Whale Photography- Sperm, Humpback and Southern Rights
- Rowan Dear
- Dec 10, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
I have been very fortunate to swim with 3 different types of large whales- Sperm, Humpback and Southern Right Whales. The experience of being up close with these ocean giants is like no other I have experience from the last 8 years of diving, and I love to be able to capture those moments with my camera to share with other people just a small portion of how incredible it can be.
In this article I will discuss where you can encounter these Whales, how to best interact with them to get the encounters you want, and then what settings to use to make sure you execute those dream shots you pictured in your mind.
What Interactions Can You Expect
Humpback Whale
Humpback whales migrate annually between feeding and breeding grounds. During summer, they inhabit polar regions like Antarctica, feeding on krill and small fish. In winter, they journey thousands of kilometres to tropical waters, such as Tonga or French Polynesia, to mate and give birth. These migrations are among the longest of any mammal.
When choosing the time of year to visit any of the above destinations, you need to consider what kind of behaviours you would like to witness and obviously it’s not guaranteed, and is only a guide to cycles of the whales.
July-August:
Mating Displays: Male humpbacks engage in songs and competitive group behaviours to attract females.
Courtship: Pairs can be seen interacting closely.
Breaching: Whales leap out of the water, possibly as a display or communication.
August-September:
Calving: Females give birth in sheltered bays. Mothers and calves often surface together, with calves learning essential skills.
Nurturing: Mothers nurse and protect their young, often staying close to the surface.
September-October:
Bonding and Play: Calves grow more active and playful, practicing breaching and tail slapping.
Preparation for Migration: Whales begin building strength for their return journey to feeding grounds.
Southern Right Whales
In the calm waters of Patagonia, the Southern Right Whales go there between June-September to rest with their calves before they journey South. So the majority of Whales you encounter are mother and calves resting calmly in the bays. They are very curious Whales, and more often than not we would have several coming to check out our boat, as well as the diver in the water.
I was also fortunate enough to witness a male attempting to mate with a female, as well as baby’s and adults breaching from the water.
A chilled out whale on the surface allows be to get close enough with a fisheye. A male upside down trying to mate with a female. A curious mother and calf swimming over in the shallows the check me out. And a rare white baby breaching out of the water.
Sperm Whales
When I think of sperm whales, two images sprung to mind- Groups or individuals sleeping vertically in the water column and large numbers of them gathering and socialising together. We were fortunate to witness all these behaviours multiple times, as well as one curious baby with it’s mouth wide open wagging its tongue at me.
6 Sperm Whales in one shot Mouth wide open Sleeping Together
How To Get The Shot
Most of the time, the Whales are very rarely just sat on the surface waiting for you to take a nice picture of them, they are mostly moving and very dynamic in the water. Although this can happen, and your are more likely to see this with Southern Rights and Sperm Whales than with Humpbacks.
Some of the behaviours you may witness are going to be incredibly fast paced and possibly only give you a few seconds to 30 seconds to allow you to get the shot you want, so being agile in the water, anticipate their moves and have your settings locked in are critically important.
When it comes to second guessing a whales next move as it swims towards you, there’s no hard fast rule: but what you want to make sure is that your actions don’t disturb the whales and ruin the whole experience for yourself and for your group. If your presence is not welcome, then back off and give the whales space: their wellbeing is your most important priority and not chasing them to try and get the shot. I can guarantee that any image you take this way, will not be the one you wanted and won’t be worth it, the images taken on the whales’ terms are always the best ones
Wait patiently and observe the whales for as long as you can and get a feel for how they are behaving and if they have registered your presence or are they caught up in the moment. During mating, heat runs etc they can be very dangerous situations for you to get involved with and could cause injury for you, and no shot is worth that.
The image below was taken where 3 humpback whales playing/fighting on the surface with each other, displaying behaviors such as breaching, pec and tail slapping on the water as well as nudging each other.
I hung back and watched for a long time, before moving slightly closer at the right moment to capture this image where all 3 humpback whales are looking directly at the camera.
It is undoubtably one of my favourite whale images, firstly because of the composition and secondly because patience (and some luck) it took to get the shot.
Sperm Whales when they socialise together can gather in large groups and can be a lot more chilled on the surface and below, and stay around for a while allowing you get take time and compose the shot you want and get your settings right.
But again, read the situation and ask your guide if it's ok to move closer in.
Setting Up Your Camera
Your first decision is which lens to go with- whilst some of the encounters I had it would have been great to have a fisheye lens, most of the time encounters were far away so a fisheye would have been way too wide. I mostly went with the Sony 16-35mm GMaster lens, which was perfect for being able to zoom in and out when required. With the Southern Right Whales I mostly shot with my Fisheye as most encounters were close, and visibility was often not great, meaning I needed to be very close to get the shots I wanted.
Shutter Speed- Start off with around 1/320 or 1/500 and adjust if you need to. I shot entirely between this range and found I never had to go any higher despite sometimes having a fast moving baby.
F-Stop- On certain days the light is going to be changing a lot so you need to adjust your camera quickly accordingly- if you have overexposed shots then no amount of post production is going to bring back that lost detail. Start off around F8 and dial up or down when required as you don’t want to miss the shot. As I said, the whales could be fast moving so as they move past, you could easily go from shooting with the sun behind you to shooting more towards the sun, or one minute the sun is fully out, the next second a cloud comes over and it’s a lot darker.
ISO- Most cameras are capable of shooting with a high ISO, but as your shots will predominantly be on the surface (depending where in the world you are) I would pick around ISO 400-500 and stay there and focus on adjusting my aperture when needed.
Focus Area- This may depend on your camera and what capabilities it has, but it may also change given the conditions, the light, the encounters you are having.
I would choose between 1 of these 3- Center, Zone, and Wide (Sony also has a Tracking expand flexible spot, which i like to use for smaller subjects, but not so much for whales)
Centre point focus is good if you are trying to get a detailed eye shot like below, and you just want to line up the eye in the middle of your shot and pull trigger. This is great if low light or choppy surface conditions and bubbles may be in the water. That way the camera isn't searching for what to focus on.
Detailed Eye Shot- 1/320 F7.1 ISO 400. Centre Point Focus Zone is good for similar reasons as above, but you can move the zone around to an area you want. So if you are shooting split shots like below, then I may choose zone, and put below center so it picks up the whale to focus on and nothing above. I may also choose this for close up detailed shots, and again days of low visibility and lots of bubbles.
''Wide'' is your standard for wide angle photography and for most cameras will be great for photographing big subjects like whales which will probably fill your frame.
Bubbles- One thing that can ruin all your shots, is bubbles forming on your dome port. This can happen because of swell pushing lots of water around, or the whales splashing around. So make sure you use your hand to wipe the bubbles off your dome port regularly otherwise your camera will focus on the bubbles and not the subject and you will not get s sharp image at all.
Here is an example of what happens if you have a dome port full of bubbles Conclusion
1. Choose your lens wisely- whilst Whales can be very several metres in length, a lens which is too wide or a fixed lens gives your no flexibility when you are shooting Whales that are not that friendly and are far away
2. Set your shutter speed, then play around with your ISO and F-Stop, depending on the lighting conditions.
3. Clean the bubbles off your dome port regularly.
4. Select the focus mode that is best for you, your camera and the conditions.
5. Do not jeopardise your safety, or the Whales for the shot. It's not worth it, and you will ruin it for everyone.
6. Occasionally, put the camera down and just enjoy the experience of swimming with these gentle giants.
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