Skate Park (my newbie take)

[Rev]

I have no idea what I'm doing... most of the pics are tilted, they look alright to me but I dont know if they should be level. Gotta check the basics to get their faces in focus & quite challenging to get the timing right.

C&C welcome, any help is appreciated.

[Rev]

[Rev]

No love for x-sports on CS? the little kid in blue might just be singapore's future tony hawk or bam margera...

[FredrikF]

Originally Posted by Rev No love for x-sports on CS? the little kid in blue might just be singapore's future tony hawk or bam margera...

Bam would never wears pads...

The other skateboarder was a real high-flyer. Don't really know how to improve the photos though. If you're interested in skateboard photography, there's a new photo annual out from Transworld Skateboarding. In general, the skateboard mags have a really high standard of photography, so the photo annual is always a treat. In general, skateboard photography is much more than capturing the trick. Try to find a nice background/foreground, put the skater far away from the center, play with crops/colors/exposure etc. The possibilites are endless, but if you look at the best skate photos, you'll see that they always have something out of the ordinary in their composition/presentation. Skateboarding is also more about friendship than anything else. Capture the feeling of friendship between the skateboarders (relaxing, cheering or whatever) and you'll have a winner.

[Rev]

guess it's obvious how little I know of skateboarding.

thanks for the tips, they're great! dont think i'll be trying for pro-shots here, but I was surprised how much more difficult it was to shoot skateboarders as opposed to cars.

honestly, I wouldnt mind lying down on the floor to get shots as the bike riders & skateboards jump over me... if they could get enough air to do that heh.

[FredrikF]

Forgot to mention that the pics you see in skateboard mags are carefully planned at each spot with angles, several flash units and a co-operating skateboard professional. That's a completely different world from shooting random tricks at the local skatepark. I've never done a "serious" skateboard photoshoot, but I've covered a skateboard contest once. Problem was that I was only allowed to stand at one point, so almost all photos are from the same angle. The annual xmas contest was held inside a mountain in Sweden, which makes white balance adjustments really difficult. Flash is also difficult to use, since there are many particles in the air which reflect all light. Anyway, here are some shots:

The Winner!
The winner again! Note: the board has flipped underneath him before he grabbed it and this picture was taken.
Frontside flip.
Frontside tailslide.

Switchstance Noseslide.
Backside tailslide.
Bombdrop. Yes, he dropped from the balcony! Yes, he made it!
Tired.

Some other skateboard pictures:
Handplant.
Finally some outdoor shots!
Me, about 12 years ago.
Me again, about 10 years ago.

[Rev]

the indoor shots look like they were a b-tch to shoot heh..

the handplant & outdoor shot blew me away.

dont know if b&w goes together with skateboarding but love that 12-years-ago shot =)

thanks for the tips Mr F, wish I could apply them. Yea, my 'guys' werent consistent with their tricks in the park but I'm glad they didnt give me crap in the first place for taking their pics =)

[mohgui]

i like #4 da best. would be better if can shoot from the riders side instead of his butt angle.

[dslang]

Originally Posted by FredrikF Bam would never wears pads... The other skateboarder was a real high-flyer. Don't really know how to improve the photos though. If you're interested in skateboard photography, there's a new photo annual out from Transworld Skateboarding.

I'm actually really disappointed in the quality of photos from this year's annual.

Skateboard mag is far better. this month's cover is absolutely ridiculous... they have it at borders. way better than transworld IMO

anyway, in regards to Rev's photos, there is a lot of improvement to be made, but you got the basics down. you showed the trick, and most of the time you showed where he's coming from and where he's going.

now one thing you have to learn is NEVER TILT. tilting is for newspaper photographers looking for a cheap way to make stuff look dynamic. find more interesting angles, don't shoot ass shots as much, stuff like that. a lot can be learnt by checking out skate mags, and i'd highly recommend this site if you want to learn more about action sports photography- www.wheelsandwax.com

[FredrikF]

Originally Posted by dslang I'm actually really disappointed in the quality of photos from this year's annual. Skateboard mag is far better. this month's cover is absolutely ridiculous... they have it at borders. way better than transworld IMO

In all honesty, I only browsed through this years annual in the shop. I agree that TWS have gone downhill the last few years. Could it be because Grant Brittain and most of the best TWS photographers decided they had enough with the TWS treatment and left to form the Skateboard Mag? (Answer is yes)

The Skateboard Mag (is this the journal you meant?) and Skateboarder are much better Skateboard mags today. I like the Thrasher Magazine too, but their paper quality (for the last 20 years) don't make justice to the photos. Meanwhile, TWS is desperately trying to attract custumers by having a Pinup of the month.... Too bad, since TWS was a really amazing journal in the 90's.

[Rev]

dslang...
thanks. I had no idea what I was doing. =)

But I think Mr. F covered all the bases with his tips.