Motocross racing

Motocross Racing

One of the big advantage o this sport, is that you dont need special access to get close to the action, therefore a regular kit zoom can do most of the time to capture great images

Every race usually comprises of a few practice sessions in the morning, followed by a race in the afternoon

Focusing

Getting sharp shots of fast moving motorcycles can be very difficult. AF mode is okay if you can keep the focus point positioned on the bike before you taker the shot, or if they are going slowly. In more difficult situations such as shooting the bikes head-on over jumps; its better to use manual focus to get sharp results at the top of the hill. This takes practice to get the hang of, but allows you to get shots that auto focus might find impossible

Viewpoints

Choosing the right viewpoint will make a massive difference to any sports and action shots. Rather than simply stand where you can see the action ,look for vantage points where the background doesnt detract from the main subject. For uncluttered backgrounds, try finding a spot where you can use the sky or track as a backdrop, to concentrate all the attention on the subject

Protect your kit

Even in good weather motocross bikes are going to send plenty of dirt mud and slut your way, so you need to protect your kit. A towel or dry cloth is handy for throwing over the camera while you are not using it, and also for wiping off any gobbets of first that end up on the body of the camera. In very bad conditions it might make sense to use an entire rain cover for the camera

One good thing to do is to get familiar with curse, look at where the sun will beat the time of the race so that you dont get too many shots with the highlight of the sun on the bikers, also look after practice for the little canals that the riders leave behind, since they will tend to reuse those over and over when they hit a curve, you can choose a spot close to that as this will be an indication of where the riders will be going trough

One good location is to choose a jump area, sit there and wait for the bikes to come into view, use Shutter Priority Mode or Manual, focus manually on the top of the rise and set your shutter speed to 1/1000 second. this should freeze the action on the jump

Another good location as well is standing slightly above the track around the bends on the corners of the circuit. You can get away with using a smaller lens, 18-70mm as the riders will be much closer as well as they will be slowing down to take the curve, this viewpoint will provide you with a much better backdrop of the dirt. Here with the new speed of the bikes you can go down to 1/125 secs you could also use flash to help you freeze some of the movement.Also try your panning technique.

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Macro (Flowers)

Shooting flowers (Macro)

Don’t start snapping the first flower you come across. Even if you re standing on a field full of them, take the time to seek out the specimen that offers the best photographic potential, wether that is due to the quality of the bloom or its location

Once you have found the flower in its prime, explore the subject from all angles to find the shooting position that delivers the best composition

While your flower will be the central subject if your image, the background will play an enormous  role in the final success of the photograph. In any floral image, the background or surroundings will fill a large proportion of the frame. This isn't just empty space to e ignored, its an integral part of the picture. Your key decision will be wether you want to capture the flower in content and therefore present a clear view of the surroundings trees, plants and foliage or wether you want to focus on the flower in isolation.

As a general rule of thumb a close up fo individual flower using a macro lens will demand an unclutered background so that nothing distracts from the shape and texture of the flower itself.

Direction

If you are shooting flowers have been shot with the sun falling on them from the front. The results gives highly saturated colors but an element of flatness in the picture, and texture will be sacrificed. Alternatively standing so that the sunlight hits your subject from the right hand side will mean you get more textural detail as the beams skim over the petals from an angle. You will get a more interesting though uneven shot. For an even more dramatic effect, opt for backlighting. With your subject positioned between you and the sun, the delicate nature, the spines, hairs and translucency of your flower will be emphasized because of the light shining trough the petals from behind. Ultimately this works best on subjects with a translucent quality, such as buttercups and poppies, giving an etheral effect. Keep the background darkest than your subject and take the meter reading from the shaded side of your subject for a more even exposure

Reflect and Diffuse

The type of reflector you use in your outdoor photograph will have different effect on the end result. Careful arrangement of home-make white card reflectors or professional reflector sheets will bounce crucial light back into areas of shadow to get a more creative and controlled end result

Using gold reflectors on the other hand will imbue a warm cast over the frame for a summery effect. For a particularly dreamy image, and to take the edge off bright sunspots so as not to burn out plate flowers, position a diffuser in between your subject and the subject to soften the lighting. Tracking paper acts as an efficient diffuser material, the closer your position to your subject, the brighter the appearance and the higher the contrast.

Use your knowledge

Your skills as a photographer will grow if you use your macro work win conjunction with another area, anywhere you have inside knowledge that gives you an insight into what would make a good image and the spur to work at it

Learn patience

Macro iis not the immediate gratification type of photography. There will be successes and failures but you lean from both

Equipment

Dont make equipment or lack of it an excuse. After all, you wll only need good lighting and Aperture Priority Mode.

Have respect

The welfare of living things is of paramount importance. Lean all you can about the things you photograph

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Macro Photography

Macro Photography

Fruit and Veg

With a vast array of wonderful colors available, fruit and veg can make a great macro subject. Arrange to create attractive graphical shapes and experiment with over and underexposed images

Know your settings

The quality of your close up photography will only be as good as your technical capabilities, so mastering these skills should be top priority. For more amateur shooters get acquainted with your cameras macro mode.

Avoid cliches

Use tour imagination and take note only the obvious shot but a range of images that show your subject in a new light. Changing your angle is the quickest way to avoid  an unimaginative shot

World in focus

The defining characteristic of a successful macro shot is razor sharp focus. A handy trick recommended by professionals is to try and compose your shot so that the camera boy is parallel to the length of the subject, This ensures all areas are of equal distance to the lens.

Color

If you want to achieve a level of deep saturation of the colors, use front lighting if you would like to bring out the texture of your subject, side lighting is the way to go

In a flash

Be careful when using flash for macro work. Most on board flash systems are too harsh for close up photography and you will bleach out your subject or cause glare. However when used carefully flash will enable you yo use a smaller aperture for greater depth of field and create shots with greater clarity.

Light and color

its easy to get carried away wit ha subjects form when looking for a close up opportunity and forget about light and color as compositional tools. You can find beautiful tones in the most unlikely of places

Fill the frame

When shooting macro you will need to decide upon the technique that will enable your subject to fill the frame adequately. Choose the right lens, zoom, wide angle, or macro. then think about composition

Some simple rules

Sharp focus is a mist. Shoot from the different angles to get more unique images. Think about color, composition and lighting always

Dont rely on autofocusing, always try manual focusing. If you have Live View capabilities, its perfect here for macro work

It is vital to get lighting exact when photographing in macro. If you want to avoid using a flash and are instead going to stick to ambient light sources, the opt for natural lighting first. This will involve the least amount of fuss. Its possible to setup a simple studio environment using your artificial lighting sources around  the hime, but you need to avoid using harsh light lamps that are difficult to angle in order to avoid unsightly shadows. One false move may result in an image needing hefty image editing post capture.

Using your camera flash is a no-no

More tips

Lenses

Its worth looking into purchasing a macro lens, if you own a DSLR.

Steady shots

If you are capturing macro images you will need to make sure that a sturdy tripod supports your camera. A minitripod might be a good idea that you can put on top of your table as a regular size tripod will push your camera away from the object

Exposure tricks

In order to achieve great exposure its a good trick to bracket your shots, Make sure that you take note of which image looks good and what setting you used

Focus

When using creative DOF take a good look at your subject. Pick an area that you want to highlight and concentrate your focus to this point If you are using a large aperture this will throw the rest out of focus

Macro Subjects

Everybody photographs flowers when trying out macro photography. A rose may look beautiful up close but so can everyday objects Be different and try to snap up ordinary in terms in a creative way

Lighting

Bring conditions will cast heavy shadows on your subject. Get rid of this by diffusing the light with tracing paper or a Last olite diffuser. If shooting outdoors you will get the best effects when its overcast

Composition

Try and be creative with your shooting angles. It will give you more scope for a macro shots with punch. If you can place your objects on a glass surface, you can capture your shot from underneath

Out of the ordinary

Concentrate on making your object look out of the ordinary. If you can take a common subject and capture it making your audience look twice, then you know you have succeeded

Lens shift

Don't get addicted to using the same lens and the same setup. Change your setup now and see if you can capture the same object with a different effect

Experiment

Some of the best images come from experimentation. You might want to tweak your composition, exposure and lighting to capture a shot with a macro pizzazz

The kitchen is a good place to start, as there is so much scope for interesting textures and shapes. Take a look at the latest supermarket advertising campaigns or sit in a high street coffee bar and you will see that is  very fashionable  to capture close ups of food and in your home. The key to creating a great macros till life is to keep your shots simple. Try out macro effects on unusual objects such as cross sections of fruit or cutlery/ Don’t try and capture elaborate images, as you will detract the attention away from your subject. Remember its important to keep background as clean cut and fuss free as possible, by using a white cloth or piece of card in the background. You will then be able to clean up your shots easily in your image editing software program.

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Closer to Home (Macro)

Closer to Home (Macro)

Everyday objects around the home offer plenty of potential for interesting close ups, the key is to keep your eyes open for the possibilities of colors, textures and shapes. Even if you run out of ideas for photographing objects in your home, it is possible to bring interesting objects from outdoors for still life shooting

Consider investing on a mini tripod that will allow you to get closer to your objects, a larger tripod my interfere with the table

Creating a table top studio

• A sturdy table
• A white sheet or selection of large colored cards
• A minimum of two, but ideally three or four separate lamps
• Small pieces of card
• Tin foil
• Two objects large enough to prop up the card or sheets
• A tripod

Setting up your studio

• Lay a well ironed sheet or large piece of card over a table and prop the rear end up so it falls in a curve. Position the object you want photograph in the center of the table and change your lamps in such a position to eliminate any unruly shadows.
• If you have more than 2 lamps this should be easier In a professional studio darker shadows are field with the use of reflectors.
• You can use your cards wrapped with tin foils to create reflectors.

Try using a water spray bottle to add fine droplets to the petals and leaves. By photographing at such a close proximity to the subject you may capture some nice reflections.

The most everyday or mundane subjects can turn into  inspirational photos if you capture their details in abstract.

By learning to view the world around you in terms of its various patterns, colours and textures rather than the nature of the subject matter itself, you will undoubtedly discover a whole new world of photographic opportunities lurking in even the most unexpected places

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