Georgia Resident Shares Expert Skate Photography Tips

Macon native and now expert skate photographer Ted Newsome shares top tips to capture difficult action shots from all angles. From shooting ollies and kickflips in the street to big air in a concrete park, capturing movements that last mere milliseconds can be tough.

Newsome has years of experience shooting for TransWorld Skateboarder magazine and producing FUEL TV’s skate comedy TV series, “American Misfits.” Born and raised throughout the south, Newsome combined his passion for photography and love for skateboarding into the ultimate career. With more than 25 years in the industry, he has worked alongside pro skateboarders, surfers and snowboarding rock stars. His expert advice and all-time favorite experiences are shared with a rapidly growing photography-enthused community on Binteo.com, a social network where amateur and professional photographers connect, share, and learn from one another.

Tips for Capturing Epic Skateboarding Photography Shots From Professional Skate Photographer, Ted Newsome

Composition is everything: First and foremost, make sure you can see the skater's face, where he/she is coming from and where they are landing. If the skater is on a rail, make sure you can see the entire rail; if it's a ramp or cement transition you usually want to see the entire curve all the way to the flat bottom so you can tell how tall it is. If you shoot a skateboarder flying through the air with no point of reference from takeoff and landing, your photo will look SUPER amateur.

Get Low: Nine times out of ten, getting low to the ground will produce a better skate photo because it will make the obstacle look bigger and the skater look higher. If you have a flip screen you're psyched (because you can put your camera on the ground and still see what you're doing); otherwise get ready to get dirty to find that perfect angle. Note: some gaps will look much bigger from above so low isn't always the best.

Look at the big picture: Stand back and look at your spot, if you have interesting architecture or trees, shooting wide may make a big difference. It's really about the trick and obstacle first, so make the gap look big, the rail tall or the bank steep and then include the environment if it adds to the photo. A crowd gathered around will up the intensity of a photo if the trick is good, or an interesting tree in the background may make an average trick look super rad.

Prep and hustle: You don't want to waste any time on location changing batteries or looking at media cards trying to remember if you downloaded photos; prep before your shoot so you can get set up quickly and not miss a trick. Make sure you have fully charged batteries, clean media cards and dust-free lenses. Your camera bag should have a specific place for everything so you always know where your gear is.