'Snowboarding' in the summer

@nt!x wrote in post #5730974
It looks like fun and all but why not just use a skateboard in the summer?

Cause pavement hurts more than wood and grass

So we had our session #2 this past weekend. Shot mainly with the fisheye this time mainly standing on top of a ladder (about 3-4 feet above the ground) or kneeling down near the end of the box. Here are some shots:

big_apple_ken wrote in post #5820892
So we had our session #2 this past weekend. Shot mainly with the fisheye this time mainly standing on top of a ladder (about 3-4 feet above the ground) or kneeling down near the end of the box. Here are some shots:

Overall pretty disappointed with the shots. It was not easy controlling the flash standing on top of the ladder. When I moved the ladder from one side to the other (so I could shots of the face for regular/goofy riders) the lighting was pretty different. On top of that ETTL mode I use on the flash for low light photography capped my shutter speed at 1/200 seconds which was to say the least too slow. Really need to practice using the flash's manual mode so I can shoot with higher shutter speed next time. Tried to pan some shots so I think I will try that as well. Any more ideas on how I might be able to take better/more creative shots? Obviously we all understand that with skill being a major limitation (I was falling all over the place) it is not the easiest to get good looking shots.

Read these links on flash:
http://photonotes.org/​articles/eos-flash/index.html
http://www.planetneil.​com/faq/flash-techniques.html

Basically, you set up your exposure on the camera for the BACKGROUND lighting, and then the flash is smart enough to set up the flash exposure on the foreground subjects. If the foreground looks blown out, then adjust the FEC on the flash (or in the menu depending on the model of flash you are using). If you are using the onboard flash, that is going to be tough - its pretty wimpy.

J.

JohnJ80 wrote in post #5821160
Read these links on flash:
http://photonotes.org/​articles/eos-flash/index.html
http://www.planetneil.​com/faq/flash-techniques.html

Basically, you set up your exposure on the camera for the BACKGROUND lighting, and then the flash is smart enough to set up the flash exposure on the foreground subjects. If the foreground looks blown out, then adjust the FEC on the flash (or in the menu depending on the model of flash you are using). If you are using the onboard flash, that is going to be tough - its pretty wimpy.

J.

Thanks! I have a 580EXII which I had on the hot shoe. I shoot a good handful of low light people shots but shooting low light action shots is definitely new to me. Thanks for the links though.

What really works well is to set your camera to set exposure and fire the shutter on one button, and then to set the * button for the AF. Then take your camera with the flash, aim it at the blue sky (not the sun) and half depress the shutter button. Then keeping that depressed (locks the exposure) then depress the * button when you track the subject. WHen you fire, it should have a properly exposed fore and background (within reason).

j

JohnJ80 wrote in post #5821793
What really works well is to set your camera to set exposure and fire the shutter on one button, and then to set the * button for the AF. Then take your camera with the flash, aim it at the blue sky (not the sun) and half depress the shutter button. Then keeping that depressed (locks the exposure) then depress the * button when you track the subject. WHen you fire, it should have a properly exposed fore and background (within reason).

j

So basically you are saying I should meter off the blue sky then use the AF lock, recompose then shoot. Good suggestion, I'll try that next time!