Colors of Kiteboarding

• Prize
  Gold in Editorial/Sports
• Photographer
  Andre Magarao
• Technical Info
  Waterhousing And Flashes
• Photo Date
  2024

Photographing kiteboarding is about more than freezing action—it's about translating energy, motion, and environment into a single shot. The perfect wind isn't just essential for the rider; it’s also key for the photographer, allowing for consistent sessions that go all the way to sunset. One of the most exciting tools in this niche is artificial lighting. Using flashes in broad daylight might seem counterintuitive, but when done right, it transforms a high-speed sport into a work of art. Backlit spray becomes crystalized, riders are separated from the background, and pop with surreal clarity.

Since I’ve always been into sports it was a natural step to start shooting my friends doing sports. I quickly noticed that shooting during “the golden hour” led to shots I liked more. But then I started shooting sports like skateboarding and it’s very hard to talk skateboarders into waking up at 5am to get that good light. That was when I started studying artificial light. Nowadays I travel with a pretty big amount of gear and place flashes where I probably shouldn’t be placing to get the shots you see here.