Downhill/Dirt/Mtb I suck

Hi guys, I am pretty new to photography, to be honest, I am still figuring out iso, f stops and shutter, if I shoot city or the zoo it comes out as a decent picture, but I suck badly at mtb pictures. My goal is to do something like this http://www.pinkbike.co​m …ntine-interview-2010.html as I am a mtb fanatic and a rider my self but get this instead (already edited in Light Room)

How do you get those wonderful sharp colors, would anyone able able to give me few pointers. I know most is learning by error and trial but anything will help, thank you all, and I hope your screen didnt crack from my picture.

I dont think this is a bad image, your timing is spot on, the framing good etc etc.

The images you link to are taken by someone who isnt a beginner, who knows what his first images were like? They may have been terrible

Looking at the kit listed in your signature, I think part of the issue is your lens, kit lenses are good for certain things and not others. That said I wouldnt upgrade just for the sake of it. What I would do is practice, practice, practice both with your kit and also your processing techniques. Maybe try somethings like HDR or using a burst of high speed flash.

Keep going, whatever you think, this image does not suck

Amik wrote in post #16090475
Hi guys, I am pretty new to photography, to be honest, I am still figuring out iso, f stops and shutter, if I shoot city or the zoo it comes out as a decent picture, but I suck badly at mtb pictures. My goal is to do something like this http://www.pinkbike.co​m …ntine-interview-2010.html as I am a mtb fanatic and a rider my self but get this instead (already edited in Light Room)

How do you get those wonderful sharp colors, would anyone able able to give me few pointers. I know most is learning by error and trial but anything will help, thank you all, and I hope your screen didnt crack from my picture.

For an image to have sharp colors, the subject must first contain those colors. The sample image supplied is mostly grey and green, which offers little color contrast.

When bright colors are present in the subject, the results will be different, as shown here.

Looking at the 'goal' images they are mostly ZOOM! JUMP! CRASH!

I don't see that happening in your's. Tell him to go faster.

Do some manipulation of the clarity, vibrance, and boost the shadows. That will help as well.

I think what really makes the pictures you linked to remarkable are the moments that are captured and the composition. Pay attention to the angles and how he crops the photos. When he includes the background, it directly contributes to the photo. He's also obviously scouted out his locations to get in the right position for the angles he's gotten. You can see some of the same things in DC Fan's photos, especially how his photos are portrayed. It looks like he's shooting an enduro or XC event, which is all about pushing past the normal limits of endurance. That's shown in the facial expression of the first rider, and the mud-spattered intensity of the second (OK, they're both mud-spattered). Mr. Valentine is obviously showing intensity and high-paced action. . .even in his portrait of the women in the wedding dress (which I love).

Now, as for the sharpness and color saturation, some of that does just come down to the right equipment. That's not to say you can't achieve very good results with the equipment you have, though, especially with the correct post processing. But it all starts with the basics. Use the right shutter speed to either freeze or blur the action in the way you intend. Pay attention to the light. If you can use artificial lighting, that gives you the ultimate control, but usually you're working with natural lighting, so pay attention to that light when you're picking your location. Speaking of location, being a rider yourself is going to help, because you need to figure a few things out. Where is the action going to take place? What elements best illustrate this action (both elements of the rider and his/her background)? And lastly, where do you need to position yourself to bring all of this together? Now, I'll admit having a camera that can shoot 10 fps and a zoom lens that can pick out the beeds of sweat on the rider's eyebrows from 100 meters away certainly helps, if you can nail those technical and artistic elements, people are going to be too busy saying "Wow, what a shot!" to worry about what camera/lens combination you used to get it.