Tips on shooting surfing

i search but couldn't find it. I'm looking for tips/techniques on shooting surfing.

thanks

Uhh . . . get out there and take photos?
Seriously. You can sit on a computer all day and read about shooting surfing, but nothing matches getting out there and trying to accurately frame some guy standing on a bit of styrofoam being pushed by a wall of water.
I see you're looking at shooting from land. In that case, I would suggest thinking about shooting from the water. Shots are a lot more dynamic, and unless you're willing to get wet to get your photos then you probably really don't deserve to get them in the first place. Unless you're old.

If you can, only shoot at sunrise and sunset. Don't stand with the 10 other photographers on the beach: find your own angles. Go down to the beach without your camera and sit there and watch the way a surfer draws a line, and how the wave forms and jacks at certain points. Learn to predict when the surfers are going to hit the lip, and what angle they are coming from, and wheter they will get air or not, and where they will go once they come down. Try and imagine where the spray from the board is going to end up, and get that in the frame as well. If you surf yourself, this will be a lot easier, and if you don't you'll eventually work it out.
Think about backgrounds if possible. The whole featureless horizon thing gets boring quick.

Shoot in manual with an f/stop and shutter speed found by you, and not some TTL lightmeter. Try and catch the surfers faces, and basically delete the shots where it looks like they are just standing on the board on flat water.
Shoot a variety of breaks in a variety of weather, and don't run away when it starts to rain.

Good point!
Need an exposure crutch?
More on how the subject affects the exposure in Post # 47

Forum search links don't last long, so I don't post them.

If you do a "Advanced" forum KEYWORD search in "Search Titles Only" for surfing, you will find a lot of help.
Be sure and select the relevant area in the Search in Forum(s) fields

I only shot couple of times at Santa Cruz, CA and having long lens (500/600mm) is very nice. Link to the gallery http://www.bobbyzphoto​graphy.com/p597830959

In my case, lower shooting position would have been better but wasn't possible.

Don't forget to capture the "human element" moments. Such as the surfers waxing their boards, the surfers "thinking" about their upcoming rides, and trying to "Psyche" themselves up. Photos of surfers who have wiped out, and show some emotion. Their girlfriends watching anxiously on the beach, etc.

Canonswhitelensesrule wrote in post #5311371
Don't forget to capture the "human element" moments. Such as the surfers waxing their boards, the surfers "thinking" about their upcoming rides, and trying to "Psyche" themselves up. Photos of surfers who have wiped out, and show some emotion. Their girlfriends watching anxiously on the beach, etc.

While that's all good, I prefer to catch the action moments.

thanks for all the info. I tried it once but the color of the water kinda weird. Will try again this weekend.

bobbyz wrote in post #5293843
I only shot couple of times at Santa Cruz, CA and having long lens (500/600mm) is very nice. Link to the gallery http://www.bobbyzphoto​graphy.com/p597830959

In my case, lower shooting position would have been better but wasn't possible.

great shot. What metering mode did you use? are you using "M" or Tv? or Av?

Bubble wrote in post #5312192
thanks for all the info. I tried it once but the color of the water kinda weird. Will try again this weekend.

The water in Socal does have a weird color.

I didn't notice that you were in Socal.

I usually shoot at the Huntington Beach Pier between 7-9am. The pier works great so you can get to the surfline without 500mm.

You can also view & control the pan, tilt, zoom camera on the pier so you can see what the waves look like and if there are any surfers out there at:
http://www.ci.huntingt​on-beach.ca.us …fo/livebeachcon​dition.cfm

cool. thanks for the livecam info. I'll try again this sunday.

Bubble wrote in post #5312196
great shot. What metering mode did you use? are you using "M" or Tv? or Av?

Manual all the way.

Don't be afraid of the unconventional..

ok. I tried and here are the result. Mark III with 500IS + 2x TC

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'text/html' | Byte size: ZERO

Looking good. Did you go to Huntington today? I didn't have time to make it all the way there, I went to The Wedge in Newport Beach.
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=486516