When Your Studio Is the Ocean
I’ve been following Be Ryder’s work for a while now, and what strikes me most isn’t just the technical execution—it’s the consistency she achieves in one of photography’s most chaotic environments. Shooting in churning water with thousands of dollars in gear strapped to your body demands more than raw talent. It requires bulletproof workflows that survive saltwater, pressure, and split-second decision-making.
Beatriz has transformed herself from someone uncomfortable in the ocean into a World Sports Photography Awards silver medalist. That trajectory tells me something important: mastery comes from understanding your constraints, then building systems around them.
The Preset Problem in Dynamic Environments
Here’s what fascinates me about her approach: surf photography forces you to confront a workflow reality that studio photographers can ignore. You can’t stop, adjust three-point lighting, and dial in your Kelvin temperature. The light changes every three seconds. The subject is moving. Your camera settings need to anticipate rather than react.
This is exactly where having locked-in presets becomes critical. Be’s success likely depends on having developed editing presets that work across the dramatic lighting shifts you encounter in ocean photography—from the backlit spray of a breaking wave to the shadowed face of a surfer in the barrel. Rather than starting from scratch with every image, professional-grade presets cut editing time significantly while maintaining a cohesive visual voice.
Finding Quiet Moments in Chaos
What I find most instructive about Be’s style is her preference for in-between moments over the obvious action shots. Everyone sees the dramatic wipeout. She’s capturing the millisecond of concentration before the drop, the subtle weight shift, the breath.
This aesthetic choice directly impacts post-production workflow. Quieter moments often need different preset adjustments than high-energy action—typically less contrast, more refined color grading, subtler clarity adjustments. Building multiple preset variations lets you match your emotional intent to your technical execution, rather than forcing every frame through the same filter.
The Real Lesson
Be Ryder’s path to world-class work demonstrates something I tell everyone: your preset and action library should evolve with your style. She didn’t start with a complete system. She built one through thousands of hours in conditions that demanded constant refinement.
If you’re shooting challenging environments—whether that’s sports, wildlife, or travel—start auditing your presets. Are they serving your actual shooting conditions, or are they fighting against them? That’s where the real optimization happens.