With warmer weather approaching, it's the perfect time to head down to the beach and try your hand at one of photography's most beloved action subjects — surfing. Surf photography is exciting and rewarding, but like any action genre, it takes a little time and the right equipment to get right. Here's our concise guide to get you started.
Dipping Your Toes in the Water
The equipment you choose will depend on your budget and your approach. If you want to get up close to the action and get your feet wet, you'll need a waterproof camera or an underwater housing to protect your gear from the surf.
Waterproof compact cameras are a great starting point — purpose-built to handle splashes, drops, and submersion without a second thought. For capturing video, an action camera like the latest GoPro is hard to beat, helping surfers and photographers alike relive their best moments in stunning quality.
Under some circumstances, the best approach is to stay safely on land. This reduces risk to your gear, but you'll need to find a way to get a tight frame on your subject. A mirrorless camera with a telephoto lens of 200mm or longer is a popular choice — giving you the reach to fill the frame from the shore. A superzoom compact camera is another option, offering long magnifications without the need to swap lenses.
Best Cameras and Lenses for Surf Photography
Choosing the best camera for surf photography comes down to your shooting position. In the water: a rugged waterproof compact like the Olympus Tough series handles submersion confidently, while a GoPro HERO is the go-to for video. From the shore: a mirrorless camera such as a Sony Alpha or Canon EOS R paired with a telephoto lens in the 100–400mm range gives you the reach and autofocus speed surf photography demands. Look for lenses with fast, silent autofocus and image stabilisation — both make a significant difference tracking unpredictable wave action. A budget of around AUD $2,000–$4,000 for a mirrorless body and telephoto lens is a realistic starting point for serious shore-based surf work. Not sure what suits your needs? Visit your nearest Ted's store for personalised advice.
Making a Splash: Essential Tips
Learn your camera's basic settings — Understanding shutter speed, aperture, and ISO before you hit the beach will make a real difference to your results. Check out our Simple Guide to Shutter Speed as a starting point — fast shutter speeds are essential for freezing wave action.
Take plenty of photos — With memory cards offering huge storage at low prices, there's no reason to hold back. Shoot in bursts and review often — the winning shot is usually one of many.
Wait for the right light — Lighting is everything in photography, and surf photography is no exception. The golden hour — shortly after sunrise or before sunset — produces warm, directional light that makes waves and water come alive. Midday sun creates harsh contrast and glare off the water, so plan your sessions accordingly.
Ready to gear up? Browse Ted's full range of waterproof cameras, action cameras, and telephoto lenses online, or visit your nearest Ted's store for personalised advice.
How to Avoid Glare When Filming Surfing
Beyond timing your sessions around golden hour (covered above), a circular polarising filter (CPL) is the single most effective tool for eliminating glare off the water. By rotating the filter on your lens, you cut reflected light from the ocean surface, revealing richer water colour and reducing washed-out highlights — a game-changer on bright Australian summer days. CPL filters are available for most lens thread sizes and are an affordable addition to your kit. Action camera shooters aren't left out either: polarising lens covers are available for GoPro housings. Positioning also matters — keeping the sun at roughly 90 degrees to your shooting angle maximises the polariser's effectiveness and naturally reduces lens flare. If you're shooting video, check your exposure compensation too, as glare can fool your camera's metering into underexposing the surfer.
Keeping Your Camera Secure in Powerful Surf
Powerful surf is unpredictable, and losing grip of your camera — or having a wave slam into it — can be costly. A few precautions go a long way. Use a wrist or body leash: many waterproof housings and action cameras support leash attachments; always use one in the water. Floaty backdoors and floatation straps for GoPro and similar cameras add buoyancy so a dropped camera surfaces rather than sinks. Shore-based shooters should use a sturdy tripod with a fluid head when shooting from rocks or jetties — unexpected wash-up waves can knock over unsupported gear. Always brace your monopod or tripod legs against solid ground and keep your camera strap looped around your wrist or neck. Finally, check your waterproof housing's O-ring seal before every session — a pinched or dirty O-ring is the most common cause of water ingress damage to otherwise well-protected cameras.