Snowboard Photography Help

<p>I am interested in getting into snowboard photography and i need a little help .... I do mostly sports photography, lots of Moto,Bmx, Skateboarding, I have been offered money for my pictures but i dont ask anything because i do it for the love and not the money but thats besides the point .... i know snowboard photography is completely different from any other sports photography thats why i find my self drawn to it <br>

I have done 2 snowboarding shoots and i find i need more light and gear....<br>

here is what im using <br>

Nikon D700 and D60 ( which i only use with my 10.5 fisheye on it because its useless on the D700)<br>

24-120 mm<br>

50mm<br>

70-300mm<br>

and i have the sb-900 for flash <br>

i am planing on getting a flash trigger </p>

<p>do i need more fix focal as far as lens go?<br>

do i need more flashes ?<br>

or do i need to get some constant lighting ?</p>

<p>any help would be greatly appreciated <br>

thanks</p>

 

<p>Sell your images! Esp. if 'they' are asking for them! You're just ruining it for those of us deriving, or trying to derive, an income from sports shooting.<br>

I assume you are shooting in the daytime and need more light to brighten the shadow side(front) of the snowboarders, right? I'm not sure how / where you would place a remote flash that is close enough to the snobrdr but not in his way. Obviously you just need a light stand or pole or monopod to attach another 'sb' to and stick in the snow, on the opposite side of the course from you. Perhaps a reflector - like a 4x8 sheet of white foam core - would add enough light.<br>

Fixed focal length lenses give better quality images than zooms, generally speaking. Your 24-120 and the 70-300 are not ...well, not pro quality lenses. The 24-120, although a nice focal range, is not highly arated at all. You should rent a 300 and 400 to see which is better, and affordable for you.<br>

Again, stop giving away your images!</p>

<p>If you look through back issues of Transworld Snowboarding, they give info on how the cover images were shot (at least they did a few years ago). Almost all of them were shot with either a 70-200 f/2.8 or a fisheye (for halfipipe, quarterpipe style images). Very few use lighting gear, and in the cases where lighting was used it was typically either a halfpipe shot with the shadow side lit by a powerful flash (ie Elinchrom Ranger) or it was a huge table top shot at sunset with the rider illuminated from a distance (again, big battery powered flashes like the Ranger).</p>

<p>It wouldn't hurt to upgrade the 70-300 to a 70-200 f/2.8, you'd definitely get better build quality and optics. Another speedlight and a set of triggers would give you lots of options when the light is fading and you can balance against ambient using lower powered hotshoe flashes.</p>

<p>Really though, the best way to get good snowboarding images is to make friends with some really good snowboarders. You usually can't do that unless you can ride with them and keep up, or if you go hang out at the pipe and chat with the people who are hanging out and hiking it. It doesn't really matter how well lit the image is or how sharp the lens is if it's just someone doing a 3 foot high jump off a hand built kicker at the side of a groomed run.</p>

<p>I agree with Sheldon's suggestion of upgrading to a 70-200mm. It will be faster, giving you a shallower dof that will really make the subject pop. I think fisheyes are overused in action sports. I like telephoto shots with an off camera flash. Some pocket wizards would be nice and maybe even 2 or more flashes. One flash is fine, but more can be better. Get a good distance from the subject and zoom the lens to its longest. Set up the flash beside the subject if you can. </p>

<p>I would definately sell your images, even if you do love to do it. The camera store didn't give you free equipment because they love your face. You have to pay for you time and equipment and if they want better photos their money can help you get better equipment. </p>

<p>thanks for the responses they were all really helpful !!<br>

i have a few friends who are sponsored riders and who kinda of got me into snowboarding photography so i have alot of opportunities to head out with them.... ill head down to the camera store and rent a few lenses and see what looks best...</p>

<p>and any suggestions on how i could start selling my shots?<br>

to be honest i dont even know how i would now with everything done on the net....</p>

<p>thanks</p>

<p>we're not saying you have to market them, but if someone asks for them, don't just give 'em away</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Check out forums for selling on-line. I've used Smugmug, Exposure Manager and now with Zenfolio. Make up some business cards - I print 4 on 8 1/2x11 colored paper from Staples, 65 lb 'card stock', cut on paper cutter. Hand them out, place on a registration table etc.<br>

Upload your images, and sell on-line. They are printed through your online webgallery, Zenfolio uses MPIX, and mailed to customer.<br>

Also, get on Flickr, facebood and start a blog - all good ways to help promote your images - for sale. If they're good enough, of course! Got to learn to be very critical. If you can't make it sharp through editing, delete it! Uploading is quicker if you do not apply full editing to all images. Do minor stuff like WB, straightening and upload. When an image is ordered, re-upload an edited image for that print size.<br>

Please, start selling, don't give them away.</p>

 

<p>Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSMII if you are on a budget. I carry that and the 10.5 fish on my D200 almost exclusively. Another lens would be the 14-24 f2.8 nikkor. You need to be running almost all f2.8 lenses, or faster if you run a few primes.</p>

<p>As for how to start selling, if I knew, I would be. I'm on staff at a resort, so I guess it works out slightly different.</p>

<p>this is really great all your help is way more than i expected thanks guys !</p>

<p>Hi Zach - Start selling the images that you do not take for the resort - if that is your job there.<br>

Where is this resort?</p>

<p>Northern Michigan. Midwest images don't sell all that well. I do have permission to sell any images that we don't use for ourselves at the resort. The advantage to working in the industry already, is that I do have contacts high up in some of the snowboard companies (i.e. I can get locally sponsored riders at a moments notice, the national guys are a little too costly to get) and I have contacts at most of the major magazines. I was supposed to be talking to the guys at Freeskier, but want to improve my portfolio a little bit first.</p>

<p>I should add, the resort is BOYNE, which is actually three resorts, Boyne Moutnain, Boyne Highlands and The Inn at Bay Harbor. Corporately we also have Big Sky in Montana, Sunday River and Sugarloaf in Maine, Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, Crystal Mountain and Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington, Brighton in Utah, and Cypress in British Columbia. Oh, and the Gatlinburg Skylift in Tennessee. We also have the sporting goods chain of Boyne Country Sports (it is in MI only).<br>

I photograph for MI only. I do web development for MI, TN and MT and assist NH and ME.</p>