Step 1 :Convert the actual length of the whale shark to centimeters: \(30 m = 3000 cm\)
Step 2 :Calculate the scale factor by dividing the length in the photograph by the actual length: \(\frac{8 cm}{3000 cm} = 0.0026666666666666666\)
Step 3 :\(\boxed{0.0027}\) is the approximate scale factor.