Getting the Steep Shot

[GrizzlyAdam]

Hey everyone,

I'm wondering how to shoot steep hills better. That is, the camera seems to flatten ski slopes and mountain bike trails, so that they do not look quite as steep as they really are.

Any tips?

Thanks!

[Photo-John]

Good to see you here, Adam

I know very well the problem you speak of. There are three basic tricks to making things look steep - or rather - not flattening them out.

1) Shoot perpendicular. Instead of shooting up at our subject, shoot from the side. This gives you the actual angle. Make sure to watch the trees and keep your camera vertical. If your slope isn't actually very steep, this may not be the best method

2) Shoot across. I love it when I can shoot across a ravine or gully with a long lens. The combination of looking straight across at your subject and the long lens can make a slope look nearly vertical. This is a good technique for making things look steeper. The tough part is actually having a good vantage point for a shot like this. I think it's easier with super long lenses and ski shots than it is for mountain bike photos. I also think telephoto shots in general imply slope better - as long as you stay reasonably close to the subject. If you're 200 yards straight downhill you're just going to flatten out the slope. But if you're 30 feet downhill you can still get a sense of steepness.

3) Wide-angle. Shooting tight with a super wide lens and keeping your subject near the top of the frame can make a trail look really steep and gnarly.

Have you tried any of these techniques? I know you like to pack your Canon S95 when you pedal and ski. One of the things I don't like about that camera is the lens is too short for long telephoto shots. That's why I pretty much always pack my DSLR and 18-200mm lens. It's also why I'm willing to give up RAW in a point-and-shoot. There are a whole bunch of pocket superzoom cameras with 10x or longer zooms now - but none of them shoot RAW. I'd rather have the lens than RAW. If I'm going to get really picky I'll just carry the big camera.

[GrizzlyAdam]

Thanks John! I'm going to put these suggestions into good use.

And yes, the S95 has a short lens. It was s trade-off I was willing to make, because like you said, if I want the long lens, or the higher-end results, I'll take the big camera along. However, the little S95 has proven to be a great DSLR substitute.

Plus, I can always get a pocket sized super-zoom. Can't have too many cameras right?

[Photo-John]

Plus, I can always get a pocket sized super-zoom. Can't have too many cameras right?

Yup - I've pretty much completely switched to pocket-sized superzooms. There are even a few now that do have RAW, although I doubt they match the image quality of your S95.