Should I pull down my pants?

InsuredDisaster · August 1, 2009

I'd like a whipping please, all comments and criticisms welcome.

I've been out shooting these skateboarders probably 5 or 6 times since the first time I posted some skate shots. Its taken me a bit of time, but I think I got some good ones today.

Please offer comments and suggestions, either on lighting, composition, PP or whatever else needs doing.

One thing i'm aware of is the dust on the sensor. I believe I've since corrected that.

I'll be shooting some of these guys tomorrow when they skate "the big stuff" so I'd really like some pointers about what to do differently or what I should keep doing.

Of course, if you like them, then you can say that too.:wink

Thank you so much.:bow

I figure it might help if I post the shooting setup. If you think I should adjust any of this, please let me know.

All shots were taken with a D70 (higher flash sync speed). ISO 200, Manual exposure 1/400th F14. Taken with the Nikon 10.5. SB-800 on camera set to commander mode and pointed towards the SB-600 on a tripod behind me. The SB-800 was set to only send out command signals and provided no illumination. The SB-600 was set to manual, full power and aimed up a bit to expose the face.

rookieshooter · August 1, 2009

I think they are amazing. The only thing I would do is crop out the stuff in the top of the frame in the last two pics. Excellent work !!

InsuredDisaster · August 1, 2009

rookieshooter wrote:

I think they are amazing. The only thing I would do is crop out the stuff in the top of the frame in the last two pics. Excellent work !!

Thanks! Great call about the leaves! I should have seen that. I've changed the bottom two photos. Thanks again.

phillybikeboy · August 1, 2009

InsuredDisaster wrote:

I'd like a whipping please, all comments and criticisms welcome.

The second and third are very nice shots. The first one really doesn't work for me. It's nothing you did....the technique and composition are all there. I just don't get a sense of what he's doing. It seems he's in the middle of bailing on the trick....in other words, a nice shot of nothing special. But the other two kick ass!

torags · August 1, 2009

they are great. Lighting is perfect. I like the fisheye look (back lite too)

Nice stuff

Rags

PS: Pull up your pants...

Andy · August 1, 2009

whoa

timcallow · August 2, 2009

Wow, excellent shots, I like the perspective!

InsuredDisaster · August 2, 2009

Thanks for the compliments. I'm surprised I didn't get more suggestions for improvement. I was going to put #2 in the Whipping Post, but I guess I was a bit late for that. So I really did want a whipping.

Thanks again!

ian408 · August 3, 2009

I like the lighting and composition of the second & third shot. My only comment is I'd like to see a little more flash to overcome the sun.

Using the 800 as a commander is a great idea. I don't know if you've tried TTL mode. If you are shooting manual with the camera and use TTL, you can use +/- EV correction on the camera to make changes to the flash--of course you can do that with the 800 too. When you do this, you apply the correction to all three flash groups.

Jwar · August 3, 2009

#2 is the best!

Try to make sure the faces are sharp, sometimes the expressions will make these shots.

InsuredDisaster · August 3, 2009

ian408 wrote:

I like the lighting and composition of the second & third shot. My only comment is I'd like to see a little more flash to overcome the sun.

Using the 800 as a commander is a great idea. I don't know if you've tried TTL mode. If you are shooting manual with the camera and use TTL, you can use +/- EV correction on the camera to make changes to the flash--of course you can do that with the 800 too. When you do this, you apply the correction to all three flash groups.

I did try the TTL mode but found that full power on The SB-600 was what was working for me anyway. Unless I can get more power in TTL mode (i'm not being sarcastic here, I know that there are all sorts of little hidden reasons you may or may not get full power with these strobes) then I'm not sure I'd see a difference.

The nice thing about these guys was that they consistently stayed the same distance away from the strobes. Yesterday I shot some more and even though I reassured them that I didn't care if the equipment got knocked down or hit, they (different guys) skated a little further away from the strobe after it got knocked down a couple of times. But I guess my point is, with manaul on full power, it seemed to fit the bill, since overal lighting requirements never really changed from shot to shot. Would TTL make a difference?

I had to use the 800 as a commander even though i would have liked the flexibility of using it off camera. However, the onboard commander mode flash wasn't powerful enough to overcome the sun. I'd like to credit the DVD "Nikon School presents: The Speed of Light." Overall, I first thought it was little more than a "how great Nikon CLS is" and just a long infomercial. It probably is. However, seeing the SB-800 used to trigger the other strobes in the bright desert sun showed me that it could be done, and how to do it: use the SB-800 stupid!

I'd never thought of "wasting" the expensive SB-800 by using it soley as a trigger. I ran outside and tried the strobes out, and the very next day, I got the shots you see above.

Thanks again for your comments.

ian408 · August 3, 2009

If the conditions remain consistent, you may not see any change at all between TTL and manual mode on the flash. Using TTL mode gives you the ability to control the remote flash without having to go find it and diddle the control. Maybe not so much of a deal with a single light but when you get to multiples or when you locate the light where it's not easy to access. I don't remember if you get that same level of control in manual mode (I shoot Canon and just have flash envy

).

The Nikon CLS is MUCH nicer than the Canon--they're both capable systems, the Nikon is more intuitive and easier to use.

InsuredDisaster · August 3, 2009

ian408 wrote:

If the conditions remain consistent, you may not see any change at all between TTL and manual mode on the flash. Using TTL mode gives you the ability to control the remote flash without having to go find it and diddle the control. Maybe not so much of a deal with a single light but when you get to multiples or when you locate the light where it's not easy to access. I don't remember if you get that same level of control in manual mode (I shoot Canon and just have flash envy ).

The Nikon CLS is MUCH nicer than the Canon--they're both capable systems, the Nikon is more intuitive and easier to use.

Ah, true, TTL mode would be nice if you actually had to go find the flashes and dial them in. However, with the Nikon system, I can control 3 flashes (or groups) (plus the oncamera master flash) individually from the commander flash. So I can change the mode from TTL to manual or even turn it off, and then adjust power and compensation all from the camera. Of course, if you had more than three remote flashes, you'd have to start putting them in groups, but even there, you might get away with handling each group manually. I'm sure with more and more flashes, then i-TTL is the way to go.

I'm not up to this point yet, and maybe you can do this with the Canon, but I never have to move away once I set up the remote flash.

Should I pull down my pants?

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