Few BMX

[sharrington]

First time shooting BMX in a while due to the weather up here. Thought they came out pretty decent. First time using external flash also let me know what you think, would love to here how to make them look better or different techniques. Thanks SEan
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/sharrington8592/IMG_4148.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/sharrington8592/IMG_4152.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/sharrington8592/IMG_4171.jpg
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/sharrington8592/IMG_4181.jpg

[derekchinese]

nice shots!
what lens did you use for them?

[computerguru3190]

Nothing special and some are out of focus slightly or a good amount. Just not doing it for me. Sorry.

[jbergdoll]

Are you using a screw-on fisheye?

[ukactionsports]

They seem a little OOF and underexposed to me.

What shutter and aperture did you use?

[izatt82]

besides the focus, i would have to say pay attention to your backgrounds. in number 2 there is a distracting sign in the right lower and your shadow in the window. and the last two the background is cluttered and the subject just doesnt stand out.

[sharrington]

ya ya i no i got to upgrade big time to a real fish eye but i need to be making a lot of money to do that sense im only 16 you know

[Nick Pro]

ya ya i no i got to upgrade big time to a real fish eye but i need to be making a lot of money to do that sense im only 16 you know


Few things.

1. Please use proper grammar. It makes it so much easier to read, and people will be more inclined to read and respond to your post.

2. I'm 16 as well. Don't use your age as an excuse for the gear you have. And yes, I bought all of my gear my self.

Now, onto the pictures.
1. You say your using an external flash. Get some Ebay triggers (Gadget Infinity) and get that flash off camera! You can make a picture look 100x better, just by getting the flash off camera!

2. Good timing on the shots. Right at the peak of action. (Middle of throwing the bars, middle of table, wall ride, etc.)

3. They do seem all OOF. I know it's a pain, but it takes me about 10 minutes to get set up for a shot. This is setting up the off camera flashes, dialing in settings, locking in focus, etc. I normally have a friend stand where the rider will be when you take the picture. Lock your focus on this person, and switch to MF so that your shot WILL be in focus.

4. Angles are decent. I'm assuming you know the standard get close and low. Whenever I shoot, I make it a priority not to have every single shot like that. Walk around, find different angles. See if you can frame the rider in something. Remember, your shooting a digital, so you can just go back and erase the bad shots.

Read what I wrote, because it took awhile to write. :p
Keep shooting, and I hope to see some more shots from you! Also, read up on off camera lighting, and just cameras in general. I absolutely love Strobist. http://strobist.blogspot.com/ Their "Learn to light" articles are great, and I learned most of what I know from there.

Nick

Oh yeah, Dont get a fish eye. They are fine if used for 1 shot in maybe 50, but other than that, they get old fast.

[izatt82]

like said above not for sure what lens you have, but try to use a lower f stop to get a smaller DOF and make your subject pop in the image.

[jbergdoll]

Also the composition really is hurting in these... the one where you shot the brick wall straight from the side, that hurts the eyes like no other. Until you get a legit fisheye, take the POS screw-on off, take a few steps back, and think about composition.

[dlelemental]

im not excited about any of these

[cwood]

They were good tries in good locations. But next time try this

- Never shoot action below 1/500. You'll need a flash that has a high-speed sync or you'll have to shoot with more light. Your shutter speed is too slow on these to get a clear shot
- you can get good shots with crappy old equipment once you get to know it. If your equipment won't focus fast enough switch to manual and pre-focus the image. There were sports photographers long before there was a 1D mkIII so talk to an older photographer to learn their secrets
- If you can get a clear shot at a wide aperture the narrow DOF will help the photo but if your lens is not good at wide aperture's then set it to F5.6. The image may not be as nice as an "L" lens at 2.8 but you get what you pay for and you have to do the best with what you have.

[jbergdoll]

They were good tries in good locations. But next time try this

- Never shoot action below 1/500. You'll need a flash that has a high-speed sync or you'll have to shoot with more light. Your shutter speed is too slow on these to get a clear shot
- you can get good shots with crappy old equipment once you get to know it. If your equipment won't focus fast enough switch to manual and pre-focus the image. There were sports photographers long before there was a 1D mkIII so talk to an older photographer to learn their secrets
- If you can get a clear shot at a wide aperture the narrow DOF will help the photo but if your lens is not good at wide aperture's then set it to F5.6. The image may not be as nice as an "L" lens at 2.8 but you get what you pay for and you have to do the best with what you have.
I shoot action under 1/500 quite often. Power the flashes down and use their flash duration to stop the motion as opposed to the shutter. The reason why the image is soft and out of focus looking is because he's using a screw-on wanna-be fisheye filter.

[Agnu]

To be fair though, I don't know a skateboard/BMX photog who didn't try a screw-on fisheye at one point or another (and I know a LOT of them). With that being said, some of the best Skate/BMX shots i've ever seen involved purely a Nifty and a single off-camera flash. PT-04's can be bought on Ebay for $45 AUD and that's cheaper than your screw-on fisheye would've cost you. Add that to a Nifty which i'm sure you should already have if not they cost $100 or so slightly used, and add that to a Canon DLSR body wich i'm very sure that you'd have, and you're in business!

Keep at it, barspins down a 3 stair is funny/risky **** haha.

[silvex]

all flat/oof/underexposed. Plus I love how the sign "no bicycles" is on every shot...:)