One Skateboard shot

LINYBIMMER · Apr 15, 2012

How could I make this better? What do you like and dislike about the picture?

DSC05927 by jimkerr1961, on Flickr

Thanks for looking,

Jim

theeph · Apr 15, 2012

There is a lot going on in the background. I'm not sure if there is a solution given the environment.

I love the expression on his face. I think its a great capture.

Mot · Apr 15, 2012

I'm really interested in shooting some skateboarding so I thought I'd have a look at your image!

I think the only thing I'd do is make a portrait crop but still leave a little bit of room around him, I think it exaggerates or at least emphasises his height. I also took it as an opportunity to do some editing. I cloned out the scooter kid from beneath his board, added some contrast, reduced the yellow saturation and also added a bit of a grungy filter in it.

I do like the shot and I hope you think my edit is okay!

kyleweeks522 · Apr 15, 2012

I do TONS of skate photography and I really do like this picture. Although, I tend to get lower and closer to the skater almost at a dog's height. It adds a sense of presence to the picture.

LINYBIMMER · Apr 15, 2012

Mot - Thanks for the edit and your thoughts. I like the crop and the removal of the scooter kid, but I'm not a fan of the other processing. That's what makes me like photography so much - everyone sees the shot in their own way. Thanks for your help.

Kyle - I was limited by the ramp design. I was level with the top of the ramp, and the ramp is about 4 feet wide. I'm not sure I could get any lower from this vantage point.:thumbup:

imagemaker46 · Apr 16, 2012

Action is good, nice expression, but all the empty space takes away from how good this photo could be.

LINYBIMMER · Apr 16, 2012

Like this, or tighter?

Portrait Crop by jimkerr1961, on Flickr

Thanks for the suggestions,

Jim

imagemaker46 · Apr 16, 2012

LINYBIMMER said:
Like this, or tighter?

Portrait Crop by jimkerr1961, on Flickr

Thanks for the suggestions,

Jim

Looks way better.

KBM1016 · Apr 16, 2012

There is no real color to this picture. I see that it was pretty overcast but I think maybe getting better colors would give it more life. Right now his shirt blends with the sky and background, he doesn't really pop out of the picture.

Great timing on the action though

STM · Apr 16, 2012

Three words, crop and re-position

The kid and the skateboard are very small in the frame and get lost in everything around him. Also. you have him moving right to left and to the left of the center of the image. That makes his movement carry him right outside the frame. Also, placing the subject directly in the middle of the frame on a shot like this this makes the image look very amateurish and snapshot-ish in my opinion. Although it cannot be fixed without re-working the image in Photoshop, you need much less depth of field to separate the subject from the background. Granted, on DX cameras with their tiny sensors and shorter focal length lenses does makes this more difficult. It is better to open up and manually zone focus to get that shallower depth of field

Crop the image and place the center of his face closer to the intersection of the RIGHT VERTICAL AND UPPER HORIZONTAL THIRD of the cropped image with his direction of movement going INTO the center of the frame, rather than out of it. Also, the image is a little dull and flat contrast wise. It needs to be lightened a bit and more contrast added. One of the things you have to deal with shooting on an overcast day.

LINYBIMMER · Apr 16, 2012

STM said:
Three words, crop and re-position

The kid and the skateboard are very small in the frame and get lost in everything around him. Also. you have him moving right to left and to the left of the center of the image. That makes his movement carry him right outside the frame. Also, placing the subject directly in the middle of the frame on a shot like this this makes the image look very amateurish and snapshot-ish in my opinion. Although it cannot be fixed without re-working the image in Photoshop, you need much less depth of field to separate the subject from the background. Granted, on DX cameras with their tiny sensors and shorter focal length lenses does makes this more difficult. It is better to open up and manually zone focus to get that shallower depth of field

Crop the image and place the center of his face closer to the intersection of the RIGHT VERTICAL AND UPPER HORIZONTAL THIRD of the cropped image with his direction of movement going INTO the center of the frame, rather than out of it. Also, the image is a little dull and flat contrast wise. It needs to be lightened a bit and more contrast added. One of the things you have to deal with shooting on an overcast day.

Thanks STM, I appreciate your observations. Good call on the cropping. Unfortunately, I shot this in JPEG and don't own Pshop. I use Aperture and I boosted contrast and black point about as far as I could without making the picture appear too pixelated(?) if that is the term. I'll try to lighten the image and see if I can help the contrast that way. While I recognize that the sensor isn't full frame, I wouldn't call it tiny! LOL. Thanks again, I'll repost my attempts at lightening/contrast.

Jim