BMX Strobist Stuff

newyorkaddict

newyorkaddict

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635
Name
Darren
Edit My Images
Yes
A few promo shots of some friends, they are the BMX team for Beats Workin' Skate Shop. C&C Welcome(y)

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i like the first shot... good lighting and a nice angle of the rider and bike
 
i love number two. could do with seeing a little more face
 
very nice, shame about the railings in the 3rd shot
 
need to see the jump/whatever he is tricking off in 1-3, 'guy in the sky' photos are frowned upon in action sport photography.

Tell the riders to not wear black too.
 
1 is decent. 3 could have done with a second flash from the right but I agree these shots need the ramp included.
 
encona said:
very nice, shame about the railings in the 3rd shot
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I know what you mean, unfortunately the railings are part of the SkatePark, so there is not a lot i can do about them;)

ruvor said:
need to see the jump/whatever he is tricking off in 1-3, 'guy in the sky' photos are frowned upon in action sport photography.Tell the riders to not wear black too.
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If you read of just flick through Ride BMX or Dig BMX Magazine you will see a lot of "Guy In The Sky" pictures, the ramps are not the most important part of the picture, it is the rider and what he is doing. I have been a BMXer for nearly 20 years, and have seen the sport progress, and with it the talents of the Photographers, a lot of them use the technique of capturing just the rider, it gives impact to the picture. Sometimes it is hard to get the whole ramp and rider in the frame. And why would i tell the riders what to wear? I'm not Gok Wan:annoyed:
 
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if you don't feel like listening to my advice, how about posting one of your guy in the sky shots up on wheels and wax and see how long before you get the comment repeated by a handful of other pro bmx/skate/snow photographers.
It's a simple formula; you are taking a photo of a trick, the reader wants to be able to see what the rider is doing without a description, you need to show the take off/landing.
 
Precisely, theres no way to tell how high the guys are in the middle two pictures, the ramp could be inches below the bottom of the picture or 10 feet below it.
It also defeats the purpose of putting your photos up to be critiqued when you say that peoples crit is wrong.
 
Surely rules are there to be broken, that is what sets us apart from other people. If you follow all the rules of photography, everybody's pictures would look the same, all subject in one third of the frame, and background filling the other two thirds. This would just make for very boring pictures IMO:thinking:
 
very boring, like a guy with a bike in a random pose floating in free space. If you don't appreciate criticism which is aimed to help you improve, why post your photos up in the first place?

This seems to be a reoccurring trend on this site for people to shun any actual criticisms and just expect people to post comments like 'ooh, nice shot'. Pretty weak to be honest.
 
newyorkaddict said:
Surely rules are there to be broken, that is what sets us apart from other people. If you follow all the rules of photography, everybody's pictures would look the same, all subject in one third of the frame, and background filling the other two thirds. This would just make for very boring pictures IMO:thinking:
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Sometimes the rules help stop you producing boring photos which lack context.

Being radical and breaking the mold is one thing - ignoring the basics is quite another.

For what its worth some of these images show great potential but without expression or context they won't push many peoples buttons.
 
This seems to be a reoccurring trend on this site for people to shun any actual criticisms and just expect people to post comments like 'ooh, nice shot'. Pretty weak to be honest.
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What I do disagree with, is anyone saying that a type of shot is wrong. I've just had a whole load of shots published which don't conform to the usual shots of the genre, but then it is because of that they got published.
 
I love 3!
 
3 is pretty good, the only reason "most" people dont shoot just the rider in the air, is because you have no sense of height or where the riding is coming from or going to. If there was a slither of the ramp lip, im guessing that was taken on a box and the rider was positioned in the top third of the photo. You would probably find it more pleasing, non the less all cracking shots.

Can you post your strobist info for the shots? Lighting power and direction. Photos looks quite noisey, or is that the quality reduction and resizing.

I think Criag Tull is good for bmx photography: http://www.flickr.com/photos/craigtull/
Have a look, he normally posts his info as well.
 
newyorkaddict said:
......C&C Welcome(y)
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Ok, being as you've invited c&c:

Firstly there is potential in all of the shots you've posted, there's effort and an inclination of creativity. So (y)

But

There's a lot of unnecessary and harsh/restrictive shadow, the shots are way too tight, proper claustrophobia that only a more wide perspective will cure, there's no real context and way too much black.
Nightshot's need a lot more planning and prep to be fair.
You also need a few more lights to pull it off in pitch black.

Are you using only one speedlight?

Black clothing can work but you have to make allowances for it, such as using separation light or rim lighting to give the subjects definition, maybe even start the shoot a little earlier when there is at least a hint of ambient light left in the day. A pink or light blue moody sky is a lot more dynamic and punchy than plain black or plain English weather grey sky.

newyorkaddict said:
I know what you mean, unfortunately the railings are part of the SkatePark, so there is not a lot i can do about them;)
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At least try to change your angle, you need to think about the background and how they may contaminate your image. You above answer is what every newbie or beginner say's, I said it myself a million times before I realised I needed to shut the hell up and work a little harder.

Faces are quite a winner too, expressions whether it's side profile or head on. Move to a different spot if your losing them.

newyorkaddict said:
Surely rules are there to be broken, that is what sets us apart from other people. If you follow all the rules of photography, everybody's pictures would look the same, all subject in one third of the frame, and background filling the other two thirds. This would just make for very boring pictures IMO:thinking:
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The thing is mate, Believe it or not but Ruvor is trying to help you set yourself apart from other photographers. Ruvor's advice is sound. Trust in it. Have you had a look at his flickr?

Your shots show potential but they also tell a story, it's the 'I've got much to learn story', apart from the elements of potential that are apparent to me, they look like every other attempt that ignores the fundamentals. They look wrong and abundantly so. Sorry but that's what I see. The sole reason I'm bothering to write any of this is because I see potential in your photo's but like the other peeps who've commented, see mistakes and wish to point them out so you can stop making them and continue to kick ass.

Positive elements:
your actually being arsed to go out into to the night and shoot (y)
Your being arsed to actually light the scene (y)

2 very big pro's there and both suggest you want control over your images, control = vision. Vision is paramount.

Now go and try more and think about the things that folk have offered. Think bigger, think better, think Speilberg or summin!

(y)

T.
 
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Tomas' post is spot on. I'd appreciate the time it's taken to write that. No-one is saying your shots are bad, and reactions are mostly very positive, but if you take all advice on board, then when you post up your next shots, then the response will be EVEN BETTER!

When I joined this forum, I posted up what I thought was a really good MTB shot. It got ripped apart! But I listened to all the comments and advice, went to the Avalanche Enduro at Kielder, took loads of photos, and when I posted them on here the response was overwhelming! EVERY person that commented, loved the shots.

I'd like to think that my MTB stuff has improved ten-fold as a direct result of this forum. Once you've nailed the basics, THEN it's time to experiment.

:D

(and yes, I've told this story many times)
 
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To everyone who has posted i thankyou. I didn't mean to sound arsey just having a bad time at the moment, so i am being very short and sharp with peeps. I know the pics are not perfect by any stretch. They were sort of meant as promos of the riders, rather than the riding, sort of a "This is the BMX team list, and roughly what they can do, and now for the better riding pictures", but i guess they didn't work aswell as i thought.

Some rough lighting info for the askers, Cobra D400 flash at 100% right of the riders (BUT, don't think it fired for some reason:shrug:), Vivitar flash, left or the riders at 100%, diffused. Had to shoot at 800iso so that explains the noise, not very much ambient light, and what there is is poor.

The last picture of the Footjam, was meant to show some of the riding, i liked the angle of the shot, and thought it was pretty well lit. Just need to improve i suppose. MUST TRY HARDER
 
newyorkaddict said:
I didn't mean to sound arsey just having a bad time at the moment
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I wouldn't worry, I know what you meant. We often want C&C, but it's not always accurate (not suggesting that is the case here, I don't know about BMX photography) and although we appreciate people taking the time to give C&C, we don't have to agree, and I have no problem with that.
 
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