Action sports sequences

James Paterson shows you how to create an amazing action sequence with a combination of camera and photoshop skills

Create an extreme sports montage with impact

as much as it’s about skill, perseverance and downright nerve, skateboarding is also about creativity – which is something we photographers can relate to. Both pursuits rely on combination of imagination and technique – just as a skater chooses the right line and strives for perfect execution, a photographer chooses the camera angle and considers the best way to capture the moment. Perhaps this is why the best skate photography has a visual poetry to it that most other action sports can’t match. Or maybe it’s because the motion of a talented skateboarder in full flow is so visually appealing, especially when we combine several frames for a sequence photograph like this.

Photographers have always wrestled with the challenge of conveying a sense of motion within a still image. There are lots of tricks of the trade – motion blur, rear-curtain flash, panning blur. But one technique is ideal for skate photography…

As a flick through any skateboarding magazine is likely to point out, sequence photography is a striking way to show a skateboarder in action. The technique involves capturing several rapid-fire shots, then stitching them together to display the subject in multiple positions throughout the frame.

Naturally, there’s a smattering of Photoshop involved in this. But as with all the best digital tricks, the real skill takes place in-camera.

In this project, we’ll explain how it’s done, first by getting set up for high-speed photography, then by piecing everything together for the final action-packed composite.