Hey, Cody, I kinda feel like keeping that lower leg down because I'm afraid it's we're, it's blocking some of the ambient light, so maybe just front leg is also down. Cool. Well I was thinking of going up the chair and doing the gap. Got it, like the whole thing? Can we do one more before doing the lap, cool? So Corey, this spot seems like its higher a little before this. You think that's early? It just seems like naturally you're here. I think, so he's, in that frame he's directly over this, he's exactly where you are. So if anything maybe we should spin the light. I think the light was maybe focused slightly up the rail. So let me see, if you're standing there. Right, back this way? Okay. Yeah I think we could still tilt the heads up slightly. Yep. And you know right now I'm fortunate to have Jeff and Bly helping. But the reality is you can do this alone, it just takes more time, right? That's always the equation. If you have more time on your hands or you bring help ...

and you can move faster. Again, I opened this segment by discussing this reality of this is not the opportune time to shoot. You know if we get to blue sky we're gonna be, it's pretty tough situation we just can't overpower full sun but when we get those little pockets of clouds covering, you ready for me to do a test run? (camera shutter clicks) Okay let's see. Oh yeah much better. I think that's great, okay. And yeah these little pockets of cloud that's what we're really waiting for. Cody thanks, maybe I'll, I'm gonna send Dylan and then so you're gonna take the chair so you can get speed? Yeah. Okay, perfect, okay. You want me to do like one more? Yeah one more. I'm gonna send Dylan now and then you're gonna take a lap on the chair? Okay. Okay Dylan let's, we're gonna wait for a cloud, stand by. Alright. Yes. Could we do, on one of the passes, pass control where one of them can pop back to Alex? Sure, sure. Can they do a pop? Let's, maybe let's dial it in just so it's working and then absolutely. So, right now guys I'm looking up at a pretty big patch of blue sky. This could take a couple minutes actually, so you know right now firing the strobe we get almost zero effect when they're getting blasted by full sun. Yeah the sun's moved around a little bit since. One of the other observations that came up at lunch and it's as you look around this team, myself, my crew, and the students, there's a lot of guys here. And yet as we're seeing in the action sports world the growth of women in action sports. You know what I'm waiting for, and pretty excited about, is women to grow into the world of photography in the action sports world. It's a really unique opportunity, a real unique moment in time, is there's a real shortage of women and what women bring to the table is a unique perspective that men can't have. But frankly, it's really unique situation. Women bring a unique perspective to the table and there's a real shortage of female photographers in this industry. Yep, if you're looking for a career, there's a huge opportunity. Okay, here we go I can see some cloud cover comin'. I think I might call him. Okay Dylan, let's do it. Three, two, one. Cool, I think he's actually in our sweet spot. That's a nice frame. So, and I wanna be critical real quick. I know this is not gonna go in my portfolio, this photograph, it's not the greatest frame that I've ever shot, but this isn't about making the best frames, this is about showing how to do it. So that everyone that's watching can then go and do this in your own time, on your own schedule, in the right light, with the right athletes. And I wanna be honest, what I can see is, the snow's really dirty in the foreground because we've been walking all over it. In a perfect environment I might rake this foreground out and it would be kind of more virgin, that foreground. I'm not crazy about the trees behind him. That's not a really clean separation. Where Dylan is stacked against that horizon line. But, we're tethered to a table and we're kinda locked to this computer and moving around isn't that easy right now. So from that perspective, it's just being conscientious of I understand this isn't the perfect frame, I get that, but it's the principles that we're really talking about. It's where to put the light. We're trying to shape the light, we're trying to create something that doesn't exist if we're using only available light midday. So, let's, I'm gonna shoot Cody and then we're gonna send Cody down so that he can gap the whole rail. And then what I'd love to do is actually hand over the transmitter to one of you guys and let you shoot a few frames and can look over your shoulder. Okay. So, we're gonna wait for clouds again. We're good for Cody? Not yet, let's wait for clouds. But Cody's gonna be able to ski straight into the lift. Yep, yep. Dylan's not skiing to the lift right he's hiking? Cody when you drop, when you drop into the clouds we're able to slow down the lenses. So when you drop, shoot all the way down (inaudible) in the lap, we're just waiting for the cloud cover for when you drop, we're just waiting for the light. Okay that looks like a decent cloud. Alright Brett let's send him. Alright, go for it. You're ready to drop, the clouds just came in. Is he droppin'? Okay. Three, two, one. (camera shutter clicks rapidly) Cool. It's a little late. Boy that is so directional. So I think I was right on the edge of the frame there. We have such a focused spot of light right now. I was probably a foot late on that frame. So, this is where repetition comes in. We'll do it as many times as we can. Dylan is just getting ready. I kind of wanna do one more frame before I hand off the lights to one of you guys. Who wants to shoot, who's uh? I'm down, yeah. Okay, great. Maybe we'll put it on your camera first. I think it's only gonna work on the Nikon. Oh. It's Nikon specific. Oh, yep, okay, we're not playing favorites but you win, you're on a Nikon. Okay. Okay maybe let Dylan know we're just waiting for light again. Okay. Guys any other questions? Anything that's going through your minds? One of the things that I think about when we're setting up lights and doing stuff like this. A lot of times I'll get up there into the sweet spot and I'll start looking directly into the light. So I'll imagine myself as the subject and how I want the light to be shaped around the subject. So that I can go and look at it and imagine how the light comes, hits the subject, and then I, you know, think about okay I wanna move it here, I want it higher, I want it further away, I want it more focused, I want it more broad light. So, it's just one of the kind of different ways. Thinking about it on the other end. 'Cause you know, you're in the camera you're seeing things one way. When you go and stand up over there you can see it from a different way too. So it kinda helps. Oh yeah, okay we've got a pretty decent cloud. Okay let's send him. So I'm above this snowflake right, that's our? Okay, okay. Okay let's send him Brett. He's coming down. Three, two, one. (camera shutter clicks rapidly) Oh yeah, there we go. That's it. Alright that's our best frame so far. I was just shooting prematurely. So, I think that's in a great spot. Dylan are you comfortable hiking a a few times? Cool, alright. That was great. That looked, check this one out on the hike up. And it actually worked out that he's even stacked against trees. Like it's dark enough that he really separates from the frame. Which, that's our most successful frame so far. Alright.

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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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Refining the Snow Park Action Shoot: Using Strobes

Refining the Snow Park Action Shoot: Using Strobes

Lesson Info

26. Refining the Snow Park Action Shoot: Using Strobes

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