Shooting Skateboarders

D

D_Aitchison

Suspended / Banned
Messages
65
Edit My Images
Yes
Not literally of course...

My nephew is a great wee skateboarder and has recently secured sponsorship from a local clothing company.

They have asked for some decent photos of him 'in action' and I'd like to have a pop at it.

I have a Canon EOS 400D with just the kit lens and a sigma 70-300mm lens.

Is leaving the camera in 'Action' mode enough, or should i be puting more effort into it with focus points, panning etc?

Does anyone have any examples, with EXIF data i could pilfer?

Thanks in advance,

David
 
My Flickr

It's a lot harder than it looks and it takes a while to get it right. Depends how much you know about skateboarding to know the right times to get the trick just right.

Just ask what you want to know and I'll try and help

:)
 
As was said above,

Off camera is a real must in skateboard photography. It makes the photo really stand out more and gives the subject the popping out and stand out from the background look.

dave1kt1.jpg

(Three flashes here to make the location and skater really stand out. The flash at the top is give the person a rim light on the left hand side((See below)) The other two flashes are to correctly expose the stairs)

Also what foodpoison said, try and get a wide angle lens or even better a fisheye, however before you do either look in skateboard mags to get ideas of what sort of angles look best. No point having a wide angle and not knowing how to use it!!

dsc0610fc7.jpg

(Example of using a fisheye lens for skateboarding. This is using the lighting set up above by the way)

That help a bit more?
 
just had a look at your site cherryrig, some cool shots!

I'd really like to get into trying some off camera flash stuff, great to see how you do it!!

What do use to trigger the flashes - I've got two tidy canon flashes and I know how to trigger 430ex off camera using the 580 but don't know how I could get them both off camera and trigger them
 
Search skyports on the forum, or alternatively, wait for cherryrig to reply.

Cherryrig have you sent any of your stuff away to magazines?
Because you really have a talent for it!
You've got the eye to know what shot will work and what shot won't, you've got the know-how on how to get the best kind of shot from your camera, and you've got the enthusiasm for it!
 
Skyports, or, if you're on a budget, the good old eBay specials! You can also get inexpensive and portable light stands. For off-camera flash, a good recommendation would be the Vivitar 285 units, although be wary of using them on your DSLR hot-shoe as they might fry it. Off-camera, that's obviously not an issue.

Definitely wide-angle, but I'd say fisheye is better, which is why I'm trying to decide which one to buy. The problem with using a wide (such as, in my case, the Sigma 10-20), is that strange things happen in the corners, like heads and wheels (I've used it more for bike shots) get stretched out. With a fisheye the overall effect looks better.

Yes, there is definitely a lot to this, and a lot of thought goes into the shots you see in cherryrig's photostream. If you want some more inspiration, go and buy Document skate mag or Ride BMX mag. Both those publications have a strong emphasis on photography - in fact, the editor of Ride (Steve Bancroft) is an exceptionally good photographer. With sports like this, often the photographs (leaving video aside for now) are the easiest way of showing what's being done, and so they've got to be good.

Seeing as it's topical, can I ask cherryrig - do you use a DSLR for any of your skate stuff, and if so what would be your fisheye of choice? I'm leaning towards the Tokina 10-17, but then I'm not fussed about having a zoom so maybe I should look at Sigma's new offerings.
 
foodpoison said:
Search skyports on the forum, or alternatively, wait for cherryrig to reply.

Cherryrig have you sent any of your stuff away to magazines?
Because you really have a talent for it!
You've got the eye to know what shot will work and what shot won't, you've got the know-how on how to get the best kind of shot from your camera, and you've got the enthusiasm for it!
Click to expand...

Yea I have sent some stuff off to magazines. I heard back from one and they really liked my stuff :) They have asked me to shoot some photos and then send them to the back to see if they can be featured. (The photo I posted below is a little teaser of what is to come :lol: )

I use Skyports as foodpoison said, my little review is in the Lighting section some where :) They sell for around £115 and are worth the money. No miss fires and the other day I used them in a bit of rain and when I had finished looked at the flash and Skyport and they were both covered in water :lol: Wiped it off and still working solid!
 
Ian T said:
Seeing as it's topical, can I ask cherryrig - do you use a DSLR for any of your skate stuff, and if so what would be your fisheye of choice? I'm leaning towards the Tokina 10-17, but then I'm not fussed about having a zoom so maybe I should look at Sigma's new offerings.
Click to expand...

I use a D70s with Nikon 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye. It really depends on your camera. If you have a Canon which is not one of the full frame ones get the Tokina as the Canon fisheye just works as a wide angle on the crop sensor.

Also flashes I would say get some cheap 2nd hand Nikon SB flashes (24, 25, 26, 28) Full manual power and they have a LCD screen which comes in very useful and it glows in the dark!!! Well built as well :)
 
I am using a Nikon too, shortly getting a D200 all being well, so the 10.5 is an option. Currently I have an SB600 and some older flashes, but was looking at SB25/6's on eBay before.
 
If you have a D200 then get the 10.5mm. I didn't see the point in paying a load of money for the newer features of the SB-600 and 800 as I didn't really need them seeing as my flashes were going off camera. Therefore that is why I've got the SB-25 and SB-26. Saved a load of money as well to spend on other gear haha. All of my flashes cost £150 :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top