Gold Coast photographer Ryan Marais takes stunning photo from Froggy Beach, goes viral on Instagram

An image taken from a secluded Gold Coast beach and shared by Instagram itself has amassed more than one million likes — within 24 hours.

TUCKED away in the southern Gold Coast next to the busy Snapper Rocks is Froggy Beach.

And an image of it by a Gold Coast photographer was shared by Instagram itself with a whopping 314 million followers.

The photo was taken by Bonogin surf photographer Ryan Marais.

“A creative director from Instagram contacted me several months ago. They asked if it was OK for them to share the photo and said it would hopefully be published in September,” the 22-year-old said.

INSTAGRAM LIKES: COAST INFLUENCERS QUESTION FUTURES ONLINE

The photo of Froggy Beach taken by Ryan Marais was shared on Instagram's @instagram account with 314 million followers. It had over a million likes in an hour.

OTHER NEWS:

New nightclub announced for Broadbeach

‘Ban d--kheads from Surfers forever’

Q1 director ‘did clients a favour’

“It was such a wonderful opportunity to have my work shared.”

Instagram shared the photo captioning it with: “#HelloFrom Froggies Beach on Australia’s Gold Coast, where the sand along the shoreline creates amazing shore breaks”.

AMAZING OFFER: GET A SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB A 8.0 WITH THIS BULLETIN SUBSCRIPTION (T & Cs apply)

Surf photography. Photo: Ryan Marais.

Surf photography. Photo: Ryan Marais.

It was liked more than a million times within 24 hours, and Mr Marais said he’d been flooded with hundreds of messages complimenting his work.

Mr Marais tested the water with surf photography as a teen using a GoPro before enrolling in a Digital Media degree at Griffith University.

He can spend several hours in the ocean getting the perfect shot.

THE DAY FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM SHUT DOWN FOR HOURS

Surf photographer Ryan Marais.

“I wanted to share my perspective. I thought I may as well give it a shot,” he said.

“I’m usually looking for the best, optimal conditions.

“On average I’ll be in the surf taking photos twice a week but it can be up to five times.

“I’m usually in the water 20 minutes before sunrise and spend three to four hours in the water each time. It’s always before sunrise. It’s the best time for colour.”

In June, the soon-to-graduate photographer was profiled by Canon Australia.

He quit his day job a year ago to focus on his degree and photography and is now selling prints for a living.