Skateboarding Photography Camera Settings
You can apply many of these tips to other kinds of sports photography too.
Skateboarding photography camera settings. Be creative try new compositions angles or depths of field. Photographing skaters is definitely not about sticking to conventional rules. And low angles in particular really help to bring skateboarding photography to another level. Once you set your camera on continuous focus mode it will track and re focus on the target subject as it moves.
Matt price photographer for the skateboard mag gives us an inside look at his mobile compact gear kit that works for getting to and shooting at just about any locale. In a pinch i ve use 1 500 second. Unfortunately skaters are often moving very quickly and it can be difficult to stay in focus when using a shallow depth of field. 1 1000 second works best for me.
However if you prefer to let the camera do the work set it in sports or action mode. Shutter speed is the most important setting. Shoot when the light is not too harsh. Read all about my first impressions of this camera over at lumixstories ca.
Skateboarders consider themselves to be athletes and gravity defying artists. Skateboarding is about breaking the rules of gravity. Else use shutter priority tv on the mode dial and set the shutter speed to something above 1 250 of a second assuming you have sufficient light for that shutterspeed. Changing the angle of your shots is one of the simplest ways to make huge difference in how your images look.
I ve been using the new lumix gx8 for my action photos lately. Most cameras have a continuous focus system to assist with this. Experiment with lenses camera settings or even with external flashes. Speed and motion will go hand in hand with skateboard shots.
When taking pictures of a moving object such as a skateboarder the biggest challenge is tracking the target subject as they move. One way around this is to opt for a larger aperture and track or follow with your camera your moving subject. Just miliseconds can separate a bad action shot from a fantastic one. Price is able to fit everything he needs for magazine worthy skateboard photos into one over the shoulder camera bag.
More often than not a shallow depth of field will improve an action shot. For this reason set your camera for multiple exposures and shoot in bursts to capture that perfect shot.