Susan's Spot

April-May 1996

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.

Top Ten List for Better Kayak Photography

by Susan Noppe

The cliffs of Valdez Island are a photographer's dream

You don't need an expensive or complicated camera to make great pictures. You do however need patience and planning. Taking pictures from a boat can initially result in some very non-inspiring photos unless you keep a few rules in mind. Here are some ideas to try out and modify to suit your own style.

1. Get Some Foreground In

How many pictures have you received back that have tiny little grey kayakers off on the far horizon with a huge expanse of ocean filling the rest of the frame? Avoid this by getting some foreground in the shot by either having your kayaker subjects close to you or by shooting the picture from land and getting some beach, rocks or trees into the foreground. Or get the nose of your boat into the picture.

2. Fill the frame

If it's a picture of a kayaker or an individual subject you're trying to take, make sure they fill at least a third of the frame. Good pictures require no explanations-"Oh, and that's Bob there. No, not Bob, the dog actually. Bob's in the next one." Make your subject truly the subject and not something that has to be hunted out by the eye. If the subject is doing something that's important to the story get that in as well but only as much detail as is necessary.

3. Look Out for Ugly Horizon Lines

Often the horizon line of the ocean surface slices harshly across photos. Avoid this by shooting back towards land. Or break the horizon up with features such as an island, kayaker, etc. And whenever shooting towards the horizon, make sure it's level!

4. Watch the lighting

Bring out the best of the bright colours of today's kayaks and gear with proper lighting. Watch how the light falls on your subject and how the colours appear under it. Move around and look at how the light looks from different angles. You'll find the most pleasing lighting to be early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Watch for shadows. Your camera lens does not compensate the way your eye does. Although your eyes can look at a scene that goes from very bright to dark and still see details in the shadows, your camera can't. So if the detail in the shadows is important, expose for the shadows, not the bright area. It's best however to compose pictures of relatively even lighting unless the pattern of the contrasts is the focus.

5. Compose Carefully

When a scene pleases you, decide what it is exactly about the scene that is drawing your attention. Is it the wind pattern on the ocean, the colours of your companion's boat or the weathered trees on the outer coast of the island? Then compose the picture so that the viewer's eye will be drawn to the subject you've chosen. Avoid cluttering your photos -frame in only the key elements.

6. Use your flash

On the water your camera's metering system will usually meter for the bright reflections off the water rather than the darker tones of a kayaker's face. In these instances get close to your subject and use your flash. Most point and shoot cameras allow you to turn on the flash manually and if you're using an SLR, bringing your flash along really isn't much of a hassle when you realize the results it brings. Also make sure you turn your flash on anytime your subject's face is partially or completely shaded regardless of how bright it is out.

7. Bring a Miniature Tripod

Many tripod models exist and they take up very little space. You won't regret it since it'll allow you to capture those magnificent ocean sunsets or moonlit scenes.

8. Protect Your Film

Keep your spare and exposed film protected from heat and humidity by storing it in sealed tupperware or waterproof containers with packages of desiccant inside. Get your film developed as soon as you get home. If you're on a long trip, keep exposed film as cool as possible by treating it like perishable food. On a road trip, keep it in the cooler.

9. Use the Rule of Thirds

To visualize the rule of thirds, do this: take a sheet of paper and draw two horizontal lines with one a third of the way from the top of the page and the other a third from the bottom. Now draw two vertical lines in the same manner. Your subject should appear at any of the points where the lines intersect. Also, horizons should be placed at one of the two horizontal lines.

10. Break Rules

Sometimes rules need to be broken. If what you're looking at through your viewfinder looks amazing, chances are it will in print also. Aside from breaking rules, keep track of your own as you develop them. When you get your pictures back, analyze them and decide what it is you like and don't like about them and how you could have made them better.

Susan Noppe is an outdoor writer and a regular WaveLength columnist

Susan is marketing full colour greeting cards with images (such as on this page) at kayak and outdoor stores in Vancouver and Victoria.