11 Tips for Paddlers Getting Started with GoPro Cameras

After spending years trying different equipment and tactics for taking decent photos on river trips—with varying success—I finally got a GoPro Hero8 Black last summer. It certainly made many aspects of capturing river trips much easier. But as someone who started with a 35mm SLR in high school (still have that Pentax K1000!) and then migrated to a Nikon DLSR (that sadly was ruined in a raft flip), switching to a GoPro was like teleporting versus taking the train. You certainly get someplace either way, but otherwise, everything is different. (Note: This post contains affiliate links.)

I’m obviously not an early adopter on the GoPro front (since I just got my first one in 2020), nor any sort of expert. And although I love those WhitewaterKayakingHub videos on Instagram, I’m never doing those drops or filming anyone who is. But I understand the unique requirements of documenting a multi-day river trip, and I’ve experimented with various different cameras. Here’s what I’ve learned about using a GoPro on the river. (And to kick things off, here’s a short video of us running Deckers Chutes rapid on the South Platte last fall: This was my first video that showed the river (rather than my lap) and shows off the GoPro Hero8’s motion stabilization technology.)

Deckers Chutes on the South Platte River in Colorado

1. Watch a GoPro unboxing video

As mentioned above, going from a traditional camera to a GoPro was a quantum leap for me, so just comprehending how to open the thing was a challenge. (Also, I hate to read instructions.) This unboxing/getting started video is great: The producer’s angle for the video is such that you can actually see what he’s doing. This video helped me understand how much pressure I needed to apply to flip the battery and data card door open, and how to “feel” when it was seated properly again so the camera would remain waterproof. (The feel of the buttons on a GoPro is simply different from that of any other camera I’ve used.)

Labyrinth Canyon Green River — *This Labyrinth Canyon (Green River) photo was taken with the “narrow” digital lens of the GoPro Hero8 Black—still a fairly wide shot but avoids the fisheye effect*

2. Keep track of your GoPro

Even if you’re used to one of the waterproof automatic cameras that dominated the water sports world before GoPros came along (like the Olympus Tough TG, of which we’ve had several), you’ll be fascinated by the small size of a GoPro—and then immediately worried, if you’re like me. I can barely keep track of a pair of paddling gloves from one day to the next, so this tiny camera seemed sure to disappear in the flotsam of my boating gear. A watertight Pelican case will keep your camera, data cards, and batteries in one place. (Once I’m on the water, the camera is always mounted either to a “chesty” mount or to my helmet.) And you’ll need the case to keep your data cards and batteries dry.

3. Bring enough GoPro batteries and data cards on the river

Once you start shooting video with a GoPro, you will be shocked at how fast you blow through batteries and data cards. Depending on what types of footage or images matter most to you (whitewater, camp scenes, hikes, people shots), you will need to calibrate your camera use to make sure you don’t run out of resources right before the Big Rapid. (That happened to me last fall on Westwater Canyon on the Colorado River. In the last bit of video footage I have from that trip, the final words someone says is “Skull is next.” Then I got the warning that the data card was full. Although the video below doesn’t capture Skull Rapid, is does have some good footage of other Westwater favorites.)

I am still learning how to reduce the amount of slow footage in between rapids by waiting to start the video recording until we’re very close to the top of the rapid. One feature that helps with that is QuickCapture, a setting you can use that enables you to start recording or taking photos with one click of the button: The camera will start recording in the last mode you set. You could also use voice command feature to the turn the camera on or off (I haven’t experimented with that yet).

Regarding batteries, I am going to experiment with something like this solar-powered charger on our upcoming Grand Canyon trip. I will report back on how that worked (and will bring plenty of charged batteries as a backup).

4. Practice the basic GoPro moves before the trip

Unless you’re part of a paid film crew, you don’t get many chances to re-do shots on a multi-day trip. No one’s going to drag the raft back to the top of the rapid because you forgot to push “record.” So to minimize the heartache of missing epic shots of the key rapids on your trip, practice turning the camera on and off and discerning the bleeps and blips that signal what mode it’s in.

One aspect that makes controlling the camera hard is the best mount for the camera for paddling (in my opinion) is the helmet mount. But when the camera is on the top of your head, it’s understandably hard to see what mode it’s in, or if it’s even on. And the last thing you want to do be doing before you drop into the tongue of a big rapid is take your helmet off to see whether the camera is on. GoPro has voice commands and audio signals that will help you know what mode it’s in. Also, get familiar with the “Live Burst” feature, as that will help you capture every moment of a boat going through a rapid (unlike some of those OG waterproof automatic cameras with slow lenses).

5. Don’t expect true zoom capabilities with GoPro

GoPros are ingenious because of their small size, but true telephoto capability isn’t possible (yet) in such a small package. When you “zoom” in with a GoPro, it’s essentially just cropping the image. So if you want a close-up of people in camp, get up close to them. And just know that if you’re shooting from high up on a ledge as a boat comes through a rapid far below, you won’t be able to zoom in.

Dog on SUP — *To get this close-up shot of Mabey riding shotgun on a SUP, I had to get up close with the GoPro*

6. Appreciate GoPro’s photo capabilities

Aside from the lack of zoom capabilities, I think GoPro’s photo capabilities are pretty great for capturing a range of river trip experiences, from camp scenes to rapid running. In my last few river trips, I’ve brought only a GoPro with me and I’ve been fairly happy even with the people shots. But if I’m on a trip where I want a lot of great, candid people shots in camp, I will probably still bring along some sort of DLSR (carefully protected in a watertight container during the day) for hike and camp shots.

Tully dog — GoPro Hero8 Black *captures great detail in still shots as well as video (this is Tully)*

7. Learn how to turn off the GoPro fisheye effect

GoPro is famous for the fish-eye view of the world, but sometimes you don’t want that. Especially when shooting from the front of a paddle raft, I find the fisheye effect on the raft strangely disturbing. Here’s an example from Browns Canyon last summer: I find the exaggerated curve of the raft annoying. To shoot photos or video without the fisheye effect, choose either the narrow or linear lens.

This video of Browns Canyon on the Arkansas River is marred by excessive fisheye effect, which captures a wide view but weirdly distorts the curves of the raft

8. Get these GoPro accessories

Some GoPro accessories turned out to be essential, in my opinion, including:

GoPro Dual Battery Charger (quickly charges two batteries at once)
Pelican case for batteries and data cards (GoPro is waterproof, but those extra cards and batteries aren’t), plus you can keep your camera in it when you’re not on the water
SanDisk 400GB MicroSDXC Memory Card: It’s expensive, but it’s fast and high-capacity
Extra GoPro batteries (I find that if I shoot about 50 photos a day and two to three videos of rapids, that will chew up one battery)

9. Research various GoPro mounts for your paddling situation

Regarding mounting accessories: I think the best mount for paddlers is the one that came with my camera—the helmet mount. I found that the helmet mount was far the best for taking video from a inflatable kayak, which is my most common boat these days. One accessory I would not buy again is the chest-mount harness. For paddlers, this system doesn’t really work. The camera sits too low to capture the scene in front of the boat, so you end up with footage of your knees and legs. I am eagerly awaiting the moment I can try my GoPro Handler Floating Hand Grip, which I’ll use when snorkeling or diving, but such a trip hasn’t been possible in the last year. I also need to experiment with mounting a GoPro on one of our oar rigs, but I’d rather paddle than sit in a raft and fiddle with a camera, and I’d rather the person rowing just stick to rowing.

10. Edit videos with GoPro Quik

One of the most amazing aspects of using the GoPro was the Quik video editing app. It is so easy to use that it’s not even available (or optimized) for desktop use. I prefer to edit on my iPad rather than my tiny iPhone, but it’s still easy. GoPro gives you many templates and some royalty-free music, and it’s crazy easy to use. The hardest part is locating the video that you want to edit: You need a place to store all that video that the Quik app can access. After trying many different approaches, I finally bought a GoPro Plus subscription, which allows you to store your video in a place where the Quik app can see and use it without much fuss. (I’ve encountered a few snafus where a video simply won’t upload from the camera to the cloud.)

My advice when editing with Quik: Keep it simple. I can edit a basic river video in about 10 minutes. It’s easy to cut off the boring flatwater footage, and the templates put some nice effects on the action without you having to do much. You can easily mix in still shots. If you’re a video master, you will undoubtedly be frustrated by the lack of editing options. But if you just want to get a video done quickly and move on with your life, use GoPro Quik.

Video story of our trip through Labyrinth Canyon on the Green River, edited in just a few minutes with GoPro Quik

11. Put the river experience first, photos second

Unless you’re a professional photographer who is getting paid for a certain shot or bit of footage, remember to turn the thing off every once in a while and just enjoy the river and the people around you. Especially when you’re paddling: I’ve been guilty of futzing with my GoPro up to the moment our craft enters the big wave, and that’s not cool, especially for my fellow paddlers.

Camp at Escalante Dominguez Canyon Gunnison River — *Shot with GoPro Hero8 wide digital lens, which applies the fisheye effect to capture as much scope as possible (and some nice sun flare)*

Paddlers: Go with the GoPro

Although the GoPro has a few drawbacks, it’s undeniably the best camera to bring on a river trip. It’s rugged, completely waterproof, takes great photos, and—of course—excels at videos. Plus, the new GoPro Hero9 Black is about the same price as other waterproof cameras, but much more suited to capturing river trip scenes. As someone who has looked longingly at $2,000 Nikons, this seems like a bargain. For a device that takes up very little room and is exceptionally easy to use, the GoPro Hero is a winner for capturing the essence of your river experience.

One of the first videos I compiled from our trip through Escalante-Dominguez Canyon on the Gunnison River