. An aperture of about f/4 will provide adequate depth of field. Lower ISO’s will result in less grain. I had to crank my ISO up and work with the lowest aperture for the surfing photos around dusk. Using a tripod will definitely be helpful in lower light conditions. During the afternoon, consider using a circular polarizing filter to reduce glare off the water and deepen colors.
3) You can check the tide schedule and aim for low tide when waves tend to be steeper and break farther from shore if you want to photograph the more experienced surfers. Sayulita is a great beach for beginners and intermediate surfers. I enjoyed the opportunities to get my camera on the pros despite the lack of larger waves.
4) Move around. If not just to get your camera on different surfers, move around and vary your backdrop. Choose backgrounds that complement the surf action and create a sense of place.
5) If you can, I recommend a zoom lens with a focal length that goes up to at least 400mm. But, if you are traveling, that will be a lot to tote around! Ideally, I would have had a 100-500mm zoom lens for these surfing photos.
6) Anticipate the action. While you can obviously set your camera to a burst mode and shoot rapidly, you are going to end up with an insane amount of pictures to cull through. Slow down and pay attention. You can start to get in the surfers’ heads a little as they navigate the waves. You can also usually tell which surfers are more experienced, then wait for that perfect wave!
7) If you only follow one piece of advice, make sure you straighten your horizons. While on the beach shooting, you probably won’t have a perfectly straight water horizon in every photo. Take the time to fix that when editing. A crooked water line can kill an otherwise great shot!
Enjoy the rest of my surfing photo dump!
I did my best to photograph a variety of skill levels, ages, and genders, along with different times of day, tides, waves, and water conditions. So much fun!
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