How to Take Snowboarding Pictures That are the Envy of all Your Buds
Snowboarding pictures - tips and tricks
Taking snowboarding pictures as almost as much fun as snowboarding -- I said 'almost.' But taking snowboarding pictures should be a part of your experience, and snowboarding pictures are definitely worth having AFTER your boarding trip is over -- whether it's to show them off to friends or family, or just to re-live the memories of your ride.
But taking GOOD snowboarding pictures is not always easy -- especially if you want some nice action shots, and not just great poses of your friends with their shiny-looking boards!
Here are a few tips for taking amazing snowboarding pictures:
1. First of all, be prepared to take LOTS of pictures -- about twice as many as you might imagine at first. Sure, some of your snowboarding pictures are destined for the trash, but the more you take, the higher percentage of keepers you'll have to choose from.
2. Plan to take snowboard pictures in sequence, rather than just an occasional pictures -- you'll capture your best action shots that way.
3. Make sure that the sun, or whatever source of light you have, is behind the photographer's back -- otherwise you may end up with a bunch of snowboarding pictures that are simply silhouettes. Of course, if you WANT silhouettes, then take the snowboarding pictures while looking INTO the sun!
4. 'Frame' your snowboarding pictures before you click, by looking around the edges of your subject in the viewfinder -- are there tree branches sticking out of anyone's head, for example, or beautiful boards obscured by shadows?
5. Photography pros use something called the 'rule of thirds'. The easiest way to explain how to do this is to draw the imaginary lines of a tic-tac-toe game in your camera's viewfinder -- wherever the lines intersect is where the human eye is apparently drawn, so put your subject or the most striking element of the photo at one of those 'intersections.
6. If you really want to capture those once-in-a-lifetime action shots, the best advice I can give you is know your camera REALLY well before you're ever in that situation. That way, you can respond quickly when those moments happen.
7. The most important thing about taking snowboarding pictures is to experiment -- try different angles, turn your camera sideways, move up or down -- think outside the box, and HAVE FUN!