Skateboard Tricks - CC Please

[PhotographTalk]

Well I managed to get back to the park and did a few more shoots of the guys on their boards. The main focus was to try and find a good spot to take photos. So a bit of feedback on these would be great.

 

[rlemert]

You do have a tough situation here, but you still appear to have a ways to go to solve the problem. The third one does the best job of separating the subject (the person) from the background, with the last one doing the second best job.

One thought is to shoot from a higher perspective (maybe bring a ladder) so you get the boarder against the white concrete background, or get down low so you're looking up at the sky (remember to expose for the person).

Another thought is to think about using depth-of-field to 'blur out' the background. I'm not sure how well that would work on these shots, but it's something else to consider.

 

[PhotographTalk]

Thanks for the feedback I will have another go at it. The thing is you just don't know what the subject is going to end up doing. The first time out I nearly got taken out by one of the boards that went out of control. However it is a very nice project to try and get correct and loads of fun

 

[rexbobcat]

I agree, the backgrounds aren't the best. The subject gets lost in them and they dilute the interest in the photograph.

What might be good is getting an ultra-wide angle lens (wider than 18mm) and that might help to separate the subject from the background if you're having a hard time finding the 'clean' background.

However, UWAs do take practice to learn how to use them effectively. But once you do, they can add a lot of drama to these kinds of shots.

You also might consider going back later or earlier in the day. The light will be much warmer, more pleasant, and it'll also help you to separate your subjects from the background.

 

[Pejacre]

Great potential - I'd like to see this with a wider aperture, faster ss and shot from lower angles.

 

[sscarmack]

Oh, and throw some off camera lighting in there

 

[KmH]

It is really hard to have good depth-of-field (DoF) control using a UWA lens.
Basically a UWA always has a deep DOF.

My recommendation is to get and learn how to use an off camera flash to separate the skaters from the background by having a lighting ratio with the skater brighter than the background.

When flash is used the shutter speed controls the ambient light exposure, while the flash unit power setting and the lens aperture used control the flash exposure. Thus, you can control the ambient (background) exposure separately from the flash exposure with a single shutter release making the background darker than the subject.
Also the duration of the flash is so short that the flash can often stop motion better than shutter speed can.

dg28.com - photographer education

 

[PhotographTalk]

Thanks for all the feedback this does give me something to work with