My first attempt at dirt bike photography :)

[sorashell]

So the other day, I took a walk around my old stomping grounds and came across this guy riding his bike down a really steep hill. Now, normally I'm not the type of married lady to walk up to some young guy and ask him if I can start snapping pictures, but this looked like alot of fun so grabbed a pair and asked. You know what he said? "You don't know how many times I've been out here and wished there was someone with a camera near by!" I emailed him the pics but haven't heard back.... Maybe he was actually scared of this strange lady who approached him, huh?










Seeing as this is my first time, I'm aware that these pictures are probably mediocre, but I'd truly love constructive feedback on how to make them better or anything that's good about them brought to my attention.

Taken with the Tamron 28-75 2/8. Handheld, no flash.

[NordieBoy]

It's all about the angle.
Getting low like in #2 so the background isn't so cluttered but so the pic still tells a story like where he's taken off from or where he's going.

Not like some of mine...

Yes there is a bike in there somewhere...

[primoz]

One more suggestion for cycling photography... next to get closer and/or crop tighter Use flash. With sport photography you need to see face, unless you go for some weird artistic photo, but with photos like this, this isn't the case. And with cycling and all those helmets and caps they have on it's really hard to get decent lit face without flash. And try to avoid camera automatics/programs for such things. You have quite good lit background, which isn't really important, and because camera mettering got fooled you got way to dark cyclist which is only thing on photo which does matter.

[JohnEBongo]

I agree with the points made by Fran and Primroz. Here are a couple of examples to help show those points.

1. Get low-----and in this case, wide. Watch the background though, these guys got a little lost in the trees.


2. Use flash---it was a perfectly sunny day, but a little flash made this biker really pop out of the photo. I also used panning to give the perception so movement.


Hope this helps........

John

[sorashell]

That does really help, thank you! Love, love, love that last shot, John!

[Halliday]

Don't be nervous to approach people for photography. I enjoy paintball and have a n easy time doing photos at the field. For the most part people that do sports would love to see themselves in action. If you are scared of looking like a nut, print up some business cards to hand out. You'll look like the real deal with your name, number and e-mail addy printed on a card

[corterlifecrisis]

i ride bmx, and i can guarentee you that any mtn biker/skater/rider you approach would love to let you shoot, as long as you let them see "how high they got" or "how tweaked the trick was".

if you wanna get serious with the lighting, i've got some 285's,pocketwizards and 10 foot lightstands you could borrow (i only own the 285's my shooting buddy has the pw's and light stands and such.)

nice shots tho, with mountain biking i think it always makes the shot better when you get a sense of setting, and that epic feeling of being in the air for those huge drops. you're on you're way, i like em!

[Spencerj]

Originally Posted by sorashell

So the other day, I took a walk around my old stomping grounds and came across this guy riding his bike down a really steep hill.

Great shots! I love the last one the best

[transcend]

Great shots, try cropping tighter as others have said.

[Crypto]

Great shots sorashell! I can't imagine doing that on a track, without a gasoline engine.

[phylet]

i ride a downhill mountain bike (as seen in all these pics) and if anyone approached me id be more than willing to show off.

the sort of photos id enjoy looking at are low, nice and sharp (so i can identify the bike/rider/components) and from the forward half of the bike, its important to see the riders face and forks of the bike.

also theres no need for the rider to be airborne, it might be impressive, but a shot with both (or one) wheel down can tell a lot more of a story.