Learn To Master Surf Photography

Feb 15 -22, 2025

La Union, San Juan, Philippines

Fat Wave Surf Resort

La Union, San Juan, Philippines

February 15-22, 2025

Rogelio “JR” Esquivel and Tara Sachi join us as our surfers and models.

Enjoy a full week of photographing these two very talented longboarders!

Meet Your Instructors

Meet your surf photography instructors, Tommy Pierucki and Matt Leong, seasoned professionals with a wealth of experience in capturing the thrilling art of surfing through their lenses. Over the weekend, they will dedicate their expertise and guidance to help you hone your skills and master the intricate techniques of surf photography, ensuring a rewarding and enlightening learning experience.

Originally hailing from the Chicago area, Tommy Pierucki has called Hawaii home since 2013. His passion for photography ignited in 2018, and in just a few short years, Tommy has become one of the most celebrated surf photographers in the world.
Tommy’s work has graced the cover of Pacific Longboarder Magazine’s milestone 100th issue and has been featured in renowned publications like The Surfer’s Journal and Hana Hou! Magazine. His talent has also been showcased in art exhibitions at Gallery Waikiki, Green Room, and Koko Marina.
Notably, Tommy has captured iconic moments for celebrities such as Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Halsey, and Lily Chee while surfing. As an ambassador for Toes on the Nose and Banan, his photography has been featured by top brands including Roxy, RVCA, Hawaiian Airlines, Billabong, and many more.
With his unique ability to blend technical expertise with a deep love for surf culture, Tommy is dedicated to helping you elevate your skills and capture the essence of surfing through your lens.

Originally from Honolulu, Hawaii, Matthew Alika Leong (Matty) is a freelance travel and lifestyle photographer and videographer who has turned his passion into a thriving career.
Matty’s work reflects his deep connection to the natural beauty of Hawaii and his mission to inspire others through powerful imagery and storytelling. His ability to capture life’s extraordinary moments has made him a sought-after creator in the travel and lifestyle space.
In addition to his photography and videography, Matty is also passionate about writing on themes of love and self-encouragement, adding another layer of authenticity and inspiration to his craft.
Matty’s goal is to help you uncover the beauty in your vision and bring it to life, one frame at a time.

What To Expect From This Workshop

We’re foodies at heart, which means we take the time to ensure thoughtful meals that both fuel and invigorate you for the day ahead. We'll indulge all of our meals together. A culinary casual beach-centric menu offering Fat Wave’s best beachside breakfast and lunch offerings. We’ll include a welcome dinner and a farewell dinner, but the other nights we’ll be free to explore the lively food scene in La Union or just order right from Fat Wave’s restaurants. Everything is beautifully presented, healthy and clean. And we can easily cater to a variety of different diets (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan etc.). Big yum vibes.
We understand this price point isn't for everyone, but to have an intensive weekend with 4 surf photo shoots with pro surfers, a lifestyle shoot, presentations, AND the goodie bag, we think it's worth it!
We’ll be putting this list together as more sponsors hop on board!
You don’t need to worry about anything other than rolling out of bed during this weekend stay at one of La Union’s top resorts.

Basic Photography Skills Presentation
In this session, we will cover fundamental photography skills. We will delve into topics such as composition, lighting, and camera settings. Feel free to ask questions during the Q&A session.
During our workshop, we will cover the essential steps to set up your water housing properly to achieve a tight seal. Additionally, we will provide guidance on adjusting your camera settings while swimming to capture the perfect shot effortlessly.
Swimming with your waterhousing requires practice and patience to get comfortable capturing great shots in the water. Familiarize
Swim with waterhousing: Practice, build confidence, focus on technique, safety. Eventually master surf photography.
The idea of having different equipments and lenses is to experience the infinite possibilities that photography and water photography can offer. It’s how each person can adapt to the equipment weight, distance and also how fast you can set them up. That’s the main idea of the workshop: try a lot and practice with the best equipment we have in surf photography background and the one’s Tommy and Matty use in the routine. We have a few Aquatech Water Housings, the best in the business also available to be used and explored by our participants!
Tommy and Matty will swim next to you and talk you through navigating the lineup, timing, getting water drops off your port, and much MUCH more.

Hear from professional longboarders on what they look for when they receive images/videos from photographers.
We'll some time with our surfers to model for us all to photograph in a serene beach setting.
We'll walk you through our workflow for data management and editing. This one will be one of your faves!
We'll all get together one last time to cherish the time we've spent together and talk about what next steps are for everyone.
There are no dumb questions. Everyone is on their own journey. Where you are now, Tommy and Matty have been there. We're all here to learn and come together as a community.

We'll all get together in the water for our at least one shoot and capture the beauty of a sunrise surf shoot. You'll be challenged by the changing light and score some of the best images of your time with us.
When you check out, you'll have had a number of incredible experiences along with a head full of new knowledge, and a handful of new friends. You'll have Tommy & Matty in your contacts and the ability to lean on years of experience for your future endeavors.
The amount of content you'll walk away with will be mind blowing. You'll also have a download of Lightroom Presets from Tommy & Matty to get you started on your editing journey.

Book Your Stay

FAQs

- We will have some cameras and waterhousings for you to use!
- Your own memory card, card reader, and computer. This is imperative! We won't have memory cards, or card readers for everyone. Please bring a CF Express Type B or and SD. Whichever one you bring should have at least 128Gb of memory and a fast writing speed.
- If you have your own camera and housing, please bring it with you
- Swimmers
- Helmet (if you have/can find one!). We recommend the Gath Helmets
Other than that, the idea of this workshop is to enable you to try different equipments and lenses is to experience the infinite possibilities that photography and water photography can offer. Tommy and Matt will bring with them the best equipment but you're also welcome to come with your own gear.
Any level! The presentations will be tailored for all levels and everyone will learn something new.
We've loaded the package with some amazing inclusions for a hassle-free week. Just roll-out of bed and all will be ready for you.
So what's included?
All the activities mentioned in the schedule above (photography workshops led by Tommy and Matt)
7-day/6-night stay at the Fat Wave Resort.
Meals: daily breakfasts, daily lunches, a welcome dinner & a farewell dinner.
Cameras and waterhousings for use during the workshop.
Airport transfer
Airfare
Travel insurance
Yes, absolutely! There's an option when you're checking out to add a non-participating partner that can join us for all the meals.
This will be a judgement free zone. You are encouraged to come as you are. Allow yourself to be vulnerable and open to learning something new. We want this to be a safe space, not only physically, but emotionally as well. Each one of us are on different parts of our journey and we can all help each other out with the right amount of management of expectations and respect. Treat each other as you'd like to be treated. Ignorance will not be tolerated.
For this workshop we have NOT budgeted time for surfing. But you can very likely squeeze in a session or two!