how to shoot a biker/stunt show?

[myp]

A friend of mine is a stunt rider (motorcycle), and he is part of this huge group of motorcycle stunt riders. He asked me to take pictures of their next show. Help!

I'm not sure in what setting to shoot in and what lens to use (I have a 75-300mm zoom, 18-55mm and a 50mm).

I have not done this type of photography, and I think this would be a great opportunity. I really don't want to disappoint and i definitely don't want blurry pictures. Let me know. Thanks.

[zona5101]

Hi and welcome,
Have you seen them ride? Do you have an idea of what to expect or anything? That's always good info as it may tell you where you want to stand, what lens, and when/where a particular stunt will unfold. Barring any of that, you more or less treat it like a photojournalist and capture the event. Motorcycles generally will men higher shutter speeds to stop any motion blur. I assume the event is outside, if not a whole 'nother animal. Outside, then, watching for sun flare/strong backlight and other situations where you might need to dial in exposure compensation or even use an external flash unit... Take some wide shots , some tight shots and try to tell the story of what it's all about. Good luck.

[RichardTaylor]

Is the event in daylight or evening (under lights)?
Always use a lens hood.

If daylight then the simplest way would be to put your camera in sports mode and try to shoot with the sun more or less behind your back to keep things nice & simple

If shooting in poor light then;
(1) RAW (to give you some leeway when PPing)
(2) Maximum ISO - to give you a chance of getting a decent shutter speed.
(3) Aperture priority & lens wide open - take what ever shutter speed you can get
(4) Centre focus point only active and focus tracking on.

If you find your shutter speed is below the 1/focal length guide then camera shake may be a problem as well as unwanted subject motion blur. Consider using a mono pod to stabilise the camera and shoot action peaks.