Photographers, videographers, and social media volunteers help tell the story of Brooklyn Surf Club.
Your role is to capture the joy, courage, community, and ocean confidence that happen during a surf lesson day.
You do not need to be a professional photographer.
You do need to be respectful, safety-aware, and clear that Brooklyn Surf Club works with children.
Kids and families come first. Content comes second.
Brooklyn Surf Club provides free surf lessons for kids ages 6–15 at Beach 67 in Rockaway Beach, Queens, NYC. Volunteer days usually happen on Sundays from 10 AM to 2 PM, June through September. Volunteers should arrive 30 minutes early and stay 30 minutes after the session.
Your Main Job
Capture the day in a way that is safe, positive, and respectful.
That means:
- Photograph and film the lesson without disrupting it
- Stay out of the active surf zone unless assigned and cleared
- Follow all youth safety rules
- Respect family privacy
- Capture volunteers, kids, parents, gear, beach moments, and surfing
- Focus on joy, confidence, teamwork, and community
- Send content to Brooklyn Surf Club first
- Do not post children’s images publicly without approval
- Ask the Event Organizer if unsure
Most Important Rule
Brooklyn Surf Club content goes to Brooklyn Surf Club first.
Please send photos and videos to the Brooklyn Surf Club team before posting, sharing, or tagging publicly.
Because we work with kids, we need to make sure every image is appropriate, respectful, and aligned with family consent and Brooklyn Surf Club’s safety standards.
What to Capture
Arrival and check-in
Capture:
- Families arriving
- Brooklyn Surf Club hats
- Kids adding name tape to hats
- Volunteers setting up
- Rash guards and wetsuits
- Beach preparation
Avoid close-up shots of attendance lists, waivers, phone numbers, names, or private information.
Warm-up and beach practice
Capture:
- Kids stretching
- Balance games
- Surf stance practice
- Board basics
- Volunteers helping kids
- Group energy before the water
Good shots:
- Kids practicing pop-ups on sand
- Volunteers giving instructions
- Group warm-up circles
- Kids laughing or cheering
Surf Lesson Flow
Brooklyn Surf Club uses a structured Surf Lesson Flow:
Practice → Briefing → Walk → Onboard → Ferry → Hand-over → Surf → Finish → Celebrate → Return to start
Try to capture the full story, not just the wave.
Look for:
- Kids walking with boards
- Surf Assistants helping in shallow water
- Surf Instructors preparing kids
- First wave attempts
- Safe finishes
- High-fives
- Kids returning to the start
- Volunteers working together
Surfing moments
Capture:
- Belly rides
- Pop-up attempts
- Standing rides
- Safe falls
- Kids smiling after waves
- Surf Instructors supporting kids
- Volunteers cheering from the beach
Remember:
Standing up is not the only success.
A brave first try, a belly ride, a safe fall, or a nervous kid smiling after a wave can be just as powerful.
Community moments
Brooklyn Surf Club is about more than surfing.
Capture:
- Parents cheering
- Volunteers helping each other
- Kids encouraging other kids
- Beach cleanup
- Equipment return
- Group photos if approved
- Quiet moments of confidence
The best content often shows care, not just action.
What Not to Capture
Avoid:
- Waiver forms
- Attendance lists
- Personal information
- Kids changing clothes
- Upset or crying children
- Injuries or medical situations
- Private family conversations
- Unflattering or embarrassing moments
- Close-up images of children without approval
- Anything that makes a child look unsafe, exposed, or uncomfortable
When in doubt, do not shoot it.
Ask the Event Organizer.
Safety First
Do not step into the active surf lesson area to get a shot.
Do not block kids, Surf Assistants, Surf Instructors, parents, or safety leads.
Do not distract kids while they are receiving instructions.
Do not ask a child to repeat a move just for content.
Do not ask a volunteer to change the safety flow for a better angle.
The lesson comes first.
The content follows the lesson.
Best Angles to Look For
Good beach angles:
- From the side of the warm-up area
- Behind the group during instruction
- Near the Parent Zone
- From outside the active surf path
- Wide shots that show the beach, boards, and ocean
Good water-adjacent angles:
- From shallow water only if assigned and cleared
- From the side, not directly in the path of boards
- From a safe distance near the finish area
- From behind the surf lesson flow, not in front of it
Do not stand where a child, board, or wave could run into you.
Simple Shot List
Try to capture a mix of:
- 5 wide beach shots
- 5 volunteer setup shots
- 5 warm-up or land practice shots
- 10 water/surf action shots
- 5 parent/community shots
- 5 celebration/high-five shots
- 5 cleanup or end-of-day shots
- 3 short vertical videos for social media
- 1 short recap video if possible
Quality matters more than quantity.
Social Media Guidelines
Before posting anything:
- Send content to Brooklyn Surf Club first
- Wait for approval before posting images of kids
- Do not post names, contact details, or private information
- Do not tag children
- Do not tag families unless they clearly request it and Brooklyn Surf Club approves
- Keep captions positive and respectful
- Focus on mission, community, confidence, and access
Good caption themes:
- Free surf access for NYC kids
- Ocean confidence
- Community volunteers
- First waves
- Beach 67
- Joy and courage
- Kids learning safely
Do This, Not That
| Do not do this | Do this instead |
|---|---|
| Post photos of kids without approval | Send content to Brooklyn Surf Club first |
| Shoot waiver forms or attendance lists | Avoid all private information |
| Step into the surf path for a better shot | Stay outside the active lesson area |
| Distract kids during instruction | Capture quietly from the side |
| Focus only on standing rides | Capture effort, courage, and joy |
| Share embarrassing moments | Choose respectful, positive images |
| Ask the lesson to pause for content | Let the lesson flow naturally |
| Tag children or families without approval | Keep posts general unless approved |
5 Things to Remember
| Remember | Why |
|---|---|
| Kids come first | Safety and dignity matter more than content |
| Send content first | Brooklyn Surf Club reviews before posting |
| Stay out of the flow | Do not interrupt the surf lesson |
| Capture the full story | Arrival, practice, waves, celebration, cleanup |
| Respect privacy | No waivers, names, or private moments |
Photographer / Videographer Checklist
Before the session
- Arrive 30 minutes early
- Sign required waiver
- Check in with the Event Organizer
- Confirm where you can and cannot shoot
- Confirm whether any children should not be photographed
- Review youth safety rules
- Prepare camera, phone, batteries, memory cards, waterproof protection, and towel
- Ask how to send content after the session
During the session
- Capture check-in, warm-up, beach practice, water flow, and celebration
- Stay outside the active surf path
- Avoid private information
- Do not distract kids or volunteers
- Ask the Event Organizer if unsure
- Capture short vertical clips for social if possible
- Focus on safe, joyful, respectful moments
After the session
- Capture cleanup and volunteer moments
- Send photos and videos to Brooklyn Surf Club
- Do not post kids publicly without approval
- Share any standout moments with the team
- Delete unusable or inappropriate images
Youth Safety Reminder
Brooklyn Surf Club works with children, so youth safety rules are required.
All volunteers must sign a waiver.
Volunteers working with youth must complete Brooklyn Surf Club’s kids safety agreement and sex offender registry screening.
No volunteer may be alone one-on-one with a child at any time.
Parents and guardians stay on the beach in the Parent Zone during lessons.
For photographers and videographers, this also means protecting children’s privacy and dignity in every image.
Final Reminder
Your photos and videos help people understand what Brooklyn Surf Club is really about.
Not just surfing.
Confidence.
Access.
Community.
Joy.
Safety.
Belonging.
Capture the story with care.
Keep it respectful.
Keep it safe.
Send it to Brooklyn Surf Club first.
That is what makes great Brooklyn Surf Club content.