[ROBEFFY]

Hi All,

My son asked me to take some pictures of him riding flatland. I've never taken these types of shots before, and I wonder if I can get some tips on how to improve for future shots.

I have a K10D, with a AF 540 FGZ flash, I used my Pentax DA16-45 lens. My other lens is a Sigma 70-200.

I felt I should set the flash to P-TTL and the camera to P. It was a cloudy day, so I jacked the ISO to 1250. My shutter speed seemed to be 180th.

I cropped the images in PS Elements and brightened the images a bit, otherwise they are as shot.

Your thoughts are appreciated!!

Thanks,
Rob

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[mysticcowboy]

Your pics look pretty good. If your son is happy then they're fine. If you want some sharper shots, then you'll have to use a faster shutter speed. Even though he looks stationary, there's always movement. I'd try a 500th.

You may want to re-shoot on a brighter day. Light cloud cover, early sun or full shade make the best light. The high ISO you used is going to give you noise, which makes the shot soft. Noise reduction will compensate but that softens the image, too.

I'm guessing that his M's hat and the sky indicate you live around Seattle. Lots of heavy overcast this time of year.

michael mckee
http://myporttownend.com/

[FullertonImages]

Both background are a cluttered mess, and detract alot from the image. Also, they both have the very flat, 2-dimmensional looks of on camera flash. Even though it's an external flash, it's still 'on camera', and the fact that it is being used as the primary lightsource, is what's giving that flat look. You K10 is capable of controlling it off the camera, and that combo is also capable of doing hi speed sync, to get a highier shuter speed. The third thing is that there is no contrast in these images. That also contributes to the flatness. Trying adjusting the curve to make the whites whiter and teh blacks blacker. Those three things will make a huge difference.

[Arpe]

How about some rear-curtain flash sync, so you get the blur then the flash image?
The ones you show here look pretty good, though a large aperture would help to blur the background and emphasise the rider.

[cwood]

Hi All,

My son asked me to take some pictures of him riding flatland. I've never taken these types of shots before, and I wonder if I can get some tips on how to improve for future shots.

I have a K10D, with a AF 540 FGZ flash, I used my Pentax DA16-45 lens. My other lens is a Sigma 70-200.

I felt I should set the flash to P-TTL and the camera to P. It was a cloudy day, so I jacked the ISO to 1250. My shutter speed seemed to be 180th.

I cropped the images in PS Elements and brightened the images a bit, otherwise they are as shot.

Your thoughts are appreciated!!

Thanks,
Rob

The biggest thing with sports photography - is that if people can't relate to the sport and the action is below 200mph you have to work a lot harder to make the shot interesting. Since you have the 16-45 see if you can find an interesting angle to capture the image at the WIDE end (16mm). Photos of race cars and motor bikes tend to look good as long as the image is sharp, the crop is tight and the shutter speed is slow enough to get some background blur. With basketball, baseball, football etc the good pictures tend to be more about expression on the face of the athlete (usually severe strain) but even more relaxed pictures of those sports have more mass appeal because people can relate to the image. With BMX I can almost guarantee you that nobody on this board can relate to the pictures you are trying to take. As a result your son is pretty much guaranteed to like the images more than the crowd around here.

Now - if you want to make an image with broad appeal you need to do one of the following
1. dramatic lighting
2. dramatic location
3. use camera angles/shutter speeds that exaggerate some part of the action.

You could be taking pictures of the best rider doing the hardest trick in the world but as long as you take it in a "normal location" with "normal lighting" and "normal camera settings" nobody here is going to think much of your shot.

Do a google image search for "flatland bmx" and you will see exactly what I'm talking about. 2/3 of the pictures that pop up look like yours but the ones that stand out bring in one of those elements that I mentioned.

Good luck

[ROBEFFY]

Hi Mystic ( I plan on responding to all of the posts ),

I always seem to end up with a shutter speed of 180th when on flash, so, how do I get the shutter speed above that?

I am using the flash but don't seem to have any control with it, I typically shoot Manual ( M ) Mode, that is no problem.

I agree, the lack of sunshine and time constraint ( over my noon hour ) didn't help out. My son lives 4hours away,and just returned from Australia ( via Seattle ).

I'll work out how to get the shutter speed where I want it. I remember setting the flasht to Hi Speed Sync.

Thanks,
Rob

[ROBEFFY]

Hi General,

I can play with the contrast in Photoshop.

I was spending most of my time walking to and fro ( what a term ) while zooming in and out to get the composition, so I didn't have a free hand to hold the flash.

I could have put the flash on a stand and let him come to me, I suppose?

Thanks for the feedback!
Rob

[ROBEFFY]

Hi Arpe,

I suspect that I didn't adjust the aperture once I got it work, I was likely in P mode, and need to learn how to integrate what I want to do with the flash.

so, I'll see if I can't get the shutter speed control and aperture control back again, like when I shoot in Manual mode.

You've given me some techniques to aim for,

Thanks,
Rob

[ROBEFFY]

Hi Kunik,

I agree with you, my shots are "blah", no pop!

My son hooked up with a photog in Australia who did some pro shots, I think some work is in a magazine called 2020 ( not sure about that, I have to check ) and those are great shots. Multiple flashes, with the Sydney opera house as a background.

More effort needed on my part!

I have to learn how to get more control on using my flash, and select the background and approach to the shots. I'm lucky to have a subject to shoot!

Thanks,
Rob