# This was so close.



## MitchStrp (May 28, 2013)

The boys wanted to go out and get a photo for an ad in the magazine LowCard skate magazine (obviously). Corbin called his dad and sent him a snap shot of this set of stairs and said if I pull something out of my A$$ will you use it for an ad? His dad was stoked, said go at it and get a good photo. 

First attempt was brutal! Ive never seen anyone slam like that in person and then get up and go at it AGAIN and AGAIN.You may not be able to tell but this is a VERY narrow opening and the rail is so close to the wall that you have to gap out and then grind the end of the rail which makes this so much gnarlier. 
Unfortunately we have yet to land this trick so no magazine ads yet but this is what I came out with. When he lands it, which he will, this will be an ad in LC magazine UNLESS I get a better one.


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## The_Traveler (May 28, 2013)

Is there an English translation?
Using buzz words belonging to another sport in a photo forum is unhelpful unless you are really going for incomprehension.


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## amolitor (May 28, 2013)

I wonder who owns those stairs, and how pleased they would be to learn that some bonehead is "grinding" the railing to bits. Remember, skateboarding is not a crime, but wrecking other people's **** is.

To be honest, this looks like a pretty bad composite. Is there some giant strobe camera right that's making all those nasty shadows? The sky suggest sun off camera right, but I admit is vague. Or is this in fact a composite? I'd try to get the shadows to open up a bit, and crop in quite a bit tighter -- at least get rid of that streetlight and whatnot off on the left.


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## sm4him (May 28, 2013)

The_Traveler said:


> Is there an English translation?
> Using buzz words belonging to another sport in a photo forum is unhelpful unless you are really going for incomprehension.



^Gotta +1 that comment. As I read this, I thought, "Huh. Those are all English words..."

Still, I think I get enough to get the idea. Your friend is a skateboarder. He's attempting some ridiculously hard skateboarding maneuver in this location, that--IMO--was really NEVER meant for things with wheels to figure out a way to go down them. :lmao:  I mean, seriously, those are called HANDrails for a reason... 

Anyway...so when your friend stops doing face plants and starts actually doing this difficult manuever, you're getting to get a photo of it and it's going to be in some well-known (or possibly completely obscure) Skateboarding magazine.

I hope your friend accomplishes this BEFORE his parents have to pay for a hospital visit.  And I hope you get "totally rad" photos of it when he does.


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## MitchStrp (May 28, 2013)

amolitor said:


> I wonder who owns those stairs, and how pleased they would be to learn that some bonehead is "grinding" the railing to bits. Remember, skateboarding is not a crime, but wrecking other people's **** is.



This is in an abandoned parking garage and actually condemned by the city we had 2 police officers standing behind me watching this unfold. The cops were very interested and loved the slams ha imagine that. How can I make this image better I know the composition suck there is NO ROOM to move at all I was up against the wall when I shot this. No room for a fisheye and the only real angle is straight on because the sides are obviously blocked by the barriers against the rail. There is one flash camera right and would have liked to set up another but my other flash took a hit and didn't feel like performing. So what could you do to make this better?


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## MitchStrp (May 28, 2013)

Sorry about the vocabulary, I run around with skaters all day every day and forget that people do not know the "lingo" all over. Our area is very knowledgeable about skateboarding and usually know the jargon, So I usually do not have to explain but I understand how most people on the forums would be lost as you probably don't have hooligans running around on skateboards in tight pants jumping down things that were not supposed to be jumped down or on.


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## amolitor (May 28, 2013)

You need to diffuse the strobe and/or turn the power down. Do you even need a flash? You're shooting outdoors!

Turn the camera sideways, this shot's dying for a portrait treatment -- all the elements are vertical, right? So give the vertical lines room to breathe, and get rid of all that crap on the sides of the frame.

This might be a good shot for a rear-curtain sync effect, as well, if you can manage it. You probably don't want to be mucking around with camera tricks while he's trying to land a skateboard trick. He might hit it when you missed, and then he's beat you to death with his skateboard 

Glad to hear nobody's property's getting wrecked. I got no problem with responsible skaters.


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## MitchStrp (May 28, 2013)

If you dont use flashes in this enviroment then the skater will actually blend in to the background and not POP like he is now and maybe I will try the vertical portrait treatment as you suggested!


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## jwbryson1 (May 28, 2013)

sm4him said:


> I hope you get "totally rad" photos of it when he does.




:mrgreen:   You are golden, Sharon.


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## PhotoTish (May 28, 2013)

_^Gotta +1 that comment. As I read this, I thought, "Huh. Those are all English words..."_

sm4Him - I liked your comment because I understood the opening post and I am from the UK so, spot on 

_
"... *You may not be able to  tell *but this is a VERY narrow opening and the rail is so close to the  wall that you have to gap out and then grind the end of the rail which  makes this so much gnarlier."_ 

Hi Mitchstrp.  You have highlighted an important point yourself.  If the viewer cannot see these details then the impact is lost.  I wonder whether you should have tried to take the photo in portrait - perhaps getting in closer so the sides of the stairs frame the photo, showing the rail and skater closer up which might have given a clearer impression of the limited space the skater had to play with.  I might be wrong of course but it is worth a try.

Hope you get that photo and your friend stays in one piece :thumbup:

Ah! I see portrait has already been suggested


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## gregtallica (May 28, 2013)

Go back closer to night when the background is darker? Sunset, perhaps?


Hope your friend nails it. Good luck shredding the gnar


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## Derrel (May 28, 2013)

A little less shown on the left hand side would tighten this up. Your exposure does look good, both on the skateboarder, and on the sky and building. Even the fluorescent overhead light inside the parking garage driveway area looks like it's rendered perfectly. I really think this would look a lot better if the board itself were brighter--the all-black board kind of blends in with that dark rail. I hope you get the desired shot someday.


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## Brycycle53 (May 28, 2013)

i didnt read all the comments, i understand the lingo mitch haha

go back and shoot a portrait orientation, im personally a fan of compositions that include a larger area and the subject is just a smaller part of it, but in this photo you dont really need tat there isnt much of anything interesting on either side of him to look at.. try placing the main light to the other side to avoid that nasty shadow, maybe place a second flash in the same place as in this photo for fill. 
if you know the skater will blend in have him wear pants that arent black, and probably not a white shirt they are super easy to blow out. 
always shoot different angles too, maybe try a fish eye shot looking down? stand on the wall behind him maybe.


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## ktan7 (May 30, 2013)

Great shot! Great way of retaining the exposure in the sky! No detail was lost.


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## runnah (May 30, 2013)

Bunch of old farts in here!

Andy and Lew must be shaking their brooms at the neighborhood kids.


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## amolitor (May 30, 2013)

GET OFF MY LAWN


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## Ballistics (May 30, 2013)

The only thing I don't like is the composition of the shot. Everything else is fine.
10-20% off the left side would make this shot better imo.


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## runnah (May 30, 2013)

amolitor said:


> GET OFF MY LAWN



Pretty sure you've started a post with "Back in my day...".


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## The_Traveler (May 30, 2013)

runnah said:


> amolitor said:
> 
> 
> > GET OFF MY LAWN
> ...



My guess is that I have children older than Andy.


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## runnah (May 30, 2013)

The_Traveler said:


> My guess is that I have children older than Andy.



Perhaps, just keep an open mind about what the kids are into these days.


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## The_Traveler (May 30, 2013)

runnah said:


> The_Traveler said:
> 
> 
> > My guess is that I have children older than Andy.
> ...



I remember when I was a kid - and I don't trust their motives. :lmao:


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## runnah (May 30, 2013)

The_Traveler said:


> I remember when I was a kid - and I don't trust their motives. :lmao:



I still don't trust the motives of adults and I am one!


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## The_Traveler (May 30, 2013)

runnah said:


> The_Traveler said:
> 
> 
> > I remember when I was a kid - and I don't trust their motives. :lmao:
> ...



In age, maybe.


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## curtyoungblood (May 30, 2013)

I'm not just trying to be brutal, but if you're shooting for an ad, none of the stuff you typed matters, except for having a good personal story and being proud that he landed it. What I'd I portent is that it looks like he is doing a really awesome trick, with enough room to put some ad text around it.

 I also don't think the straight on angle is working for the shot. You're really showcasing the location, and not the skater.if you really need the straight on shot, it would work much better with him in the air with the sky as background, so he isn't lost in the staircase.


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## vintagesnaps (May 30, 2013)

I agree, a shot from a lower vantage point, maybe sitting on the pavement, could work. I'd move around and try shots from different vantage points while he or other skateboarders are practicing and see what vantage point(s) work best.

I too would shoot it tighter and try framing it differently, I wouldn't want this much background - the puddle in the foreground and the light to the left inside the parking garage seem distracting. The concrete having some texture and the pattern of the rails across the top could make for an interesting background, I think it's a matter of getting the skateboarder well framed in the shot.


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## gsgary (May 31, 2013)

Not that close you must have been 20 feet away get wider and closer and later


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## MLCIII (Jun 2, 2013)

gsgary said:


> Not that close you must have been 20 feet away get wider and closer and later



This. And I understood what you said, fwiw. Tell the oldies to stop yackin' they're dentures.


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