How to Film Yourself Surfing from the Beach
To film yourself surfing, put a phone on a tripod (or hand it to a friend) on high ground level with the peak, use the 3x or 5x lens at 60 fps, lock focus and exposure, and record every wave you catch.
Published September 17, 2026
Footage of your own surfing is the quickest way to see what to change, and a phone on the beach is enough to get it. What makes the difference is where the camera stands, how steady it is and what you actually record. Here is how to film a session that is worth watching back, with a friend holding the phone or a tripod doing the work.
A friend with a phone, or a tripod on its own
There are two ways to do this without paying anyone. A friend on the beach with a phone gets the best footage by far, because they can follow you, zoom in as you take off and stop recording between waves. The catch is that they spend an hour on the sand instead of surfing.
A phone or camera on a tripod, left running and framed wide on the peak, costs nobody their session. But you will be small in the frame, you will drift out of the shot, and you will come home with an hour of mostly empty ocean to scroll through. It works best at a break with one well-defined peak and a high spot to film from.
Where to stand
Film side-on to the wave, roughly level with where it breaks, not from behind the peak or straight in front of it. From the side you can see your stance, how your feet land and how your body moves through a turn. From behind or in front, most of that is hidden.
Higher is better. A dune, a sea wall, a promenade or a clifftop lets the camera see over the whitewater, so you do not disappear behind every broken wave. Get as close as you safely can, since every metre saves zoom. Mind the light, too: shooting into the sun turns the surfer into a silhouette on a sheet of glare. On Portugal's west-facing beaches the morning is the easiest time to film, with the sun behind the camera. By late afternoon you are filming straight into it.
Phone settings that matter
Hold the phone horizontally. Record in 1080p at 60 frames per second, which is plenty for analysis and lets you slow waves down smoothly. Use 4K if the phone is on a tripod and you plan to crop in later, but expect big files: an hour of 4K can take somewhere between 10 and 25 GB, depending on the frame rate.
Use the phone's telephoto lens (usually marked 2x, 3x or 5x) and avoid pushing digital zoom far beyond it, where the picture turns to mush. Lock focus and exposure on the patch of water where you are surfing, which on most phones means pressing and holding on the screen, so the camera does not keep refocusing on foam or darkening every time a wave breaks white.
See what you actually do out there
Book someone to film your whole session from the beach at one of six spots from Matosinhos to Sagres, then watch your waves back.
Keep it steady
At full zoom, the smallest hand movement becomes a big shake on screen. A cheap phone tripod with a clamp is the single biggest upgrade. If you are hand-holding, brace your elbows against your body or rest the phone on a wall, a railing or a backpack. Leave the phone's normal stabilisation on, but avoid special action modes, which usually crop the image and throw away the zoom you need.
What to record
Start recording when the surfer turns to paddle for a wave, and keep going until they fall or kick out. The paddle and the pop-up are where most of the useful information is, and they are the part people miss when they only press record once someone is standing.
Keep the wipeouts and the missed waves. They show more than the best ride of the day. Frame the surfer so they fill a good part of the picture while leaving some room ahead of them to see the wave, and take the occasional wide shot of the whole lineup so you can see where you sit and which waves you go for.
Look after the phone
Sand and salt are the enemies. Keep the phone in a zip bag or a pocket between waves, do not wipe the lens with a sandy T-shirt, and rinse your hands before handling it. In summer sun a phone recording video can overheat and stop recording altogether, so keep it in the shade of a bag or a hat between waves and bring a power bank for long sessions.
Watching it back
Trim the footage into one clip per wave before you watch it, or you will never get through it. Then watch each wave several times, at least once in slow motion, and pause at the key moments: when the wave lifts the board, when your feet land and at the bottom of your first turn. Our guide to what to look for in your surf footage has a full checklist.
When it is easier to have someone else film
Filming yourself works, but it has a cost: either a friend gives up their session or you get distant, half-empty footage from a tripod. If you are surfing in Portugal, Marola books someone to stand on the beach and film your whole session in Matosinhos, Baleal and Peniche, Ericeira, Costa da Caparica, Aljezur or Sagres. You surf as usual and keep every wave.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to film yourself surfing alone?
Set a phone or camera on a tripod on high ground level with the peak, frame it wide, record in 4K so you can crop in later, and lock focus and exposure. It helps to surf a break with one clear peak so you stay in the shot. Expect to trim a lot of empty footage.
What zoom do you need to film surfing from the beach?
It depends on how far out the waves break. For a beach break a few dozen metres out, a phone's 3x or 5x telephoto lens is usable. Once the break is well over 100 metres away, phone footage gets soft and a camera with a long optical zoom does much better.
What frame rate is best for filming surfing?
60 frames per second is the sweet spot: smooth enough to slow down for analysis, without the darker, noisier image many phones produce at 120 or 240 fps.
Is a GoPro good for filming yourself surfing?
Mounted on the board or held in your mouth, a GoPro shows your feet, your hands and where you look, which is useful. On the beach its wide lens makes the surfer tiny, so it is a poor choice for filming from the sand.
How do I film surfing with an iPhone?
Use the telephoto lens, set video to 1080p at 60 fps (or 4K if you will crop), press and hold on the water to lock focus and exposure, and steady the phone on a tripod or against something solid. Film in landscape and start recording as soon as the surfer paddles for a wave.