Skate photography: The 3 most important things

This is Part 1 of a series of video lessons on taking better skateboarding photos.

In this video I teach you the three most important things about skate photography

They are:

Shutter speed
Capturing the decisive moment
Composition

Shutter speed basics

Typically with skateboarding photos, the skaters are frozen in the shot - i.e. no motion blur
If you want to freeze motion in your skate photos, choose a fast shutter speed
In my experience that’s usually 1/1000s or faster
I use Shutter Priority mode
If you do want to blur the motion for creative effects, shoot at a slower speed, like 1/250s, 1/125s, 1/60s
Experiment with the slow shutter speeds to get the blur effect you want

The decisive moment

You’ve got to capture the peak moment in a skater’s trick
This takes lots of practice so you may not get great results on your first try
Watch your skater a few times to get a sense of how the trick looks
It helps to have a camera that can shoot in high speed burst mode
And if things are moving really fast, shoot with a Lumix camera that can capture 4K or 6K Photo mode

Composition

Strong compositions make your skateboarding photos stand out – even if your photos are not technically perfect
I like simple compositions with uncluttered backgrounds
I like using angles in my compositions as they make photos more interesting
Don’t shoot from the same point of view all the time
Change your position so you can shoot above and below the skaters to give more of a sense of height and depth
Strong composition will make any skater look like a hero doing the most amazing trick, even if they are a beginner

I have tons more tips on composition, so check out this blog post too.

For best results, work one-on-one with a skater friend so you can get lots of practice.

After a few practice sessions, you’ll develop a comfort level shooting skateboarding. You'll get to know your camera better, and the best settings to use for your style of shooting. You'll develop muscle memory. Things will become automatic in the future.

Of course there are a few more things to consider, but those are my top three.

If you want more skate photography tips, go to part 2 of this series. Coming soon
And just for you, I’ve got a cheat sheet with a summary of these notes. Download the pdf here.

Want more? Here's my previous post on skate photography with tons of examples.

These tips and techniques also work for bikes, roller skates and scooters.