Surfing Photos - Advice???

[JenJ]

Hi,

I'm new to photography and am frustrated! There is so much to learn...

I'm on vacation in Eastern Canada and my husband is a surfer. I have been trying to get a good shot but am never quite satisfied with what I get (especially when it is really sunny). I'm using a Canon rebel with a EF 70-300 IS USM lens.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Here is an example of the ones I'm not happy with...

[emtab]

Hi JenJ,
if you could post exif data that would help us be more specific. What is it that you're not happy about?

Personally, I think this a decent shot. It's hard to tell from the small version but it seems like the detail in the water is pretty good. Seems like the only real issue is the exposure of his face, and possibly the wet suit. That could be easily fixed in post.

I don't know how you're metering, but remember the sunny f-16 rule. In bright sun, the best exposure is the inverse of the iso at f-16. In other words, in this case if you were shooting at iso 100 the best exposure would be 1/100 @f16. 400 iso would be 1/400 at f/16. Try that and see how you do. Remember, if you want to shoot with a faster shutter speed you can adjust the f-stop based on this rule.

In terms of getting a shot you like, switch to raw if you're not shooting raw, turn on the burst mode, lock the exposure to what you calculated, set the focus at a predetermined distance (if not infinity depending on how far out the break is) and shoot a series, then repeat. Honestly, that's the best way to get one that's good. Shooting sports often requires a huge number of exposures to get a great shot.

You may consider a polarizer, but I'm not going to recommend that first line since the can be somewhat costly, and I think you're already close to a decent shot.They are definitely useful, and they can produce amazing results, but I don't believe in recommending just going out and buying more gear as a first line piece of advice.

Don't lose heart, and be patient, and you'll get a shot.

regards,
emtab

[LeviathanFafner]

You might also want to consider over exposing the image as a whole to get his face better exposure. Also try and keep your shutter above 400 especially at the 300mm range!

Thats just my bit of advice.

[inkista]

This is what exposure compensation/Manual mode are for. You have a scene with a very high dynamic range, between the black of the wet suit and the reflected light off the water. Because the 300D doesn't have spot metering, your camera is probably exposing for the overall frame, and that's why your hubby's coming out underexposed, since the water dominates the scene. I agree with LeviathanFafner that you want to expose to the right, and for your husband's face, which may blow out the ocean. You may also want to try using center-weighted metering.

If it's possible, consider shooting at a different time of day when the sun is behind you and on the beach side. I know that sometimes it's just not possible.

Since your 70-300 is stabilized, you probably can get away with shutter speeds over 1/100s, but you do have to worry about freezing the action or blurring the water. Do not fear the high iso settings--use them if you have to raise the shutter speed, since you're limited to f/5.6 at the 300mm end of the lens. Just make sure not to underexpose, and the noise won't be as much of a problem as you may think it will.

[JenJ]

Thanks so much to everyone for taking the time to give me some. Upping the ISO is something I had never considered. I've always stayed at 100 or 200. I'll take all of your tips and get back out there tomorrow!

Jen

[sk66]

Another major consideration for this shot is the time of day. He's "in the shadow"....expose him correctly and the water is going to be blown out. You need sunlight from the front or side...

[Quo Fan]

I shot this in California right after sunrise. Being from the East Coast, the 3 hour difference made it easy to be up at 6am California time.


Exif:
Camera: Canon EOS 30D
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/800)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 200 mm
Exposure: 0.00
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Metering Mode: Spot
Exposure Mode: Manual
Lens: EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM

[JenJ]

Wow, great shot Quo Fan. I gues getting up at the crack of dawn pays off!