Motorsport - How to get the right exposure

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I know this is almost a copy of my welcome post but at least here it is specific to motorsport (although I imagine it would apply to any sort of outside photography/lighting......

I am quite new to photography but I love the action shots of motorsport. I have seen some amazing shots on here and if I could achieve even half that standard I would be happy!

I am getting the hang of panning with the cars to capture the movement, but I haven't got the hang of lighting and how to avoid high contrast from sun glare without seriously underexposing the shot. For example, I took some shots a few days ago at Brands Hatch. There is only place I could find to stand without a fence in the way (inside the hairpin just over the bridge near the paddock) and the sun was at approx 2oclock. The overall shot was exposed ok but the sun glare completely wiped out the windscreen on a lot of the pictures and and the white cars a lot of the detail was wiped out aswell. I tried in all the different metering modes but the shots still come out over exposed.

I am using a Canon EOS 550D with Canon EFS 55-250mm IS II lens

Do any other motorsport photographers have any suggestions on how to get the correct exposure? Is it just a case of trying to reposition so the sun is in a different place?
 
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I hate to say it but the answer is pretty simple....move.To capture a perfect shot regardless of what it is your taking the general rule is to have the sun behind you.I fully understand it is not always possible to achieve this & even after 20 years of photography I still struggle to nail shots in tricky lighting conditions.If I am taking shots into the sun I always try expose my shots using an evaluation of 3 meter readings the first taken on the sky the next on an area behind where the racing car/bike will be & the last on the tarmac.
From this I'll have a rough guide to an appeture setting for example say F10 & then use the exposeure bracketing feature to get a shot I'm happy with.It really is all about trial & error.
 
If you are at a circuit, it's always a good idea to work out where the sun will be at various points during the day, and plan some shooting points so you aren't shooting into the sun. This may dictate what times of day are best for your favourite spots with low fences etc.

If you have a lens hood, then use it.

If you are on the inside of a corner, you may have between 45 and 180 degrees between which to take your shots. When the first car/bike goes through, take a series of shots all the way around the corner, and note the points where you aren't shooting into the sun, or have horrible reflections. Aim to capture the image at these points, though they will change as the sun moves.

If it's road based cars with proper glass windscreen etc, then you can sometimes get away with using a polarising filter to cut down on reflections, but the perspex type stuff used on race cars can lead to horrible rainbow type effects from the glass and headlamps etc. You can lose up to 2 stops of light using a polariser, so AF performance may be affected with slower lenses and you might need to use a higher ISO to keep the same aperture settings.
 
Thanks for the replies! I guess it is just a case of getting out there and experimenting to see what works and what doesnt. The pictures didnt come out terrible. Just on the windscreen and the white cars some of it is blown out to pure white with a loss of detail.
 
You need to decide if you are a photographer or a spectator :)

If you are a spectator, get your picnic blanket and deckchairs out, pick a spot, open the sarnies and the tinnies and enjoy your day of motorsport. Wives/girlfriends will be happy to play along with this approch but your photos will suck for at least 50% of the day (I can't think of a place on any UK circuit where the light will be good all day :))

If you are a photographer, you will be in the right place for the sun position and a variety of places throughout the day. Wives/girlfiends may object to being dragged on a route march though :)
 
Fair point. The other option is to go and enjoy a day of motorsport as a photographer and leave the girlfriend indoors :D lol
 
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