Went to the park and snapped some skateboarders....

[RussJasper]

You know what to do... give them a click and view the large size.

C&C appreciated. I think I should have used a faster shutter speed

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[thenikonguy]

skateboarding is my favorite thing to shoot.. i shoot it nearly every day.. some thoughts from me..

#1 - you cut off his hand
#2 - would be better if you were on the other side of him..
#3 - boring
#4 - not bad..
#5 - you cut off a lot of his head and is arms..
#6 - your to far away...

quick tip on skate shots.. personally i believe the key is getting low and getting close.. this is where a fish eye comes in handy..

[anel]

i agree with everything above, you need to get in on the action and shoot either with a strobe or really fast shutter speeds... i've been skateboarding for a couple of years now so if u want crisp and photogenic shots tell them to either to flips (kickflips, heelflips or 360 flips) or grind/slide a ledge.. other tricks aren't so photogenic and look weird when shot.. try to get as low as possible to give the "high" feeling to it..

[RussJasper]

See, i agree with what you guys are saying but it was all kinda random and i didn't know these guys so i didn't feel as if i could get up close and all in their way. so i just sat back with my zoom lens. i'll see if i can do some better ones in the future.

[Derrel]

I thought that the third and sixth photos were your best ones. I liked the detail shot in the third one, and in the sixth photo, the onlooker adds to the shot. If there were more interesting lighting, the shots would be stronger, but this afternoon type lighting keeps the shadows from revealing much.

Skateboarding is not easy to shoot--it is much harder to shoot than many activities, and shooting in public takes some getting used to. Always, watch the backgrounds and see if people who happen to walk by are interfering with the shot's message or visual emphasis. The exact background position of other boarders, or passers by, can make or break a shot.

[anel]

yeah believe me, if u tell them about your gear and stuff they'll go mad about getting pictures of themselves on their email, they might even pay a little just for the trouble.. tell them you'll send a picture of everyone for free and you'll have a whole session with them for 5-10$, in days every friend will be jumpin in your way! hope this helped

[Foga]

I think you are taking the initiative, which is great, and taking the advice given before, would definitely improve your photography.
As off being off in the distance, a great deal of photography involves talking to people,directing and letting people know your vision, so I'd say approach these guys and simply ask if you can do some pics, maybe tell them you'll give them the cool ones afterward, and I'm sure they;ll play ball, and let you get closer.
Just watch out for your glass though, you never know were the skateboards are going to go when they miss a trick.

[thenikonguy]

as a skater, and as someone to takes photos of skaters, dont be intimidated by them.. they LOVE having their pic taken.. especially if you tell them you'll send them.. i travel all over the country with my job, and i ALWAYS hit up skate parks in the cities that have them.. and i have NEVER had anyone say no to me taking a shot of them.. it helps that i have my board there too and don't look like a creeper..

the only people i dont take shots of at the park are the little kids.. because the parents are always near by, and they get upset

[JIP]

My only suggestion is you might want to understand a few of the tricks they are doing to get better moments. All of these images with the exception of #2 are just before or just after some critical moment that you missed. Alot of them look akward because of the missed critical moments.