Info media photography : Sports photography is fun and interesting. We're talking here about downhill skiing and snowboarding, though the tips for great downhill photos are true for cross country skiing as well.
Before you take a picture of someone on the slopes, you should consider the answers to three questions:
- How should I handle the camera in these cold conditions?
- How can I capture a sharply focused image of the skier or snowboarder that gives the illusion of speed? Or a stop action photograph?
- How can I capture a well-exposed image?
Cold Conditions
First, how should you handle your camera in cold conditions?
Batteries often fail in the cold. Shutters become sluggish. We suggest
you read our article on Cold Weather Photography Tips which includes winter photography tips and techniques for those venturing out with a camera in freezing conditions.
But in general, when it comes to skiing, the basic goal is to keep
the camera and batteries warm when you're outside. How? We suggest you
keep them inside your parka, close to the warmth of your body. Take them
out only when you are ready to shoot.
Of course, keeping the camera inside your parka may be difficult if
you're using a medium-format camera or even a large DSLR. Our
photography tip: If you just want to capture a picture of your
friend/spouse/child on skis, use a smaller camera. A point-and-shoot or
even a single-use "cardboard" camera. If you want to take a truly
professional picture, then use the best camera you can, and keep it as
warm as you can until you shoot.
Sharp Focus
The second question is: How can you capture a sharply focused image that gives the illusion of speed?
Timing...timing...timing. The starting point is to know where to
position yourself so that you'll be in the right location when the
skier-subject flashes by. What's needed here is communication. We don't
mean that you need walkie-talkies. Rather, before you set up
for the shot, talk to the skier and agree on exactly where you will set
up, decide where the skier will pass you, and — most important — agree
on a signal from you to indicate when the skier should start.
This last sports photography point is important: If you don't agree
on some sort of signal, dollars to doughnuts the skier will fly past you
before you're ready. Make sure the skier is aware of how long it will
take for you to set up: You have to ski down to the agreed-upon
location, set your poles, take off your gloves, get out the camera, get
it ready, and set yourself and the camera for the shot. Only then are
you ready!
Our suggestion: Tell the skier not to budge until you give the signal
- for example, until you wave your arms over your head. Don't rely on a
verbal signal, like shouting "Ready!" The skier probably won't
hear you. And don't rely on any sort of subtle visual signal, like
pointing a finger. The skier probably won't see it. Agree on a large,
unambiguous arm movement!
Another sports photography point here: Notice that we said you would
take off your gloves. We're assuming that you're skiing too and that you
are wearing klutzy ski gloves. You can't easily handle a camera with
these gloves on. So, cold as it may be, you're going to have to take off
your gloves to take the picture. You may want to consider carrying an
extra set of gloves with fingertips that can be folded back so that you
can manipulate the camera controls. Backpacking stores generally sell
gloves like these.
Now, where should you set up? In part, this depends upon the type of
picture you're going to take to produce the illusion of speed.
How to Use Your Camera — Stopping Motion
To get a head-on shot like the one shown here, you've practically
got to set up in the skier's path. In this case, NYI
student/photographer Klint S. Ashby set up right below a big mogul that
the skier and he had agreed would be the point at which the shot would
be taken. As explained in the NYI Complete Course in Professional Photography, you can use a slower shutter speed to "freeze" a subject moving toward
you, even though the same slower speed wouldn't freeze a subject moving
perpendicular to you. In this case, Klint obtained a sharp image of the
skier by pre-focusing on the spot at which he expected to take
the picture. In other words, Klint focused on the top of the mogul and
waited till the skier reached that point.
Some of today's autofocus DSLR cameras can focus fast enough that
you don't even have to prefocus. Just follow the skier in your
viewfinder and shoot at any time — the autofocus will get the picture no
matter when you shoot. That's one possibility.
There's one danger in using autofocus in a fast moving scene. If your
subject isn't in the center of your viewfinder, your camera will still
focus on whatever is in the center of the viewfinder. If that's a pine
tree 75 feet behind your subject, then you may find that your intended subject is out of focus.
If you haven't read the tip "Sharp Focus, A Guide to Using Autofocus"
make sure you do so. As you'll read, the trick to getting a
well-focused photo of an off-center subject is to use focus lock. While
it's a lot easier to use focus lock when your subject is standing still
or moving slowly, by applying focus lock to a static part of the scene
where your subject will be, you can overcome the tendency of autofocus
to make automatic mistakes.
But be wary of another: "Some point-and-shoot cameras don't autofocus
instantaneously. Instead, they delay for a moment after you press the
shutter-release before actually taking the picture. If your camera has
this sort of delay, watch out! You may press the button at the "critical
moment" and the camera may record just an empty patch of snow by the
time it responds. The message here: Know your camera!
By the way, we have a question about this picture: Where's his other pole?
Panning Motion
Now, here's another type of picture. Here NYI student/photographer
Peter Sharp panned with the skier to keep him sharp (no pun intended) in
the picture. In this case, Peter set himself up so that the skier would
move past him on the perpendicular. He might have tried to freeze the
action by using a very fast shutter speed — say, 1/1000th of a second.
But Peter had a better idea. If he had merely frozen the subject, he
would have ended up with a picture in which nothing appeared to move.
The skier would be frozen motionless. The trees would be frozen
motionless too. And the entire picture would look static.
Peter applied what he had learned about sports photography in his
very first NYI Complete Course in Professional Photography lesson — he
created the illusion of motion and speed by panning
with the skier. The net effect is to capture the image of the skier in
sharp focus against a blurred background. The key to good panning is
twofold: First, use a slow shutter speed — say, 1/30th. Second, follow
the subject in your viewfinder as he approaches you, keep him there as
you shoot, and keep following him after you shoot. Your
objective is a smooth motion like a golfer's or tennis-player's swing -
starting with a backswing and continuing "through the ball" to a
follow-through.
Frozen Motion
Now, here's an example of a picture by NYI student Brent Winebrenner in which the motion is frozen.
Why does freezing the motion work here? Because of two factors.
One is the position of the snowboarder: He's in mid-air. Unless he
knows how to levitate while standing still, he's flying through the air!
That's the clear implication of this type of picture to any viewer. The
second factor is the flying bits of snow.
They say "Action" to the viewer's eye! For these two reasons,
freezing the action worked here. In general, freezing the action can
work when the subject is in mid-air. The viewer thinks: People can't
fly! This must be taken at the height of some action.
Exposure
All right. Question Three: How can you capture a well-exposed image
of the skier? This is the real key to good skiing pictures. All too
often you're shooting in extremely bright conditions. The snow is very
bright. So is the sky. And your built-in meter interprets all this
brightness to mean that you don't need much exposure. Result? Most
pictures taken on the slopes are underexposed. Sure, the snow looks
great. And so does the sky. But the skier who's your subject is
all-too-often a dark silhouette!
Here's a perfect example of the problems you can face. How can the
photographer — in this case, NYI student/photographer Cliff Fulton — get
proper exposure of the skier when his built-in meter is reading that
bright sky?
In a way, this returns us to the first of the three NYI Guidelines.
What's your subject? Your subject is the skier. Well, if your subject is
the skier, then you want to expose for the skier, not for the snow. How
can you get the right exposure? We offer a number of photography tips:
First, while you're talking together, take a
closeup reading of the skier's face, and set your exposure accordingly.
Use that exposure setting when you later take the shot.
Second, if you forgot to take that closeup reading —
or you couldn't - take a "substitute reading" on your own skin. If your
skin tone is approximately the same as the skier's, the setting you get
should be close enough. Remember that you must make certain the area
you read is in the same lighting and same angle relative to the light as
your subject.
Third, you might take an incident reading with a
light meter. The incident reading will read the light, not the subject
matter. It should place the brightness of the snow, the sky, and the
skier exactly where you want them.
Fourth, you could take a reflected reading of a gray
card with your built-in meter or a separate meter. The result should be
the same as you got with the incident reading.
Fifth, use fill flash. We advise this especially
when you are trying to freeze a skier who is coming toward you. The
light of the flash compensates for the brightness of the snow and sky
behind the skier. On the other hand, realize the limitation of your
flash unit. It probably has a range of ten to fifteen feet. Don't expect
it to light up the mountain. Odd as it may sound, if you use a
single-use camera, get one with a built-in flash and use it. As bright
as your background is, the fill flash will help light your subject. Use
it every time.
So here are five possibilities. The one thing we don't advise is to rely on your built-in meter and just "meter the scene."
Digital cameras automatically white balance and therefore the snow in
your images should correctly appear to be white. If they don't, check
your camera's manual to find out how to manually white balance the
scene.
By the way, in case you are not clear on how to take an incident reading or how to use a gray card, we have an article on our Web site that will help you.
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