A boy and his skateboard - C&C please

[J.Kendall]

Tighter shots/angles, larger aperture, and these would be better. As they are, They're a pretty good starting point.

 

[Pcubed]

I would suggest trying some more extreme angles. I am imagining #4 being shot from a low angle and you positioning yourself facing him. Capture the look on his face. I am not a skateboarder nor I have I shot skateboarders but I am going to assume that to pull something like that off he would need to concentrate. I think that capturing that facial expression would be wonderful. Honestly he looks like he can get pretty high off the ground. Depending on how daring you are have you considered having him ollie over you while you shoot up?

I like #5 but maybe a more interesting shot would be lower with more focus on the artwork on the bottom of his skateboard.

#2 and #3 don't do anything for me. He looks like he is bored and just standing around on his skateboard. For implied motion you would need to have some blur. Slow the shutter down and pan across the scene, following him. This will blur the background but should keep him pretty sharp. Stopping the action in a picture like #4 gives you implied motion because you are stopping a situation which is impossible unless there is movement.

Hopefully this helps a bit. BTW, what part of DC are you shooting in? There is a bunch of nice graffiti on 14th Street heading out towards Silver Spring. Might be an interesting background for a skate themed photoshoot.

Thanks for the insightful comments! I've always wondered how people managed to blur the background yet keep the subject so clear. I'll have to try that sometime. I'm guessing I may need a tripod for something like that, right? Thanks for the advice on how to improve the shots. I'll have to keep them in mind the next time I shoot action shots.

These pictures were taken at the park close to Montgomery College's Takoma campus. I usually take 16th street to get to Silver Spring, but maybe next time I'll go by 14th street to check out the graffiti you're talking about. Thanks again!

 

[Pcubed]

Tighter shots/angles, larger aperture, and these would be better. As they are, They're a pretty good starting point.

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to remember them the next time I go shooting. I'm still not completely sure about cropping or composing shots. I guess I'll need to look into that. Any suggestions on resources? I suppose I can google "photography composition" or something? I know a little about the rule of thirds of already and have been trying to practice that...

 

[Vicelord John]

my best shots have been ones that need no cropping.

 

[GFreg]

Thanks for the insightful comments! I've always wondered how people managed to blur the background yet keep the subject so clear. I'll have to try that sometime. I'm guessing I may need a tripod for something like that, right? Thanks for the advice on how to improve the shots. I'll have to keep them in mind the next time I shoot action shots.

These pictures were taken at the park close to Montgomery College's Takoma campus. I usually take 16th street to get to Silver Spring, but maybe next time I'll go by 14th street to check out the graffiti you're talking about. Thanks again!

Oh so you are actually outside of DC? If you take 14th St headed downtown then you will come across it. I actually live right at the intersection of 16th and East-West Highway.

You can pan across the shot hand-holding your camera. A tripod will make it easier. Panning (camera) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some more information. Play around with it and see what works.

 

[GFreg]

Thanks for the tips. I'll have to remember them the next time I go shooting. I'm still not completely sure about cropping or composing shots. I guess I'll need to look into that. Any suggestions on resources? I suppose I can google "photography composition" or something? I know a little about the rule of thirds of already and have been trying to practice that...

Just remember that rules are meant to be broken sometimes. I tend to find the articles from digital-photography-school.com to be helpful. Here are a few examples.

5 Elements of Composition in Photography
5 More Elements of Composition in Photography

Edit: http://digital-photography-school.com/digital-photography-composition-tips

 

[Pcubed]

Thanks for the insightful comments! I've always wondered how people managed to blur the background yet keep the subject so clear. I'll have to try that sometime. I'm guessing I may need a tripod for something like that, right? Thanks for the advice on how to improve the shots. I'll have to keep them in mind the next time I shoot action shots.

These pictures were taken at the park close to Montgomery College's Takoma campus. I usually take 16th street to get to Silver Spring, but maybe next time I'll go by 14th street to check out the graffiti you're talking about. Thanks again!

Oh so you are actually outside of DC? If you take 14th St headed downtown then you will come across it. I actually live right at the intersection of 16th and East-West Highway.

You can pan across the shot hand-holding your camera. A tripod will make it easier. Panning (camera) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Some more information. Play around with it and see what works.

I live inside DC, in the Shaw neighborhood. So I'll probably have to use AI-Servo autofocus, right? I'm thinking that'll be the best way to keep a moving subject in focus. I can't wait to try it out. I always thought those kinds of pictures look interesting.

 

[RussJasper]

Just what the others said.. seems kinda boring and look like snapshots. good job on #4 on capturing the action

 

[GFreg]

I live inside DC, in the Shaw neighborhood. So I'll probably have to use AI-Servo autofocus, right? I'm thinking that'll be the best way to keep a moving subject in focus. I can't wait to try it out. I always thought those kinds of pictures look interesting.

Oh, I'm sorry. I misread as that you lived over near Montgomery College. Anyway, I haven't really had much chance to use auto-focus. I used to shoot fully manual back when I started in high school, put down the camera for a few years. Now with my D40, 90% of the time I use a 50mm f/1.8 lens that my parents handed down to me. It is older than I am. What I do for panning is to set up the shot by pre-focusing where I want the shot to be taken. Look for a good background and have your subject stand there. Focus and expose properly for that shot.

 

[JDMTyler3326]

I really don't like any but number 5.