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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Education Field Instructional

How I Became a Professional Surf Photographer

Chris Gampat
No Comments
07/02/2016
3 Mins read
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In partnership with Format Magazine. Click here to build your Format portfolio website today with a free 14-day trial, no credit card required. This is a syndicated blog post from Format Magazine. It’s contents are being used with exclusive permission. Original post done by Camila Neves.

Professional surf photographer Camila Neves shoots for Surfline, World Surf Leagueand Surfer Magazine. She describes how heartbreak led to a career in the waves and how she almost died on the job.

I had a surfer boyfriend and started photographing surfing as a hobby. In 2012, we parted ways and I went through a very difficult time. I decided to get out of Brazil and a close friend suggested going to Mexico.

Without any plans, I boarded that flight to Mexico. My only mission was to leave my city in Brazil. I needed a change of scenery and to begin the process of healing myself.

Shooting waves had always given me a feeling of happiness and direction. But when I arrived in Mexico, average surf was no longer bringing me the joy or happiness like once did, only more dark memories of my past.

Then, a large swell headed straight for Mexico. I will never forget that moment, it was the first time I saw “real” waves in my life. It was an inexplicable emotion when I realized that I was shooting with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes. That was the moment I realized this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

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That day I took an image of the professional big wave surfer Greg Long and even now, it’s one of my favorite photos that I have captured. This photo opened doors for me in the professional market.

I think the key to the perfect shot is to try different angles, lighting, background, foreground and to keep an open mind. Train your eyes to find something different. For me, a perfect picture is when you create composition with the elements of the place you’re in and the light of that moment.

You can have the latest professional camera and lenses, but if you’re not connected with yourself, and inspired on that day, you won’t be able to capture that image that touches the soul of people. At the end of 2012, I had all my equipment stolen in Hawaii. A friend lend me a basic Canon 7D and a 100-400mm lens. When you need equipment, you can shoot with anything.

“WHEN SHOOTING BIG WAVES, EVERY WAVE THAT I VIEW THROUGH MY LENS REMINDS ME OF THE OCEAN’S AWESOME POWER AND HOW VULNERABLE WE ARE, AS HUMANS, IN THIS UNTAMED ARENA.”CAMILA NEVES 

I am constantly learning every day how to shoot waves. Large waves are my passion and my focus, constantly reminding me how extremely important it is to stay in sync with the wonder that is the ocean. I’m being reminded all the time of how important it is to be more and more humble. To connect with people and situations.

When shooting big waves, every wave that I view through my lens reminds me of the ocean’s awesome power and how vulnerable we are, as humans, in this untamed arena. In 2013, I almost died in a boating accident in Tahiti, shooting waves that were 20–25 feet high.

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A wave hit the reef at an unexpected direction that lifted the boat that I was in, nearly capsizing. I damaged my kidney resulting in a hemorrhage. I also fractured three vertebrae in my lower back. If my fractured vertebrae had moved another 2.8 millimeters I would have damaged my spinal cord and become a paraplegic.

The whole thing was caught on camera. You can watch it below.

Nature is unpredictable and working amongst it’s awesome power can be an extremely high risk. The reward is not a tangible one, but one of spiritual gratitude.

Right now, I’m in the planning stage of designing and publishing a hardcover book. You can find me in Mexico shooting that waves that I’ve fallen in love with. Follow me on Instagram @cacaneves and check out my online portfolio camila-neves.format.com.

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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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