For surfers, shooting the pier means taking a wave on one side of the pier and surfing through the pier itself on the same wave. For surf photographers, however, shooting the pier has an entirely different meaning. This is a term

that refers to the importance of background details for your surf images. It might be a jetty, a set of boats, and most commonly, a pier. Why is this important? Consider this photo:

The pier in the background brings instant scale to the wave being surfed. The vertical piles pull the viewer upward while the surfer is heading downward. It brings symmetry. It provides interest. Perhaps most importantly, it places the viewer right there with the surfer.

The pier can be a dark, stable force in an otherwise flowing, churning chaos. It grounds the picture with a nice dichotomy to the agility of the subject surfing a wave.

With a darker edit, such as removing blues and greens, the pier ads an edgy perspective to the art of surfing. This really focuses the viewer on the surfer himself as the eye naturally looks to focus on color (unless, I suppose, you are colorblind).

So, as a rule of thumb, if you can set up your shooting angle with a pier (or jetty, boats, etc) in the background, I guarantee you will have more entertaining and captivating surf images. Happy shooting!

BTW, these images were created during the 2026 OMBAC Longboard Surfing Contest at Crystal Pier. Check out all the images (some even without the pier) at this LINK.