Have you ever seen a stunning photo of someone out paddling and wondered how they took it? Paddling offers a unique perspective of waterbodies, great opportunities to get up close perspective of friends who may be paddling alongside you, and, if you’re lucky, unique opportunities to see wildlife. This all makes for moments that are photographic gold! While anyone can point a camera and press a button, there is an art to taking photos that are worth hanging on the wall or garnering loads of likes on Instagram. So, let’s talk about some of the equipment and techniques that you can use to take your paddling photos to the next level.
Equipment and Gear
There is a common phrase used among photographers that says, “The best camera is the one you have.” This phrase stems from the idea that technique is generally more important than gear when it comes to photography. For many people, the camera they have is just a cell phone camera, and if that is your camera of choice, then some considerations for paddling might be getting a proper waterproof pouch with a lanyard.
While phones are more than enough for the average person to capture their memories, the most impactful photos out there are generally going to be captured with a modern DSLR or Mirrorless camera. These units offer higher image quality and more control over how light enters the camera to create different effects. With the right lenses, you can have more flexibility to zoom in and out without the loss of image quality you experience with a phone’s camera. Better yet, the higher-end cameras often come weather-sealed, so they will be partially protected from potential splashes or rain.
Photographer Steve Shannon considers pelican cases, dry bags, and/or water housing to be essential items in his kit when shooting on the water. Without the camera being fully waterproof, it is important to assess your own risk tolerance. Another useful tip is to wrap the camera strap around your wrist so that if your hand slips, the camera will not fall into the water. Some other pieces of gear that Steve recommends are a drone or a painter’s pole to get unique angles. When asked about the techniques he employs to get dynamic shots, he said, “I love to incorporate the environment the athlete is in, as that is a big reason why we do these activities. I love to get up close and shoot with a wide-angle lens, showcasing the interaction of the athlete with the environment.”
Capturing Light
When it comes down to it, photography is the art of intentionally capturing light. Cell phone cameras use high dynamic range (HDR) features that neutralize bright and shadowy areas so that no part of the photo is too dark or too bright. This is helpful for those who want to put in little effort to capture a memory in a way that looks half decent. But HDR photos can be a little dull or unrealistic. DSLR and Mirrorless cameras use a mixture of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to expose a sensor to a given amount of light. A simple way of thinking through these settings is that the aperture is like your pupil as it dilates to let more or less light into your retina. Aperture can also create the effect known as ‘bokeh’ where the plane of focus becomes smaller and, therefore, the background blurs while the subject stays in sharp focus.
Shutter speed can be thought of as being like the blinking of your eye. The longer the shutter is open, the more light is allowed through the lens to the light sensor which creates your image. Shutter speed can also affect the way motion is captured in your photos. Slower shutter speeds can make moving objects soft or blurry. When capturing moving objects such as paddlers, keeping your shutter speed at a higher setting, such as 1/100 or more is best.
ISO is a number representing the camera sensor’s sensitivity to light. For film cameras, this was decided by the film stock you bought. On modern DSLRs and Mirrorless cameras, ISO is a digitally created effect. Higher ISO is often associated with creating noise or grain in your photos, but the amount of noise and grain at high ISO can differ significantly depending on your camera.
When shooting on auto, the camera finds the balance between these settings for you. To really master the art of creating great images, it is recommended to shoot in manual mode and learn how these different settings interact to create different effects.
Another thing that can help a lot is shooting in RAW files. As opposed to JPG files, RAW files hold much more information and allow you to make greater edits in post-production.
The Art of Light
Now that you understand the technical aspect of capturing light, it is time to consider the art. Professional photographer Ryan Creary says that the art of capturing good light is “always easier said than done..” but he recommends that to get the best photos, it is best to “get up early or stay out late. When the sun is low to the horizon, during that first or last hour of the day, the light turns epic. It’s fleeting and happens fast, but everything turns beautiful at this time. Make it happen!”
Ryan also recommends that you “play with your angle to the sun,” saying that he often shoots directly into the sun to create a lense flair, making for more dramatic, interesting images. He encourages photographers to sometimes “blow out some of the highlights for a more interesting look and don’t be afraid to experiment with your angles.”
When it comes to paddling specifically, Ryan suggests using the energy of the water to add to your image – “if its calm waters use the colors and reflections to add the feeling of stillness to the images. In more exciting waters like white water kayaking get low and use the waves and rapids in the foreground to provide depth and excitement to the image.”
Composition
Simply put, composition is the way you point the camera to intentionally arrange the things in your picture. The way things are arranged in the picture can make a photo more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, create connections between objects, limit the effect of distractions, and guide a viewer’s eyes to important elements of a photo. Some common techniques you can use to easily enhance the quality of a photo are framing your subject, the rule of thirds, compression, and leading lines.
Professional photographer Dave Heath suggests shooting back at land for more interesting compositions, stating that you should “make the landscape the star.” Additionally, he says that when you’re capturing two or more paddlers, “you really want them parallel with each other. If they’re offset, it just looks really strange, whether it’s off the stern or the bow or anything.” Additionally, he suggests that you “try and get the person who’s off the back to sync up the strokes because it looks good. You get the sparkle of the light in the water off of the paddle at the same time. It looks better to the eye.”
Framing Your Subject
Framing is a great way to guide the viewers’ attention to an intended subject. This involves arranging your subject in a way that separates it from distracting aspects of the foreground or background of a photo. This is a bit easier done on land, where there are many different ways to frame a subject with foreground elements, such as an opening in the trees or a doorway. On the water, a good way to separate your subject from the background is to focus on the background. This might be placing your subjects between the opening of a bay or having them placed with the sky as a backdrop. The colour of clothing your subject is wearing can inform what a good backdrop is. Darker colours can tend to camouflage into forested backdrops, while bright colours tend to pop in more places. On top of personal safety, this is another great reason to wear a bright-coloured PFD!
The Rule of Thirds
While the rule of thirds is more of a guideline than a rule, as there are situations where it is a rule worth breaking, nonetheless, it is a great tool to enhance many photos. On iPhones and most other cameras, you can add a grid overlay that overlays a guide, splitting your camera screen into thirds. When paddling, an easy way to apply this is to keep the horizon on the upper third of the photo and subjects on the left or right third of the photo. This creates a natural balance that is pleasing to the eyes.
Compression
Compression is the act of bringing objects visually closer together or farther apart through the use of zoom on a lens. This is true for all cameras with optical zoom, including newer cellphones with multiple lenses, DSLRs, and mirrorless cameras. Wide-angle lenses are great for showing a large landscape and can make close up things look bigger in relation to your subject. For example, a paddler on the edge of a cliff shot up close with a wide angle will make the cliff look large and dramatic. On the other hand, a wide-angle lens can make things in the distance look small and farther away than they actually are; you would notice this with an up-close subject and mountains that are far away in the background. In this situation, taking a paddle back from your subject and using a zoom would make the faraway mountains look much bigger and closer. While the 3x zoom option that comes on newer iPhones achieves this effect to an extent, it is a much more noticeable effect with a DSLR or mirrorless camera while shooting with a telephoto lens such as a 70-200mm lens.
Leading Lines
Leading lines are naturally occurring lines in the frame that can help subconsciously guide a viewer’s eyes to the subject. This could be a shimmer on the water, a shadow, a horizon, a tree, or even the edges of your watercraft. Think about making these naturally occurring lines lead toward your subject, and your subjects will naturally pop!
Get Out on the Water and Shoot!
Aside from shooting your photos in RAW files, the most important tip that anyone could give to help you take better photos while paddling is to get out there and do it! Some of the best photographers in the world will look back at the first photos they took and think they were terrible. The only way to get better is to spend many days out there pressing the shutter and reviewing the images for ways to improve. Make sure to tag your photos with #PaddleBCphoto so we can see what you create!
