skate

[merman]

i did some post editing to these, i really like how the turned out, but what do you think?

[Marko]

These are some nice mid-air captures but could use some improvements imo.
In shot 1 the bottom is too bright and I'd tone it down. I'm not sure about the saturated green as it takes attention away from the skate-boarder.
In shot 2 the red cast on the skateboarder is distracting to my eye but I like the pose and angle. I might also try to burn in the central bright cloud.
Hope that helps
Marko

[merman]

its been a while since ive been on here, but, onece again marko my friend, you give some sound advice..

on the first shot i was experimenting with a flash, never really used it on a bright day, would stopping up help at all? i used f11 for that shot if i remember right. i would rather fix it with my camera then with gimp lol

the second shot is my rider that i shoot all the time, his skin tone can be a real hassel, he is great and will try and try and try until i can get a shot i am satisfied with, unfortunetly it wears on his body, hence the redness, any tips on how to tone down his skin while shooting, because as for the compostion i felt i really captured the spirit of how he feels about skateboarding. its really one of my favorite shots! also i am working on my cloning skills, do you think it would help to clone out the bottom right lightposts and trees?

[Ben H]

on the first shot i was experimenting with a flash, never really used it on a bright day, would stopping up help at all? i used f11 for that shot if i remember right. i would rather fix it with my camera then with gimp lol

It looks like you need to get an understanding of how to control your ambient levels during flash shooting. It looks to me like you've exposed correctly for the ambient, and then added some serious flash, resulting in a completely overexposed image.

What you need to do is under-expose the ambient, 2 stops is a good start. This means that the ambient is underexposed, and the flash brings up the subject to the correct exposure, giving it some pop and focus.

I've just recently got an external flash (still waiting for the poverty wizards to turn up though) and I'm learning and experimenting with this stuff. If you really want some excellent tips on flash shooting, you should be reading the Strobist's blog and trying out some of that stuff to get a feel for things.