Hack Your GoPro!

Robbie C - Hack Your GoPro!

GoPro Hero 5 tips and tricks from the wave photography (and all around bad-ass) legend Robbie Crawford

GoPro Settings and Ideal Environments

While the GoPro Hero 5 camera is one of the most intuitive and straightforward cameras on the market, it does have a wide variety of settings and features that when properly utilized, will empower you to capture the most engaging content possible with the camera. This section will offer a fundamental understanding of how specific settings and features excel within different environments, helping you achieve your desired results.

Photo Settings

Your GoPro comes with many settings you can take a photo with. Understanding these settings and knowing which environments to use each setting in is critical to taking amazing photos with your GoPro Hero 5 camera.

  • Single Photo, Single Photo RAW, and Single Photo WDR

    The only time I use single photo not in RAW format is by default when choosing a FOV that RAW is not supported in such as Linear View. Otherwise, I always select RAW as this is the optimal setting when shooting still environments such as landscapes with little to no action involved. It offers you two file versions for each photo taken, a standard .JPG and a .GPR. This is beneficial as the .JPG file can be edited on your phone for immediate sharing and the .GPR file offers the greatest control over post-processing as it is supported by CAMERA RAW in both Lightroom and Photoshop. However, if you are shooting action, I recommend using one of the burst settings as it can be nearly impossible to capture the perfect frame with a single shot.

  • Burst Mode

    Because the majority of what I shoot is action based content, burst mode settings are what I most commonly use. There are nine different burst mode settings the Hero 5 offers with frames per second (fps) ranging from (3 in 1) through (30 in 6) with the highest frame rate being (30 in 1). The basic formula I use to decide which burst setting is best suited for the action I’m shooting is estimating the time in which the desired frame will most likely occur and then utilizing the highest possible frame rate within the relative burst time span. An example would be when shooting small waves that break in less than one second, I’ll use (30 in 1) as I know the desired frame will happen within the 1 second burst span. Having 30 frames within that one second usually ensures that I capture the perfect frame every time. Then when the waves get bigger, and I estimate the desired frame could happen within 2 seconds I’ll shoot (30 in 2) so that I won’t miss the desired frame because the burst sequence ends too soon. The reason I wouldn’t just shoot (30 in 3) when I estimate the time of action as 2 seconds is because the fewer frames per second you have the more likely you are to miss that perfect moment that lasts only a millisecond during fast-paced action. This same principle is applied to the variety of action I shoot. When shooting skateboarding, if I estimate the desired frame will happen within 2 seconds, I shoot (30 in 2). In BMX, if I expect the desired frame will occur within 3 seconds, I shoot 30/3. Another variable that effects my decision of what burst setting to choose is situations where there are obstacles that can make it difficult to fire the burst at the proper time. An example of this would be when I’m shooting from the bottom of a stair set that a skateboarder is going to do a trick down and the skateboarder isn’t going to come into sight until the burst should have already been fired, but I can hear him rolling up. In this situation, if my estimated time for the desired frame is within 2 seconds, I might opt for (30 in 3), so I can fire the burst early to ensure that I don’t mistime the burst and miss the shot.

  • FOV (Field of View) Settings

    There are four different FOV settings available for photo mode: Wide, Linear, Medium, and Narrow. I, however, choose only to utilize Wide and Linear as Medium and Narrow are both based on digital zoom (cropping into the image). If I do decide to crop an image, I prefer to do it in post-production as you have greater control over precision. Wide is my go-to setting as most of the action I shoot is based on close proximity to the subject. I do choose Linear mode when I want to step outside of the fisheye look and have less distortion equaling straighter lines without losing image quality. You can also achieve a straight horizon line when shooting wide if you center the horizon in your frame.

  • Night Mode

    This setting offers the GoPro user the ability to do long exposure photography with exposure lengths ranging from Auto (The camera picks the exposure length it estimates is correct) to 30 seconds. Because of the slowed shutter, this setting isn’t conducive to capturing movement without motion blurring unless you utilize a manually fired flash to freeze action. This setting is ideal for capturing still images at night, such as landscapes, minimal static light such as stars, and is also great for using techniques such as spinning wool to capture light trails. When using this setting, you’ll want the camera to have a fixed location as any camera movement will create motion blur. This can be achieved by attaching the camera to any static object such as a tripod or resting it on a still surface. The ISO setting in GoPro’s Protune (Protune settings covered in the note below) also significantly affects the amount of light absorbed into the image. I recommend using the capture app when shooting night mode so you can make adjustments to exposure time and ISO to capture your desired results. I also enjoy experimenting with artificial light such as a cell phone light, a flashlight, or a flash to illuminate subjects within the foreground.

  • Time-Lapse Photo

    There are two different ways to shoot a time-lapse with the Hero 5. One option is to have the camera automatically compress the time-lapse into a video file (described below under video settings), and the other is to have the camera shoot a series of photos that you can later import into GoPro Studio and convert into a time-lapse video. While there is less post work with time-lapse video, the reason you would possibly want to choose a time-lapse photo is that each image captured is a full res 12mp photo. So for example, if you wanted a time lapse of an incredible scene, but you also wanted a beautiful picture of it, you would opt for a time-lapse photo which would offer the best of both worlds. However, if you weren’t interested in taking a high res photo from the scene, you would most likely want to go with time-lapse video to cut out the added time of post work. Time-Lapse Photo mode has the same field of view (FOV) options as standard photo modes and supports intervals from every .5 seconds to every 60 seconds. The simplest way to understand what interval setting is best for you is understanding that you’ll need a total of 30 frames to equal one second of video. So a time lapse shot at an interval of 1 shot every .5 seconds will need a total of 15 seconds to equal 30 frames, an interval of 1 shot per second will need a total of 30 seconds to equal 30 frames, an interval of 1 shot every 2 seconds will need a total of 60 seconds to equal 30 frames, and so forth. Which interval best suits you is dependent on how long you plan on shooting the lapse and how long you want the video to be. So if you wanted to shoot a 60-second time-lapse recorded over 30 minutes, you’d want to shoot an interval of one frame per second. The equation being that with one frame per second you would get 60 frames per minute which would translate into 2 seconds of time-lapse video compressed at 30 frames per second. Something else that’s important when you are shooting a time-lapse video is you’ll want the camera to be fixed to a static location as moving the camera during recording creates undesirable results.

  • Night Lapse Photo

    The night lapse setting offers great potential both in capturing time-lapses of nighttime scenes as well as the shooting of long exposure images. This setting works by continually shooting a series of long exposure photos with the ability to set exposure lengths between 2 and 30 seconds, having intervals ranging from 4 seconds to 60 minutes between shots taken depending upon the length of the shutter. Like normal time-lapse photo mode, this setting has the same field of view (FOV) options as standard photo modes. There is no option for automated video compression so you’ll have to import the image sequence into GoPro studio to compress the sequence into a video.

  • Protune Settings - Photo

    Protune empowers the user to have manual control over several variables that affect image results: Color – This setting offers two options, GoPro Color and Flat. GoPro Color uses the default color profile that is offered when Protune is off and is what I often shoot as it delivers excellent results. Flat is a raw color profile offering greater control during post-production. White Balance – This setting controls what is known as the temperature of an image with settings ranging between 3000-6500 as well as Auto and Native. The lower the number you use, the cooler (more blue toned) your colors will be and the higher the number, the warmer (more yellow toned) your image will be. I mostly choose AUTO during normal lighting conditions as I’ve found this to achieve the best results. However, I have found the manual WB settings valuable when shooting long exposures at night to compensate when there is artificial light that is either too warm or too cold. ISO minimum and maximum – With the GoPro camera I rarely push the ISO past 200 as I’ve found it can often result in a blown out image. I most commonly shoot ISO Min 200 / ISO Max 200. The exception is when I’m shooting night mode, and I want to absorb the maximum amount of light in which case I will push it to 800. At ISO 800 be aware that there will be a considerable amount of noise. Exposure Value Compensation (EV) – This setting offers an added level of control over exposure, and I utilize it often, almost always in the negative range. As I prefer to work from a darker image during post processing I commonly have my EV set to -.5 but I rarely push it below -.1 as it can cause unwanted noise. Sharpness – There are three levels of sharpness available (low, medium, high). As a standard, I always shoot sharpness low as I prefer to add sharpness manually in post. However, if you don’t do much post work on your images, you might want to try medium or high.

Video Settings

The Hero 5 is a powerful tool for capturing stunning video. What you’ll need to know is the proper combination of settings to achieve the best possible video of the environment you’re shooting. Plus you need to consider the platform (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube) you plan to share it on. The combination of settings will include Mode, Resolution, FPS (frames per second), FOV (Field of View), Shutter, and Protune Settings.

  • Modes

    There are four different video modes on the GoPro Hero 5: Video – This is the mode you’ll use for shooting standard video. Time-Lapse Video – This is for shooting a time-lapse and having it automatically compressed into video. It uses the same principles as mentioned above in “Time-Lapse Photo” but cuts out the post work of having to manually compress the image sequence into a video using GoPro Studio. Video + Photo – This offers the ability to shoot video and time-lapse photos simultaneously with the photo interval ranging from every 5 to 60 seconds. However, I rarely use this feature as it only allows Resolutions/FPS up to 1080p@30fps or 720p@60fps. Even though this feature isn’t conducive to the content I usually shoot, it could be a powerful feature for someone who isn’t interested in the highest resolutions or frame rates and wants the best of both worlds.

  • GoPro Video Shot at the WVGA 240fps Setting for Optimum Slow Motion

    I put together these clips to showcase the slow-motion potential of GoPro's WVGA 240fps setting. All video is shot at WVGA 240fps and slowed down to 7%.

  • GoPro 720p 240fps Narrow View Sample

    GoPro 720p 240fps Narrow View slowed down to 10%.

  • Resolution

    There are several resolution settings available on the Hero 5, ranging from WVGA to 4k. The resolution you’ll want to choose is dependent on what best suits the platform you’re intending on utilizing in your content, which resolutions support the fps (frames per second) that are ideal for the subject matter your shooting, as well as the level of post-production you plan on doing, such as cropping or image stabilization. If I’m shooting subject matter that I want to be able to slow down as much as possible without losing fluidity and I plan on sharing that content to Instagram specifically, I might choose WVGA as it supports 240fps (the higher the fps, the better slow motion results). Even though WVGA isn’t HD, it’s a suitable resolution for Instagram. On the opposite side of the spectrum if you’re not interested in slow motion and you wanted to share the highest quality footage possible on Youtube, or if you wanted the largest image possible for post cropping, zooming, or image stabilization, you might want to choose 4k@30fps. Listed below are the different resolutions and the potential I see in each of them: WVGA – I only select this setting when I’m shooting for the specific purpose of sharing content slowed down to the lowest percent possible (without losing fluidity) on Instagram as it isn’t HD. However for Instagram specifically this setting is epic for ultra slow motion videos. 720p – With 720p and 1080p both sharing the same highest frame rate possible (120fps), I rarely choose this setting in Wide FOV as I prefer to shoot the highest resolution possible for the post-production benefits. I do however shoot 720p Narrow View quite often because it supports 240fps for the highest quality slow motion. 960p/1440p/2.7k 4:3 – These three settings all share a 4:3 aspect ratio in contrast to the 16:9 shared by the other resolutions. This means there is a greater area of visibility on both the top and bottom of the frame. This comes in handy, especially when shooting POV or during times where framing a subject can be difficult, allowing greater room for error which can then be properly framed in a 16:9 ratio composition during post. Which of these three settings you want to choose is dependant upon the resolution of the project you’ll be working in as well as the importance of higher frame rates. 1080p – As I usually work in a 1080p composition when editing, this is my go-to setting unless I’m utilizing a higher resolution for post-production purposes. It offers the capability to shoot 120fps which is suitable for slow motion and is full HD. 2.7k/4k – I usually only use these two settings when I want the ability to crop or use other techniques during post. As long as properly framing the composition on the fly is achievable with little probability of error, I usually will choose the digital cropping available when utilizing Narrow View. This way, you aren’t restricted by the low frame rates of these resolutions as 1080p Narrow View supports 120fps and 4k only supports a frame rate of 30fps.

  • GoPro 1080p Super View Sample Shot Using the Karma Gimbal

    Running around the park chasing Greg Lutzka. Shot using the GoPro Hero 5 and Karma Gimbal at 1080p 80fps Super View.

The Fundamentals of GoPro Wave Photography

Shooting waves from the water has recently become one of the most popular forms of adventure photography. The following insight will offer a fundamental understanding of what you need to know to get out there and capture the beauty of the sea.

  • First Things First...

    The first thing I’ll point out about shooting waves from the water is the ocean is a powerful entity that demands respect. You should always know your level and never put yourself in a situation where if the worst case scenario happened you wouldn’t feel confident that you could safely make it back to shore. Having said that, I’ll let you guys in on a little secret…many of the beautiful water shots you’ve seen are taken when the waves are small enough that even an inexperienced ocean goer could handle the conditions. The reason being that smaller waves tend to have fewer imperfections, and because there is less total mass to the wave, light can penetrate into the inner parts creating beautiful displays of color and texture. Because of this, water photography can be enjoyed by everyone, not just the experienced waterman.

  • To Get Started, Let's Talk Equipment

    All you’ll need to get your feet wet is a GoPro camera, a pole attachment (that floats), a pair of swim fins, and if you live in a colder climate, a wetsuit.

  • Next is Finding Your Spot to Shoot and the Best Time to Shoot It

    There are a few attributes that play a crucial role in capturing beautiful wave imagery, and you’ll want to search for spots that offer the best of those elements. First would be light, since in all photography light is a major factor. This means you’ll want to shoot early in the morning or late as the best outdoor lighting conditions usually happen during the first few and last few hours of light. This is a good thing because that is also when the best surface conditions normally happen, which is the next important element. Even the smallest of waves look beautiful when the ocean is glassy, so you’ll want to shoot during times when there is no wind or the wind is blowing offshore. Next, you’ll want to find a beach where the water is clear so light can travel through the water and illuminate the inner parts of the wave. One of the most important aspects to a great wave shot is finding a wave with good shape, one that’s hollow with a clean lip line. While a large wave can be impressive, a smaller wave with cleaner details will usually create a more attractive image. The last little bit of flavor that is the icing on the cake: find a wave that has an interesting backdrop such as a rugged coastline, or a landmark that will create a unique feeling of the environment.

  • Before You Shoot Let's Go over a Couple Helpful Techniques

    I’m always asked the same technical questions by people who are new to wave photography. The most frequent of those questions is how do you keep water spots off the lens. It may sound funny, but the solution is saliva. Water spots are caused by the sheet of water on the lens separating. By licking or spitting on the lens and then dipping it right before taking the shot, you help to ensure the sheet stays solid and spots don't ruin your shot. Another killer is any specs of sand on the lens that will separate the sheet of water giving you those unwanted spots. The next most common question I get is how I deal with problems with fogging. The most effective remedy I’ve found is to hold your tongue on the lens for 60+ seconds or until the fog disappears. Another technique of key importance is the angle you hold the camera when shooting the wave. You’ll want to have the camera tilted slightly back to ensure you capture the full lip of the breaking wave without tilting it so far back that you cut off the horizon. With these techniques in mind, you’re now ready to start capturing. Because a wave breaks in a split second, you’ll want to utilize GoPro’s burst features which will fire a high-speed sequence of images ensuring that you capture the perfect frame. Below is a breakdown of the burst settings I most commonly use and when I choose to use them: Burst Modes 3/1 sec through 10/2 sec. – I rarely use any of these burst settings as they’re not fast enough to capture the perfect frame. However, they can come in handy when you’re shooting action where you need a quick refresh rate between bursts. Burst Mode 30/1 sec – When shooting waves in the 1 – 6-foot face range when there’s no wave rider. The rapid frame rate allows you to catch the perfect moment of a wave that’s breaking faster than 1 second. Burst Mode 30/2 sec – I usually shoot this mode in waves 6 – 10-foot faces or when shooting action such as high-performance surfing, BMX, or skateboarding. This helps to ensure that you don’t miss that epic moment. There’s nothing worse than your sequence ending right before what would have been the best shot. Burst Mode 30/3 sec – I use this setting in surf that’s 10-foot faces and above or when shooting photos while riding.

  • Now We’ll Need to Set up the GoPro’s Protune Settings

    The default settings listed below are my go to settings for most lighting conditions: ISO Min: 200 ISO Max 200 EV: -.5 White Balance: Auto GoPro Color Low Light: Off Spot Meter: Off (except when shooting directly at the sun) Sharpness: Low

Surf and Weather Resources

If you are going to shoot waves you need to be well aware of the conditions. I use these resources to stay informed of what is happening with the surf and weather.

My Top 6 Production Resources

  • GoPro Quik - Desktop

    The GoPro Quick/Studio bundle is a great free download for editing your GoPro footage, including the flux option for adding fluidity to slow motion. Download here!

  • Adobe TV

    Adobe is my go-to software for all post-production work. Their channel offers tutorials and production insight that always helps up my game.

  • Video CoPilot

    I always look up to other masters of the craft. For years now I've gained valuable resources here through Video CoPilot's tutorials as well as the plug-ins and stock footage they make available to post-production professionals.

  • Premiere Pro Tutorials

    Adobe offers great product support and tutorials for their editing software Premiere. Whether you're a beginner or a proficient user wanting to elevate your game, check this out.

  • SCX - Free Stock Photos

    During post-production I always find myself looking for elements that can be very time consuming to create from scratch. This site offers a library of imagery for use royalty free. Always remember to credit anyone's work that you utilize in your projects.

  • SoundCloud

    With the crackdown on usage rights for music on Facebook/Instagram, I usually pull remixes or original tracks from here...but always credit the artist!

The Top FAQs

As a premier GoPro photographer and notable wave photographer, I get asked A LOT of questions, from what settings I use on my camera to what equipment I use to shoot. Here are my top most FAQs.

  • What Kind of Handle Do You Use for Your GoPro?

    I use the GoPro 3-Way in small to medium sized surf, when I plan on shooting a time-lapse after my session, when shooting BMX, or landscape. In heavy surf, I use a custom built 18-inch piece of PVC pipe that is sealed on both ends so it floats.

  • What Video Editing Software Do You Use?

    GoPro Studio, Adobe Premiere, and After Effects.

  • For Your Pictures, Do You Shoot Video and Take Screen Shots or Shoot Photos?

    All of my stills are shot in photo mode. I only use video mode when shooting video.

Meet the Author

  • Robbie Crawford

    Robbie Crawford is a digital artist based out of Huntington Beach California. In recent years Robbie is most known for the key role he played in legitimizing the GoPro action camera as a tool for creating content in professional media environments, with imagery appearing in media sources ranging from Discovery Channel to Thrasher Skateboard Magazine. Through his success and social presence, he has influenced countless others into adventure photography utilizing the GoPro camera and beyond. He attributes his success to his background as a top professional wave rider working with the upper echelon of surf photographers combined with his 15 years of experience as a digital media expert. Robbie’s plan for the future is to continue pushing the boundaries of digital art by aligning with the forward-thinking brands who are evolving the technologies that empower the greatest in multimedia.

  • Robbie Crawford (@robbiecrawford) - Instagram photos and videos

    This is my Instagram account where I post content on the daily.

  • Robbie Crawford Arts Facebook Page

    My facebook page where I share a lot of my work.

  • Bublup

    I made this roll using a new app called Bublup. If you like the way it looks and want to make one too, click here to check it out!