Bullriding C&C please

kayliana · Apr 28, 2010

D-B-J · Apr 28, 2010

nice action shots! im loving the old-school hockey helmet, as i am a hockey player myself. Great job.

Aye-non Oh-non Imus · Apr 28, 2010

You've caught some nice action there partner.

Two things that are quite noticable from the onset. The tilt and the time of day.

The horizon can be easily straightened, but you might be so close to the edge of the frame that you need to be careful not to cut off parts of the main subject. You should be okay with #1 & 2, but #3 may be tricky.

Secondly is the harsh light and the shadows it creates. It looks very close to noon time with the shadows coming straight down. The problem with this is that the faces and expressions of the riders can hardly be seen under the cowboy hats. If you get another chance at this, try to shoot earlier or later in the day. If you have one and you are within the limits, try hitting them with a flash to fill in some of the shadows and underexpose the ambient a little.

Looks like it was a fun day.

kayliana · Apr 29, 2010

Thank you for the comments guys! Yes, I knew right away that the hats were going to cause a shadow on their face. I'm saving up for an external flash

mrtramplefoot · Apr 29, 2010

second one is awesome

kayliana · Apr 30, 2010

Thank you! That was my teacher's favorite as well

Houghwya · Apr 30, 2010

Second one has a nice DOF. Did you edit the photo to get that effect?

kayliana · May 1, 2010

I did. It was kinda hard to get the bullrider and bull to stand out with that background, so I added a blur. Thank you

pbelarge · May 1, 2010

These are fun to view.

How can one control the time of day during an event like this?

I am not sure what flash you could use that would make a difference with the shots here? Are you not kind of far from the riders?

bobnr32 · May 15, 2010

Great shots!

KmH · May 19, 2010

kayliana said:
Thank you for the comments guys! Yes, I knew right away that the hats were going to cause a shadow on their face. I'm saving up for an external flash

Light (among other things) is governed by the Inverse Square Law.

Inverse-square law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

If at full flash power in daylight, your subject needs to be 10 feet away for a proper exposure but is in fact 20 feet away, the amount of light that reaches the subject is not reduced to 1/2, it is reduced to 1/4.

If the distance is again doubled to 40 feet away, the light is reduced to just 1/16th of the full power flash reaching the subject.

You would need a flash much more powerful than a hot shoe mounted speedlight to effectively throw light under the riders cowboy hats in direct sunlight, from as far away as it looks like you were taking these photos.

Image Group · May 21, 2010

Would like to know what your settings were and maybe I can give you a few tips. What was your meter set for? In lighting like this I like to go with spot or even partial. If the subject is this important and I don't mind losing a bit of the background I'd spot meter the on the rider and bull. Also in PS there is a few little tricks I've learned to pull some detail out of the shadows and not have it look un-natural. The editors would probably have a heart attack but it's still the original shot an nothing has been altered except the shadows. Timing looks great. Composition would be better to have not tilted the cam. It would put the bull at a angle in his jump and looked pretty mean. Maybe a crop that straightens the fence line would work. All in all I like the majority of what you have going on here. I'm set to shoot the PBR when it hits Southern CA and it will be my first Rodeo so to speak.