I think it one of the most enjoyable aspects here is you know, the whole idea of teaching or doing a creative live segment. It's to hopefully inspire other people to go out and shoot more, and you know, that's you guys. And that's the students that are here with us today. And so, I'm really as interested, more interested, frankly, in seeing what they're framing up, what their shot is going to be. Than making a picture myself. And so I think the best use of my time might be to, roam around, see what they're thinking, hear what they're thinking, look at their frames, and hopefully be inspired by what they're seeing through their lens. What do you have? What are you thinking? I'm just gonna do another wide one, up here, I think. Looking out kind of- Yeah Over the valley? Yeah, yeah. Okay, okay. (mumbling of plans) Are we gonna jump over the computer? (laughing) Okay, so you're gonna shoot from there. Could have got it right here, correct? Yeah, I think that's great, yeah, ...

I think it's great. Maybe I'll grab one of these. Sure. Alright, what, tell me what you're thinking. Tell me about your shot. Well I'm hoping I could post back here, maybe. Okay. The way the light's coming on, he's gonna be, you know, kind of front lay it. The clouds and the valley kind of have some nice texture and some good shadow detail and gives you know, a little more depth to it. So I'm gonna probably shoot long lens and just kind of compress that. Guiding, you're saying from here? Yeah- Okay. Maybe a little bit lower and just kind of track him and hopefully get him, silhouetted in the clouds, in the valley- Got it. And see what happens there, but I'm thinking depending on where everybody else is kind of situated here, I might switch to the 24 to 70. Got it. And then maybe come up a little tighter, do the same- And you're thinking obviously, high shutter speeds, stop him in the sky? Yeah. Cool, okay. So hopefully my focus will just stick through and follow him in and keep him really sharp. It's front lit, so he's not gonna be totally silhouetted, but he's gonna be, you know, he's gonna pop a lot off that background. Yeah, that's moody light right now, that's for sure. And are you thinking, vertical or horizontal here? Probably gonna go horizontal. I'm thinking about my website, I just changed, so I'm thinking about how that work will get shown later. Okay. So I'm pre-planning on what that might look like with my logo, and my gallery, you know, header and things like that. So it's a really wide, full bleed, almost like a panoramic, cinematic look to it. Right. So I just changed it up and I'm hoping that if I get something really clean it's gonna pop really nicely. And what you just said is actually pretty valuable. This idea that he's thinking about, in this case it's his website. But if you're working for a client, a lot of those same realities are true. Which is you're often times shooting for a specific website, or for a magazine layout- Right, right. Or a catalog layout and so understanding, you're asking your client in advance: What's the final use? Do they have a use case for these images? Is there something specific that they're looking for? Exactly. And I think using that model of your website is an example. Yeah, and that's primarily where it's probably gonna go from what the shoot is, and obviously people at home will see what we're shooting. And I always think when I'm shooting for clients: What space is this going in? Can you provide me a pixel dimension? And they usually do, they give me a banner dimension if it's going for an ad or if it's going for a local web page. If not, you know they say just shoot wider. You know, it's always: When in doubt, shoot wide is what I hear. And that kind of goes in- Sure. Hand in hand for me with my work, so nowadays cameras are you know really great, so you can crop in just a little bit. I like to keep my frame fully filled but when there's a chance to shoot a little bit wider for safety, that's a go to. Yeah, great, cool. Alright, good-luck. Thank you, Yeah, I'm gonna try. I'm excited to see it. Where did everyone else go? Oh, here we go, okay. [Student With Red Coat] We have Dylan at the top. Okay, so Dylan's ready, okay, perfect. [Off Camera Male Student] Dylan is ready, and I think he probably just joined in. Okay, I'm just going to roam around the corner. So let's warn, can you actually Brett on the radio? Yup. Let him know that we have one photographer directly under the lip. And that's on skier's right side of the lip. Okay. Alright. Cool, and you're getting, you're kind of wide, vertical? Right. Cool. Maybe tell us, tell us what you're doing. I was really happy with the first shot I got today with, from the other side of the jump, but the only thing I couldn't really see was the grab. So I'm hoping he does a similar thing from this side. And I can frame him on the right against these trees and kind of silhouette that and hoping that shot comes out. Cool, great, and Ralphie, what have you have going? Well, I was gonna try this, but Let me help, I'll let you talk into this. I was gonna try this little strobe but I'm going to bail on it. Is there just not enough juice? Not enough juice with the sun out, for sure. Yeah, and this is great, this is a small system, it's just, boy as we experienced today, if we waited two more hours Yeah. I think we'd have a great opportunity. Yeah. Or this would have to be so close to the subject at this point. Yeah, yeah. So you'll, what do you think in your back up? I'm still gonna take an angle just from over here, from behind where the camera is, and kind of shoot back up and probably try and get Cody and Dylan back beneath the sun. Right, okay. Show the jump and, yeah. Cool, great. Let me go work on it. Yeah, go for it, go for it. I know Dylan, is almost ready. Alright, I am actually switching from a 70 to 200. To a 16 to 35. Just so that I can get a little closer to the feature. And get a big background in this last bit of shooting. And I'm gonna take this remote off the camera, I don't need this anymore, I'm not using strobes. So I think less is more, just being able to move quickly and not having stuff bang me in the head. So I'm on the D5, 16 to 35, f/4 lens. And because we're shooting available light, right now we actually have a pretty nice patch of sun. So I'm also gonna move to this far side and just shoot wide. Let Dylan be just a figure in the landscape. And it looks like maybe Cody just skied in as well. But hopefully we get him during a patch of light. And we'll see what we can capture. We switched, alright. Alright, cool, alright. You want me to move? No, no, it's okay, it's okay. And what are you, 16 to 35? I'm at 24 to 70. 24 to 70. I'm compressed, a little bit. (camera shutter sound) Right, well, at least clouds are looking great. Yeah, I like the shadows on the valley. (camera shutter sound) And I'm switching it up, I was shooting obviously on strobes. I need to get out of single shot. Ah, how minutes there Cory? Give me one minute! (camera shutter sound) And we're going for a shot on this one, yeah? Yeah, I think so. We're almost ready guys! We're going to have Dylan drop first! Okay, and I'm gonna sit right next to you. Yeah, I'll be tight in this corner. You're good? Yup! (camera shutter sound) Okay, Brett, let's send them when ready! [Brett, Offscreen] Okay, give us two seconds! And give us the countdown, give us the! I will give you the three, two, one! Great! One will be when he's on the take-off! Okay! Here he comes! Alright so, I am two thousandths of a second, five six 200 ISO with some really big beautiful sky behind. Alright, three, two, one! (rapidly shuttering camera sounds) Great, alright! And that is the beauty of not being on strobes. As you can shoot a lot. Great, alright, that's a nice frame. How did that go? Decent, his back is to me again so I kind of wish I could see a little to the front. But you know it's hard to tell, there's a little bit of detail on the ground. Sure, sure. He's coming down a little bit and- Yeah, no, no, that's nice, I mean the light's nice, this is one of those situations where with more repetition it looks good. How did it go, guys? Good. Thumbs up. Alright, okay. Okay, so is Cody also up there, Brett? Yup, Cody's up there. Okay, great. So, anything you guys wanna change?! Or you're ready for Cody? Okay. [Offscreen Male Voice] We're good to go. Alright. Alright, so probably expect a little more amplitude out of- Cody is gonna go big, alright. Alright, you guys all ready? Let's do it. (walkie-talkie communication sounds) (laughing) Alright, Cody, drop when you're ready! Alright, he's on his way! Okay, here we go, exposure looks good so I'm still two thousandths of a second, we have a nice sun patch which is nice. And is he skiing, Brett? Yup! Okay, great. Uh-oh, and we just lost our sun! Three, two, one! (rapidly shuttering camera sounds) Okay, pretty awesome, Cody's amazing.

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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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Shoot: Feature Jump Action Shot Afternoon Natural Light

Shoot: Feature Jump Action Shot Afternoon Natural Light

Lesson Info

30. Shoot: Feature Jump Action Shot Afternoon Natural Light

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