SHOOTING BOULDERING WITH NADIR KHAN
1. Location is important
Find some really strong boulderers, both male and female. Bouldering by its nature doesn’t give you the great sweeps of dramatic cliffs dropping away below you, and you don’t have the exposure of big mountain faces to work into the image. So, location is very important, some bouldering locations aren't the most photogenic, either being in forests or in otherwise uninspiring situations.
2. always check the background
Check your background and the ground and try and remove any obvious distractions if somethings not adding to the image, then it’s a distraction and gets rid of it. Boulderers will have a lot of stuff lying around so keep the ground tidy and it will save you time in PS hell afterward.
3. find a good background
The background is very important, think about the location and try and find a strong angle and a strong background and how you can combine these in your image to make a strong composition.
4. lighting can add to the composition
Of all the outdoors disciplines, bouldering is possibly the one that's easiest to get right with the lighting. I use Elinchrom ELB 400 flash units to give me the light where I want it, I underexpose the ambient light and add a bit of drama to the image by angling the light from above and the side to sculpt and define the climber
5. editing the photo can have a lot of impact
The edit can add a lot to the impact your image and experiment with monochrome as this works best on overcast days where you can bring out the texture of the rock
NADIR'S GEAR:
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