At my last photo shoot, I came into contact with, literally the most disrespectful person at one of my sessions! I’ve been photographing a lot of skateboarders in Miami, Florida recently. Wanna take a guess at who this disrespectful person may be? The title of this post kinda’ gave it away. (The Photographs Displayed are Images Made From The Session That Inspired This Post.)

A Skateboarder Cop…

…well a security guard who thinks the costume his boss gave him to wear made him the most powerful person in the world. The security guard spat at my skater.

If you are a skateboarder, if you film skateboarders or if you photographed skateboarders I’m sure you’ve been kicked out of a location before. I’m used to getting kicked out at the most annoying times, like right when all the lights are set up. I understand why securities has to kick us out at times. They’re only trying to keep their jobs. They don’t understand that we’re trying to do the same. Some of the nice ones might say, “okay I’ll give you one try to get the shot you need then you have to leave.” or “Bro, I have to feed my kids. You really have to leave the property.” Those approaches are understandable.

@RunKelly and I were unpacking our gear and I looked over at the skaters the security ran outside shouting at the skaters. When I say shouting at the skaters, I mean SHOUTING at the skaters. “You can’t f**king skate here! Get off the f**king property!” If anyone approaches anyone with that tone they are going to get a reply back. One of the skateboarders answered him back saying look you don’t need to curse and shout to tell us to leave.” And that’s when the security guard spat at him. So he spat back. I don’t agree with the entire situation. In my mind he’s no longer a security guard he’s just a big pussy in a costume, spitting at my model that happens to be under the age of 18. I immediately ran over to the guard to clear things up. The little 5′9 guard’s mouth wasn’t as big when he saw me come over. I told the skaters to leave and I told the guard to ease up before a problem really occurs. I didn’t want to make a scene, so I didn’t punch him in his face like I wanted to. Mainly because all of the money we have now is for more gear and not for bail lol. It frustrates me to even write this right now because it still pisses me off that he would do such a thing to a 13 year old!

My Quick Tips To You For Shooting Skateboarders and How To Avoid Getting Kicked Out Before The Shot

Capturing  skateboarders at the right moment of action is not easy. If you want to do this for a living as bad as I do, you should start puting work into it like I do. There are ways to get around getting kicked out of your location- example you can contact the property owner and make a deal with them. But if you’re broke on a tight budget like I am, only using: Nikon D300’s, SB-900, Pocket Wizards, umbrellas and reflectors – renting the property is not an option. You’re going to have to that risk of being kicked out as well. BTW If you’re that person thinking  it’s easy as putting the camera into continuous mode and getting a lucky shot – bullshit.

Keep A Ten Dollar Bill…

…they work 9-5 as a security guard. That means he / she probably is not making as much money as wanted. That ten dollar bill looks good for lunch. I honestly  believe they don’t have to kick us out at times; I’ve paid-off countless guards to get shots. Shots that didn’t make my portfolio or even make it to my hard-drive. — Sometimes you have to do what you have to do for what you love.

In The First Tries…

…if you are working with lights etc. tell your skater to go down the street away from the set to warm up while you set up your lights. If the skater practices around you while you are setting-up your lights, it only increases your chances of being spotted by the skateboarder cop. Set your lights up, shoot great skaters and get the image within one shot.

Settings To Use…

…I’m going to be brief on the basics. If we were painters and I gave you a canvas  I expect you to know what brush to use for the strokes you prefer mark. In photography you’re going to develop memory for the camera settings which works for certain situations.  1/500 of a second freezes action, F – 2.8 lets more light into the camera, the lower the ISO (old school ASA) the less grain = the better quality of the photograph, however, the higher the ISO = the more light into the camera. Look for the best angles. Shoot a lot, fail alot, filter your good ones to develop your style good luck now go get shooting. (Even I am still in the process of mastering – I’m just sharing what I know with the community.)

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