Fire away! New to digital SLR. I am working a lot with my camera to learn the ins and outs of the 300d plus trying to expand my photshop skills. Please, by all means be constructive or not:
Well, as an amateur photographer and keen motorcyle rider I can vouch for the strong images of both Cypress1 and 2.. the others were technically good but left me a bit cold..
IMHO Cypress1 and 2 have the clarity and composition to form part of a magazine shoot.
Pat yourself on the back and give the Canadian Suzuki and Apinestar distributers a call about some great new promo shots ;)
I have moved this thread from the Critique Club discussion forum to the appropriate Individual Photograph Discussion forum. The Critique Club forum is for discussion of the Critique Club only...thank you.
I like your shots, try the Shadow & Highlight tool under adjustments in Photoshop, and play with the sliders to bring out some detail in the shadows and after that readjust the levels I think it will improve your photos greatly.
Choose a different type of day. Morning or Evening will help. Next use the flash on the camera, if you don't already a shoe mount. What lense are you using? and did you use a hood? With the flash, click or set your exposure level back 2 clicks to the left (2/3). This will help with the exposure washout. Other than that, good try. Also use the fill flash option on your existing pictures through PS or Elements to bring out more colors on the inside turn shots.
I had a hood on, the place was perfect for the shot, but horrible for light. the light was changing very dramatically and currently I don't have a proper E-TTL flash for it. We tried to wait for a lower light, but he was getting tired and very hot.
Thanks for the tips. I've always been a proponent of fill-flsh but just don't have the gear to do it yet. Still replacing all my stolen gear.
new2.jpg:
Too much shadow. The light is coming from behind the rider and casting a shadow over the front of the rider and the front of the bike. The condition is is made worse by the fact that it's a black bike.
new3.jpg
Same thing as above but now it's the back of the bike which is the same area as the main focus.
cypress1.jpg
Yea! Light is better now. But the background is a bit too bright. Other than that, it's has the potential to be the best shot of the bunch.
cypress2.jpg
Interesting angle but it just doesnt work and the backgrounds are distracting. Maybe a bit sooner on the shutter button and get the rider coming into the camera.
cypress3.jpg
Good light, good angle but the picture is not sharp.
If you want to shoot motorcycles / cars on a regular basis. You need to read up on, learn the techniques of, and practice panning. It's an essential skill.
To start your panning career, start out with the following. Find a turn that has the same turning radius throughout. Now pick a spot on the inside of the turn where the vehicle will maintain the same distance in relationship to you as it passes. Keep in mind that vehicles will enter and exit a corner wide while hitting the apex in the center of the turn, you want to be the same distance from the vehicle, not the pavement.
The rest is what I do, this may cahnge according to what your body is comfortable with. I will pick my spot and point my right foot in the direction that I will click the shutter as the vehicle passes. I will pick up the vehicle early in the turn and follow it all the way through in your viewfinder. Half way through this motion, I'll click the picture. As in many sports, follow through is just as important.
OK, your wondering right now... Why do I have to follow a vehicle in my view finder for 3 or even 5 seconds when the shutter is only going to capture 1/200sec of the motion. Well, it's because you need time to move your body in sync with the vehicle. If you are not perfectly in sync, you get blurry and soft focused pictures.
Did I mention practice? The only way you will get good at panning is to practice. When you think you have it down, practice some more. You get the idea here... practice is everything, it's the only way you will get this down correctly.
As you practice you can start lowering your shutter speed. I would say 1/250sec would be a good starting place and I would say that when you can get down to 1/125sec reliably, you will have a good understanding of the basics. notice I said basics... :)
