How do you capture the perfect moment when you’re hanging 10ft upside down or right when you blow a stash of powder? The GoPro camera has become synonymous with action sports and capturing all the epic moments along the way. But what makes the pictures and videos captured on that tiny action cam so much more awesome than any other? Versatility. The GoPro comes with hundreds of accessories and mounts for you to place them anywhere from your surfboard to your forehead. Below are some tips on how to get the most out of your GoPro and become a social media sensation.
Learn how to utilize the time lapse function
It’s not just meant for sunsets and stargazing. Time lapse simply takes a single picture every .5,1,2,5,10, or 30 seconds. I use this setting for every time I want to take a picture. I’ve never once used the single photo option, because every time I press the button I would end up getting a blurred image. For selfies, hook your camera into a mount or pole, press the shutter button, and then smile big for the camera with the epic waterfall behind you. Later on you can go back into your pictures and choose the best one that was captured in that 5 seconds of time lapsing. Don’t bother with a that pesky timer or single shot and you’ll ever miss a moment again.
This can be applied to all your adventures and time spent with friends.
Where to point the camera
In the action sports and adventure community, we always are trying to post pictures of people going bigger and farther. The #1 thing I can recommend is never, ever shoot from eye level. I repeat, don’t shoot from your chest to your eyes. If you are trying to show that someone is catching air, shoot from the ground and angle the camera upwards. If you’re trying to show a height that you’ve just climbed, shoot from over your head. This allows the audience to have point of reference when viewing the picture. The wide angle lens distorts the images around the edge of the frame which does not do most moments justice when they remain in the center of the frame. GoPro’s social media praises people that are thinking of new ways to capture not only the most extreme, but even the mundane. Go stick a few mounts everywhere and anywhere to see what gives you a unique image. 
Learn how to use distance effectively
One of the greatest features on a GoPro is it’s wide angle lens, which allows you capture almost everything that is in front of the camera. Where this becomes a downfall, is that it does not capture objects in the distance very well. Before you take a picture, think if you want to be focal point of the image or do you want the background to be the focal point. By holding the camera at a distance of an arm lengths away will set you as the focal point and capture what you’re doing in that moment, whether it is cruising down a steep hill on your longboard or you’re cliff jumping into a quarry. If you want to focus to be on the background and your subject is an accent to the picture, you’ll only need to bring that distance to 10ft. I’ve seen too many images ruined by a 6ft long selfie stick or someone puts their GoPro on the beach and expect to capture themselves riding a wave from a couple hundred feet away. Sorry, but the GoPro does not do distance very well.
Now go out and capture your next adventure!
Adventure Doesn’t Find You… You have to seek adventure!
Hi there, my name is Zachary Kenney and I’m an adventure filmmaker & photographer. My passion is to tell stories that will hopefully motivate you to go live a more adventurous life. Whether that is to experience the view from the summit of a mountain, or wandering through a new town on a road trip. Currently based out of Park City, UT.
