My First Motocross Pictures, C&C Please

This is the first time I've tried motorsports and my first ever picture posted ! I'm really interested in getting better so your comments are greatly appreciated.

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I think you did a good job. The composition is ok - though I'd like to see some more room in the front for the bike to move into. The trees in the background give reference to the height. Maybe try a slower shutter speed next time so the wheels show some blur.

That's really good for a first attempt. I would agree that a slightly slower shutter speed would allow a little bit of wheel spin to show. I don't always follow that rule though. Jamie also makes a good point about the composition. Try not to get the rider right in the middle of the frame (unless the shot just dictates that look). I usually try to either show a little bit of either where the rider is going, or where he was coming from. I shot this one at Hangtown this year. The background is a little too cluttered here, but sometimes that's hard to avoid. (Fill flash would have helped a ton too!)

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Terrific feedback guys. Thanks. I'll re crop & repost. Your suggestions are very useful.

Looks like you did pretty good it is definatly a different sport to shoot but a blast at that...

I agree slow the shutter down a bit say 350 or 250th even down to 1/60 and 1/30th when you can pan real smooth ,youll get some cool effects shooting slow

Heres one at a different angle I'm not a big fan of side view shots myself to much but yours could be cropped a bit different and probably look a ton better...

f/11
focal length 17mm
fill flash
1/250th
17-50 f/2.8 Tamron
40D

I think I get it. Is this crop better?

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The crop is much better, next time do it in camera

I'll do my best. One thing I know for sure, I'll have a heck of a lot of fun trying !

JVBAKER0 wrote in post #5953976
I'll do my best. One thing I know for sure, I'll have a heck of a lot of fun trying !

and there is nothing wrong with that!

I understand that the second crop is generally considered better than the first in that the rider is not in the middle of the frame. What I don't get is why its considered better. Portray's a sense of motion ?

I think by leaving some open space in front of the rider, it helps imply that there is somewhere for him to go. I always thought it helped add a little bit of information to the story that the picture is trying to tell. The little bit of blur on the front wheel helps tell that story as well (implied motion). I was trying to figure out why the front wheel was blurred and not the back wheel. Then I noticed he's slamming on the rear brake to help bring the nose down a bit.

I might also add, that the shot looks oversharpened. A little goes a long ways.

Interesting commrents. Now that you point it out, it does look like I've cranked up the sharpening a bit too much. The feedback is very helpful.

You won't be able to get wheelspin from the rear,,,If you notice, he is tapping his rear brake to stop the wheel from spinning...That keeps the nose down