How to take decent shots of moving cars

[kat180390]

Couldn't really explain it in the title lol!

Basically, on the 3rd April my boyfriend will be doing an Aston Martin experience where he actually gets to drive the car at some track in Wigan or near.

Providing they let me use my camera (Finepix S1800), what would be the best settings to use? It does have a setting for sports and says it is to be used for things that move but I don't want to use it and the pictures come out poor.

What would you say is best? I'm pretty new to this so dumb it down a little please

 

[artyman]

If you shoot at a high shutter speed it sshould stop the motion, however the surroundings will also be stopped and the car may look as though it is stationery. Using a slower shutter speed and panning to follow the motion of the car the background will be blurred and possibly also the wheels, so you will have a greater impression of speed. My suggestion is to go and practice on the local dual carriageway or similar or perhaps the exit of a roundabout to try some 'corner' shots. Panning takes a bit of practice heres a shot of a bird which shows the effect that you get with panning.

 

[andyred]

Hi do you have the opportunity to photo any cars before then to have a practice - maybe some shots of the traffic ??

You will be able to get some great shots of him whilst he's in the car stationary, but if you want some shots of him moving and a sense of speed, rather than a frozen shot you need to practice your panning - that is following the car as it comes past you with your camera and even after you've pressed the shutter button and taken the shot, keep on following the car past.

Not sure of your camera body and which specific settings you can use though, hopefully someone will know the body.

Might be worth getting there much earlier than you need to aswell, so you can have a play with the camera and take some shots to become more comfortable with it.

I hope he has a great time, I know I did when I took an R8 and Lamborghini out - don't think I stopped smiling for ages

Hope this is of some help ....

 

[andyred]

If you find out where he is doing the track day, someone may have attended that track and maybe able to give good spots to go for some shots

 

[Bucketp]

If its a 3 sisters at Wigan then hes not going to get much speed up as its a small circuit which would make panning a bit easier.
Have a look through some motorsport shots and see what they do. Braking into corners with the front wheels turning always look good and you should be able to see the fear in your boyfriends eyes.
I do envy him driving an Aston though. My favourite cars.

 

[kat180390]

If you shoot at a high shutter speed it sshould stop the motion, however the surroundings will also be stopped and the car may look as though it is stationery. Using a slower shutter speed and panning to follow the motion of the car the background will be blurred and possibly also the wheels, so you will have a greater impression of speed. My suggestion is to go and practice on the local dual carriageway or similar or perhaps the exit of a roundabout to try some 'corner' shots. Panning takes a bit of practice heres a shot of a bird which shows the effect that you get with panning.

Thank you, I will definitely go and have a few practise shots of some cars. Luckily I have a really busy roundabout behind my house so I can try there! That picture is fantastic by the way, well done.

Hi do you have the opportunity to photo any cars before then to have a practice - maybe some shots of the traffic ??

You will be able to get some great shots of him whilst he's in the car stationary, but if you want some shots of him moving and a sense of speed, rather than a frozen shot you need to practice your panning - that is following the car as it comes past you with your camera and even after you've pressed the shutter button and taken the shot, keep on following the car past.

Not sure of your camera body and which specific settings you can use though, hopefully someone will know the body.

Might be worth getting there much earlier than you need to aswell, so you can have a play with the camera and take some shots to become more comfortable with it.

I hope he has a great time, I know I did when I took an R8 and Lamborghini out - don't think I stopped smiling for ages

Hope this is of some help ....

Thanks! I will try and get there a little earlier, get a few shots of other drivers and the cars. Yeah he is really excited actually, will be driving a V8 Vantage too!!

If its a 3 sisters at Wigan then hes not going to get much speed up as its a small circuit which would make panning a bit easier.
Have a look through some motorsport shots and see what they do. Braking into corners with the front wheels turning always look good and you should be able to see the fear in your boyfriends eyes.
I do envy him driving an Aston though. My favourite cars.

Yeah I think it's that one actually, it was the closest one and he didn't want to travel (miserable). Thanks for your advice, I'll have a look though some other pictures and some pictures of the track itself.

Thank you all for your advice, hopefully they will turn out well!!

 

[tdodd]

Have a look at the Gallery pictures on the site to get some ideas for angles and compositions. There may be possibilities to shoot inside the vehicle or to get some detail shots when it is not on the track.

Look at where the light is coming from and whether it's a sunny day or cloudy try to make sure you have the brightest part of the sky somewhere behind you. That will be much easier than shooting towards a bright sky. Look for vantage points where something interesting will be happening - a corner, a chicane. Think about long shots and closer shots. Your main creative tool for things which move is shutter speed. Use a fast shutter speed to freeze action and get crisp, sharp images. This is best for vehicles coming towards you (almost) head on. 1/500 is a good sort of minimum speed for such shots.

Also try some shots which emphasise speed by using a slow shutter speed and panning with the vehicle to create a blur in the background. A shutter speed around 1/125 would be a good starting point for this kind of shot, but it depends how fast the vehicles are going. The slower they are the slower the shutter speed will need to be. This takes lots of practice (for most of us). If you can practice beforehand it should help. If on the day you are struggling to get any keepers with this technique then I'd suggest you go for "safe" shots and increase the shutter speed to ensure you get shake and blur free images. If you have IS/OS etc then it might fight your attempts to pan and spoil the results. You may need to turn it off for panning.

Fencing is the next hurdle (probably the first actually). I have no idea what the track is like, but usually there will be safety fencing everywhere, which will make it very difficult to take shots which make the fencing vanish. The best solution, if you can't simply shoot over or around it is to get as close as you can to the fencing and shoot with a wide aperture (low f number). That will help to throw the fence out of focus. If you do have to shoot through fencing then consider how the light is falling onto it. If you can find a shady patch or create your own shade for the bit of fence you are shooting through then it will become less noticeable. If it is glinting in the sunshine they you might have a hard time to pretend it's not there. Try to find shade if you can.

Another issue you need to consider is focusing. How fast can your camera track a moving subject? Will it get confused by fencing? Can you pre-focus on a point and wait until the subject arrives in order to take the shot? I don't know. It's just something to ponder.

It's a good idea to have a look through the motorsport photo sharing forum to get some ideas, but be advised that what works for some circuits, weather and lighting conditions, individual photographers and specific camera gear might not apply to all.

Sorry if that all sounds a bit OTT and complicated, but that's my top of the head thoughts on the subject. I'm not sure how to make it any simpler than that. It's simple when you know, but when you don't there is a lot to take in.

A couple of examples....

Long shot at 1/1600, shot through fencing....

Panning shot at 1/125....

The most important thing is to have fun. Enjoy the day. Do what you can, photographically, but don't beat yourself up if it proves difficult. Motorsports really benefits from practice. I don't get nearly enough. If this is your first time then you may struggle. All you really need is one nice shot to remember the day by. Anything beyond that is a bonus.

 

[NW_Weddings]

If you want the car to look completley still try using a very high shutter speed e.g. at least 500 or 1000th. Will depend on how fast the car is going though. Experiment a little to get it right

 

[lawrie29]

And if there are any other togs on the day, be very nice to them, ask for help and maybe see if they have any shots of your other half that you can't get. If your polite you might get a copy.

Have fun, a day out in Wigan isn't high on my list, but then I used to work there and live not far away!

 

[Sean_m]

And if there are any other togs on the day, be very nice to them, ask for help and maybe see if they have any shots of your other half that you can't get. If your polite you might get a copy.

Have fun, a day out in Wigan isn't high on my list, but then I used to work there and live not far away!

I was born and bread in Wigan until the tender age of 19 when I joined the RAF. It's actually a really good night out if you can avoid the "gym freaks". The town centre is good for some street photography too if you plan on hanging around.

 

[lawrie29]

I was born and bread in Wigan until the tender age of 19 when I joined the RAF. It's actually a really good night out if you can avoid the "gym freaks". The town centre is good for some street photography too if you plan on hanging around.

I've had my fair share of Pie Barms! The town centre is nice, I also thought that if you look above the modern shop fronts, the buildings are really quite nice, they have just been ruined by modernisation.

 

[PaulF]

Hi,

Three Sisters is not a very big circuit, mainly a karting track, on the plus side you will be able to get quite close to take some shots.
It's a very friendly place

You should be able to walk all around the track, with the exception of the pit lane entrance at the end of the main straight.
Depending which track layout is being used, the best place for 'corner' shots would be on the bend as you enter the venue or make your way behind the pit area to the far side were there are a few corners and undulations, not explained that very well but you'll see what I mean when your there

Take a look Here for a few shots of the Wigan Car Club sprint event from last July to give you an idea of the track.

I've done the single seater and a Porsche day, not at Three Sisters though, and there has always been a Tog there selling photo's.

Hope this helps.
Paul.

Ps. Just looked at the camera you'll be using. It's a bridge camera and you should be able to alter the shutter speed.

Pps. Just noticed this is going to be on a Sunday so there is a chance someone from here may be there.

 

[tdodd]

This shot shows an idea of a good position, where you can get a series of angles in quick succession, including some good views of the driver.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulfanning/5514236863/in/set-72157626111483475/

I do notice the windscreen glare, which might be a problem if your interest is at least as much in the driver as the car itself. A polarising filter should help deal with that. I don't know how easily you could fit one to your camera.

 

[PaulF]

Have a look at the Gallery
Fencing is the next hurdle (probably the first actually). I have no idea what the track is like, but usually there will be safety fencing everywhere,

This shot shows an idea of a good position, where you can get a series of angles in quick succession, including some good views of the driver.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulfanning/5514236863/in/set-72157626111483475/

I do notice the windscreen glare, which might be a problem if your interest is at least as much in the driver as the car itself. A polarising filter should help deal with that. I don't know how easily you could fit one to your camera.

Good posts there. With regard to fencing at Three Sisters, there's not a lot, the shot you have linked to was shot at one of the only places there is any! near the main entrance.

Paul.

 

[Sean_m]

I've had my fair share of Pie Barms! The town centre is nice, I also thought that if you look above the modern shop fronts, the buildings are really quite nice, they have just been ruined by modernisation.

Ah yes the mac Wigan sandwich
Your right about the modernisation though, but there are a few untouched buildings hanging around in the background.

 

[kat180390]

Thanks for all these replies! I'm taking them all in consideration and have been messing about with the camera and I have found that you can mess around with the shutter speed. I will have a read up and find out how to do it properly but I was having fun spinning around, taking pictures and it being really focused! Easily impressed lol!

 

[gad-westy]

Just as a matter of interest. The usual rule of thumb for static shots is that the your shutter speed should be faster than your focal length i.e. @ 300mm faster than 1/300s (or whatever the closest to that is). I notice that a lot of motorsport panning shots are in the 1/100 area. Are these generally taken at quite close proximity or just with a very smooth panning action?

 

[tdodd]

Skill (practice) and possibly IS or a monopod.

Oh, and sometimes a little luck can help too.

Here's a hand held example without IS at 85mm and 1/50. As one of the later shots of the evening it came out better than some of my earlier attempts. Repetitive practice, even during one session, helped smooth out my panning action.....

Another with the same stats....

Later in the evening, here's one at 85mm and 1/25....

While the 1/focal length x crop factor guideline is useful, you can get away with breaking it sometimes. You also don't necessarily need super slow shutter speeds for a pan blur. It depends on the pace of the vehicle as well. Here's one hand held at 560mm (728mm equivalent) and 1/250. Here IS Mode 2 helped the pan. Apart from that it was down to skill/practice/luck. ...