Shooting a skater...

[gsusmaniac]

How can I improve these photos..? I cant seem to stop the motion blur. I opened it up to f/5 and shot 1/400 for the day time ones and used my flash and still seemed to get the blur.

Any tips for getting better shots would be awesome!!!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3033/3090828735_57cf388db5_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3256/3091676442_4bc61322a1_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3270/3091673662_1b8e281c87_b.jpg

Also any ideas to make these dark shots more interesting? To me they are just blah!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/3090832951_e472763f53_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3107/3090833585_c811281f92_b.jpg

[K1W1]

1/400 sec is not fast enough.

Personally I like a bit of blur to indicate motion but if you want to make the subject look frozen in time you need way faster than that try 1/640 or even up to 1/1000.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I love the shots mate (at least the non black ones). I don't mind the hand blur.

I've got blur in a shot at 1/3000 but thats admittedly a professional bowler.

[Turn]

1/400 not being fast enough?! damn!!

to me they look nice and clear..the blur doesn't make a real difference

you definitely need a little more light and a faster shutter speed if you want him all tack sharp although the night time flash photos don't have any "blur" that I can see

[gsusmaniac]

No the night ones are solid...they are just boring. I need to play around more and figure out how to make them interesting.

Thanks for the compliments. I do like the shots, just though at 1/400 it would be fast enough to freeze the image.

I have a question about the repeat function on the SB800.. How do I make it rapid fire with my d40? I cannot sem to figure it out.

[GoneTomorrow]

No the night ones are solid...they are just boring. I need to play around more and figure out how to make them interesting.

Thanks for the compliments. I do like the shots, just though at 1/400 it would be fast enough to freeze the image.

I have a question about the repeat function on the SB800.. How do I make it rapid fire with my d40? I cannot sem to figure it out.

The day shots are really great if you ask me. Sure, you haven't frozen the action to the finest pixel, but to me there's just enough blur to really convey a sense of action.

P.S. - I briefly had laugh when I read the thread title, I imagined somebody out with a shotgun looking for skaters :D

[XaiLo]

No the night ones are solid...they are just boring. I need to play around more and figure out how to make them interesting.

Thanks for the compliments. I do like the shots, just though at 1/400 it would be fast enough to freeze the image.

I have a question about the repeat function on the SB800.. How do I make it rapid fire with my d40? I cannot sem to figure it out.

I'd say the problem is the qualityof light and positioning... try using a warming gel and positioning the strobe at a 30-45 degree angle to the subject. ;) a red or blue gel might olso give you a nice effect.

[K1W1]

The other comment I have about the day shots is that there is a lot of distraction in the backgrounds. The action is great but maybe a plainer background would help. We tend to think of skateboarders as being sort of urban grunge (brick walls with graffiti and industrial type locations) maybe something like that would work better.

[Turo]

For wakeboarding I typically use at least a 1/800 or 1/1000 shutter speed to minimize the amount of blur. I think the shots look great as is, but if you want less blur then try a faster shutter speed (as the others mentioned) and make changes accordingly.

[gsusmaniac]

Sweet guys, yeah this was a spur of the moment shoot with a kid in the youth group I work with. We were having a fun day and he wanted some pics of him hitting the gap, so I shot a few.

We have plans to go out and shoot in other places to see how it goes. I will give some new techniques a go.

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Not to belabour the obvious but a flash fires at 1 poofteenth of a second. Your shutter speed doesn't affect anything much except ambient in that instance.

[craigyc]

Aweome daytime shots! Love the sky in one of them!

As for the night time shots I agree that maybe a 2nd speedlight (if you have one) with a coloured gel on it would make the back ground more interesting!

[anco85]

The day time shots are freaking fantastic man. I wouldn't change it at all

[Visual Reality]

The first night shot is a good start - it has potential. I think what is bothering me is from the chest up - it would be much better if his face was visible and his arms were better positioned. I know it's hard while you are skateboarding though.

The very first shot is great.