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Photographing Whales with Andrew Young

May 27, 2025

Citizen scientist Andrew Young shares his insights into capturing whales and wildlife photos aboard a Wildlife Coast Cruises tour.

Not only is the challenge getting the whale in frame, but remaining steady on the boat in a swell, which can happen a lot when venturing into Bass Strait. Here’s an overview of my approach to photography, keep in mind, other photographers may have different methods.

Equipment:

✓ Bodies: Canon R5 & 5DIV.

✓ Lenses: Canon EF 100-400mm II, EF 16-35mm f2.8 III, RF 100-500mm.

✓ SanDisk Extreme Pro128GB 300MB/s SDXC II, SanDisk Extreme Pro 128GB CFexpress (R5)

✓ SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB 95MB/s SDXC I, Sandisk Extreme Pro 64GB CF (5D IV)

✓ OP/TECH USA Rain sleave. (Protect the camera and lens from sea spray).

✓ Lens cloth.

Both camera bodies will allow for some cropping when editing. The EF 16-35mm lens is used if the whales decide to mug the boat, the larger zooms are too big if this occurs.

Camera Settings:

I shoot in Manual mode, usually at f8 and between 1/1250sec to 1/2000sec. Any slower and there is a risk of blurred images if action occurs, or as seabirds fly past. Slower speeds might be used for the seals on Seal Rocks.

ISO is on auto.
AI SERVO with single point focus for the whales and dolphins, animal eye focus on seabirds and seals. I have two buttons (Back Button Focus) programmed on the camera for this.
I also have the camera set for high-speed continuous shooting.

Other Tips:

  1. Stay steady, stay safe. I try to stand with my legs slightly apart, with my arms jammed into my side when photographing. If there is a swell you will at times need to hold on to the rail or a seat. Even remain seated for your safety and just watch the whales and wildlife. (Don’t spend the whole trip just looking through the lens watch and enjoy some of the time).

  2. If there is action happening, don’t check your photos in the rear screen after a couple of shots, you might miss something. (This has happened to me).

  3. Always be ready. Before boarding the boat, make sure that your batteries are fully charged, the cards are formatted with no old photos on them and the base settings are input to the camera. (Once I took some still photos before boarding and didn’t reset the camera. There was a beautiful breach off the back of the boat – all I got was a blur!)
  1. Photographing dolphins can be tricky as they porpoise quickly into the boat to ride its bow wave. I try to take them coming from behind to almost parallel to the boat. When they’re underwater, I aim to track the dolphins through the lens, then shoot as they breach the surface.
  1. Watch. You can sometimes track a whale by its footprint. The footprint is a glassy, smooth circle of water and is caused by the whale’s tail. The extremely powerful motion of their flukes creates a vortex, which is clearly visible as it is smooth compared the rest of the water’s surface. If the whale is coming to the surface regularly (every 5 to 8 minutes) then you may predict where it might surface. In saying this, whales can be unpredictable and may surface where you don’t expect them.
  1. Go out as often as you can. The more you go out, the more behaviours you’ll see and the better you’ll get at obtaining great shots. For a few years now, I’ve followed the Humpbacks at Phillip Island, Wilsons Promontory, Eden, Merimbula and Bermagui. It’s not only Humpbacks I’ve seen, but Southern Right (once), Minke and Bryde’s whales, along with an assortment of seabirds and seals.
  2. Whale watching can also be done from the land around the island – The Nobbies, Pyramid Rock, Cape Woolamai, etc. Photography from these points might need and extender on your lens.
    There are other points along Bass Coast like Cape Patterson, Eagle Rock, Inverloch and Cape Liptrap.
  3. Lastly, for both sea and land whale watching, rug up. It can get chilly with the winds blowing through off Bass Strait. I also have photography gloves that leave fingertips free to operate the camera.

Hope this helps your photography and have a great experience. Andrew Young

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