I'd love to see actually that far wall while we're on this side of the, I noticed earlier when you were just going high on that wall I would love to just long lens see what we can capture. Yeah yeah that's a very scary one but it's definitely fun. So I never ride things bigger than six, seven feet and that's a 12 foot quarter-pipe with four foot of vert, so I'm definitely down to play on it. Cool, I don't wanna push you into anything-- No, no, I love, love doing that stuff. Cool, okay, so maybe we'll relocate the cart to the other side. Let's see what this looks like. Oh yeah, That's cool. Yeah, Jeff. I bet I do go 200-400. (unzipping) So I use these low-pro rollers. I talked about these on the day where we unpacked gear. What's great about these bags is you can roll them onto the plane. See, the way that I packed them is this is kind of my main kit, and then this is sort of a specialty kit where I keep long lenses. So I have, in here, this is a 200-400 f/4 lens which is a real...

ly great, you know as soon as I go past my 70-200 it's f/4 straight through. Super sharp. I use this both in the still photography world, and also in the video world, and it's light enough that I can hand hold it. If I'm gonna be using it a lot, I'll put it on a monopod. So I'm gonna jump onto this 200-400, it just gives me, you know, I'm kind of past that 200 millimeter range, here, and so I'm gonna just throw this on the D5. And if you don't, if this isn't in your budget, the 200-400, you can also, of course, 70-200 with a 1.4 converter, is a great option, and there's some sort of slower lenses, or variable aperture lenses, that are also great options. This is something else I'll do sometimes is just put the camera lens on my knee. It's kind of an easy way to rest it. So let's see. (shutter clicking) Okay, how does that look exposure-wise, Jeff? Reasonable? I mean I know there's that hotspot. Maybe I could hide that hotspot. Corey, maybe when you're ready, let's just see what it looks like when you're on the wall, and I might have to contend with that hump that's in the sun You good? Yep, let's do it. (rapid camera shutters) Okay, so I'm accepting that there's a hotspot right now. So now, it's challenging that Corey's actually in a dark, in a dark wardrobe. Yeah, up against that black, I'm liking there's a little bit of a shadow there, kicking off the wall. Okay, I look, a couple things go through my mind as I look at this photograph. It's not a great photograph; I'll start by saying that. And a few things that I see: Obviously, someone stuck two stickers right in the middle of that wall, that are pretty distracting, like it's sort of my eye goes to those images. The (clears throat) the other thing that I notice is that hump has a highlight on it which is, your eye goes right to the hump. I might be able to get lower and hide that hump with this foreground hump that's in the shadow. I'm also noticing that maybe this is more of a vertical frame, could be interesting, show more bottom, so that you get a sense of how high he really is. One great thing about this shot, if I'm out here working for Red Bull is there's actually Red Bull branding in this shot beyond just on Corey's cap, and so that's something that I'd probably try to frame more elegantly; I'd make sure there's a straight line. But I think from a Red Bull content pool perspective, their gonna be happy, my editors, if I bring back a picture of their athlete doing something cool with Red Bull branding in the background. I wanna, real quickly, just try to get lower, see if I can hide that light, shoot, so hide that highlight on the hump, put Corey in that spot, and, ooh that's also pretty neat, when... Hey Corey, when you just came over that little gap, you're going through the sun right now. Right here? Yeah, can I just real quick fire a frame of that? That direction or coming-- Coming at me Okay Yeah, and would you do anything as you go through the air there? Or is it more you're just-- I could do something off the first part, just gap the flat Yeah, that would be great. I could do, just like a no-hander Cool So, it'd be something just like that Great. I might, and this is important for the audience that's watching at home. I just described what was and wasn't working on that wall, and I'm gonna make an executive decision, right now we're gonna come back to that in segment two and light it, because it's not gonna be great right now in available light. While I was talking I saw Corey do something that's way more interesting which is over that gap he's actually going through the natural light and that's what the segment is about, and so I'm gonna switch gears real quick and make a picture that is compelling because it's readily available. So it's knowing when to cut your losses, and move on to make something interesting. Cool So, can I-- Do you want us to test shot, just jump through-- Yeah, and you know what? I kind of need to, I might even have you just roll over there and either stand or sit on your bike, in the light, just so that I can figure out exposure. And of course, just as we try to do this, a cloud rolls in. Okay. Yeah, that's gonna be sweet. (shutter click) Let me just check that for exposure. And one thing you might notice I do a lot is the way I test exposure. I'm not sure why that's not going to There we go, okay. Cool, does that look pretty good, Jeff? Or can I... Yeah, that's actually a really nice, you got detail Okay.

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Corey Rich

Corey Rich has built a life and career around his passions for travel, adventure, and telling stories with his camera. With a background in rock climbing and photojournalism, Corey’s work spans a range of genres, from iconic still imagery for leading editorial publications, to television spots and films, to directing high-production-value commercial projects for Fortune 100 companies. 

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topics covered in this class

Commercial Adventure & Sports Digital Photography Digital Photography Digital Photography

Ratings and Reviews

Zoe Heimdal

I really enjoyed this class! I am not an "action sports photographer" -- just an avid photo enthusiast, and I found this class highly informative/interesting. Corey has a very down-to-earth quality in the way he presents information... a regular guy, who knows a ton, and is sharing his wisdom. Clearly many topics/tips were off-the-cuff as he ran into situations during his shoots -- it just felt very "real" -- like I was there with him, getting a private lesson. There was quite a bit of info dealing with camera cards/photos/apps that was ubiquitous to any photographer. And then it was interesting to hear about his travel bags and what he brings to shoots (a ridiculous amount of gear, but everything with a purpose). There are hours of on-site filming for an outdoor ski and an indoor bmx shot... with Cory trying/failing/succeeding in many attempts at things -- just like a real photo shoot would happen. His advice for capturing a good/workable shot from the get-go and then spending the time on the riskier/more-creative shots, was solid -- as far as keeping your clients happy no matter what. I was genuinely surprised at how interesting/useful I found this class (being that I rarely take action shots) -- and I'd encourage any photo enthusiast, or person in the earlier stages of any professional photography career, to check out this class. My one piece of constructive criticism for Cory/CreativeLive -- try to represent women? This class only had the briefest of inclusion of females, and left me with the impression (I'm hoping incorrectly), that the world of action sports photography, is a man's world.

a Creativelive Student

If you're looking to learn from one of the greats of action photography who also happens to be an incredible instructor, look no further! Corey Rich and his fantastic team will show you every facet of being a great action photographer and they share all of their insights from A to Z. Their instruction is heartfelt and they laid it all out there for everyone's benefit. A huge thank you to Creative Live and Red Bull Photography for bringing this to the world. This is a must have class in your library!

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Prepping Gear & Refining the Action Shot: BMX

Prepping Gear & Refining the Action Shot: BMX

Lesson Info

36. Prepping Gear & Refining the Action Shot: BMX

Lessons

Class Introduction

What Makes A Great Action Photo

Conceptualize the Shoot

Research Location / Wardrobe / Props for Action Shoot

Safety Tips for Action Photographers

What Gear Do I Need? Packing and Prep

Workflow and Asset Management

Ingesting and Organizing Files

Editing Down Your Selects

Post Processing Overview

Working with Clients to Select Finals

Retouching & Post Processing: Image 1

Retouching & Post Processing: Image 2

Retouching & Post Processing: Image 3

Final Client Delivery

Introduction to Snow Athletes

Setting up the Shot: Using Natural Light

Getting that First Action Shot: Snow Park

Scouting Location for Action Shot: Snow Park

Capturing Variation of Snow Park Action Shot

Refining the Snow Park Action Shot

Action Shot with Strobes Overview

Shoot: Action Shot with Strobes

How to Light Using Strobes

Action Shoot: Snow Park with Strobes

Refining the Snow Park Action Shoot: Using Strobes

Capturing Variation with Snow Park Athletes

Capturing Portraits: Snowboarder

Capturing Portrait: Skier

Shoot: Feature Jump Action Shot Afternoon Natural Light

Introduction to Today's Shoot

Building a Rapport with the Athlete: BMX Rider

Scouting Location for Action Shot: Indoor BMX Park & Natural Light

Getting the First Action Shot: BMX

Conceptualizing the Action Shot: BMX