How I Did It - Motorsport Photography as an amateur

[hturkhan]

Hello All,

Here I would like to share my experiences of motorsport photography as an amateur. You can see my all "How I Did It" or"Tribute to the Masters"series on my photo blog http://hturkhan.wordpress.com/

How to Photograph Motorsports?
It’s fast, moving fast and you have to focus in seconds, push the shutter and get a clear Picture of what’s coming on the track; it is not easy.
Here are some, practical tips for amateur photographers who are fans of fast moving cars:
1) GEAR: As you are not a Professional, an accredited photographer, probably you will not be so close to the track during the race. So you will need a zoom lens, like 200mm or 300mm. As my opinion, the best one is 70-300mm, so you can use this lens in any occasion, without changing lens. VR is important.
2) PREPARATION: Get on the site 1 or 2 days before the race day, during practice or qualifying days and try to figure out which place is the best to photograph the action. Try to understand where you can picture the real “racing”. Some places can be more close to the track with a good angle from where you can take real good pictures of the drivers. For example the turns at the end of long straights are good places to capture the racing emotion. Also keep in mind that the track is always more crowded on the race day so it will be more difficult to capture the right Picture. Keep in mind that sometimes wide angle can be a better choice than the zoom.
3) TRY TO CAPTURE THE ‘FEELING’: Look always to capture the racing and competition. This is why they are on track and your pictures must reflect that. Look for flames, hot breaking clappers or two competing race cars with each other, one trying to pass the other, etc.
4) PANNING: Most of times, panning is the only technique you are going to use. Choice continuous focusing on your camera. Focus on your subject and follow it all the way while you take pictures. If you can follow your subject in a proper velocity, you will get crystal clear image of your subject, with a “movement blur effect” on the background which will give to your Picture a sense of movement. Don’t forget that you need to practice, practice and practice.
5) TRY TO CAPTURE THE ATMOSPHERE: Be aware that also the outside of the track is very interesting and you can surely find out really interesting pictures also there.
6) THE PODIUM: The last but most important; don’t forget to take picture of the podium


About the Author

Haydar TURKHAN
30 something, CPA, Husband, Dad (of 2), Amateur Photographer and big big fan of motorsport.

My Twits | My Flicks | My Blog

[Rooby1]

Thank you. Some of these tips can definitely be applied to other sports as well.

[cricket2783]

I mainly take photos of motorcycle racing. FAST!! The problem I have, well, 2 problems actually..
1. Once the sun starts to go down, I might as well give up. I have tried all sorts of settings, presets, etc, but no matter what I do, I cant seem to get a picture that isnt blurry. I dont have a flash (by flash, I mean an external flash, not the pop up flash on my camera) and I realize this will probably help my situation dramatically.
2. I can get very clear, sharp, awesome pics for about the first half of the race. But there seems to be a point when my focus doesnt work anymore. I dont know if this is something I am doing wrong, or if it is my camera (Nikon D40). Just seems strange that for half of the pics, the focus is awesome, and then BAM.... it goes away.. =(
Any help would be greatly appreciated..

[RichardTaylor]

@cricket2783

I mostly shoot road racing events that finish late in the afternoon
Once the lighting goes low, all I do is;
(1) ISO to maximum.
(2) Shoot RAW (to give you a bit of leeway) when PPing.
(3) Aperture Priority,
(4) Lens wide open.
(4) Take what ever shutter speed I can get.
(5) If the shutter speed is slowish all you can do is a bit of panning.

Unless I have a fast (F2) with me I don't even bother at night (If I am at the drags)..

Unless you get lucky with some great evening, and rarely it does happen, light most of the pics don't look that good anyway.

Example.- The camera was on a mono pod.


Camera Canon EOS 40D
Exposure 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture f/5.0 (wide open)
Focal Length 160 mm
ISO Speed 3200

Re focussing.

I shoot with Canon gear, howver this may help.
Are you shooting with centre focus point only active?
Are you shooting with focus tracking on.
Are you aquiring the subject early, and giving the camera time to "lock on" focus?

[RLucas]

As the OP stated, a decent location can make all the difference in the world. For instance, to capture the image below, I was focused at about a 45 degree angle to the straightaway coming off of a curve. The lead car is more frozen in the frame, and the rear car has motion blur. I felt this made the shot a little more dynamic.


Camera Nikon D40
Exposure 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture f/10.0
Focal Length 210 mm
ISO Speed 200

[cricket2783]

Alright. Here are 2 pictures for an example..
This is a picture where the focussing is good..

Exposure 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture f/11.0
Focal Length 130 mm
Focal Length 130.7 mm
ISO Speed 400



This is a picture where the focussing is not so good..

Exposure 0.003 sec (1/320)
Aperture f/8.0
Focal Length 185 mm
ISO Speed 400


As far as the focus mode, I have tried all of them, with about the same result. Its possible that some of the bad pictures are my fault, moving too quick, not leaving time to focus. Hey, its fast action! =D I definately need to upgrade to a better, faster lens, and get a flash. For the most part, I get good pictures. Its just frustrating to see bad work, when I know Im capable of better. I appreciate your help and advice!

[Photologyst]

Cricket, you could try focusing manually on a set spot.

[RichardTaylor]

@ cricket2783

With the "blurry" pic there are two things happening..
(1) Trying to focus
(2) and tracking (a small amount of panning) the subject

Either the focus is a bit off and/or or panning is a bit off.

Initially I would try shooting at a higher shutter speed >=1/500 (like your "sharp" pic" to "freeze" the subject. See how that goes and then you will know if it is a focussing problem or not.

When I talk with fellow photographers at the track, acccurate focussing is the biggest technical problem we face.

[Boris Georgiev]

Exposure: 0.006 (1/160) s
Aperture: f/10.0
Focal Length: 70 (17-70) mm
ISO: 200

[DAZTOGRAPHY]

i have a focusing problem too. i take a lot of drifting photo's. my main problem is that the front of the car is sharp, but the rear quarter is out of focus, i usually go for 1/250th second in manual mode, so i can focus manually, and i pan. trouble is with drifting, is that the car is coming towards you, so panning is a bit difficult. any suggestions?