Questions on shooting Superbikes

Joeturner11

Joeturner11

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Joe
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Hi Guys :wave:

I have been doing Football photography now for a long time now shooting for some decent high league clubs I'am about to adventure into Shooting Superbikes just wondering how to shoot them, I have seen people shoot them at ruffly

1/400 f/11 ISO 1000
1/3200 f/2.8 ISO 400
1/60 f/13 ISO 640


Just some off the Mixed settings I've seen :thinking:, what is the best setting to use? Also do you pan the images if you shoot high speed at 1/3200 or panning just for 1/60?:help: I will be using a Nikon D700/D300 with a Nikon 300mm f/4 maybe with the 1.4x Converter.


Thanks In advance!

Joe :)
 
Forget the super high shutter speeds if you can see the wheels. You may as well just be shooting parked bikes.
Nowdays normally I start around 1/320 and that will give me blurred wheels at least.

For panning it depends on the relative velocity. I will start at around 1/125 and go up or down from there.

#1 at 1/125

IMG_7364 by dicktay2000, on Flickr

You may find this "intro to motor sport photograhy" helpf7ul. It'sa one of mine on Digital Photography School.

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/tutorials/190114-motor-sport.html
 
Joe

Motorsport always attracts a mixed bag of setting due to the speed, and the amount of panning shots used.

You need to think about what shot you're after and in effect, work backwards with your settings. For example, you decide to do a side on panning shot. First, find your suitable location with regards to light, background and access to the subject. First consideration is your shutter speed. For arguements sake, lets say 1/60th. You then need to balance your aperture and ISO setting to get the exposure how you want it, at the ISO level that gives you the quality you're after.

If you then decide to take a more frozen shot from the same place its just a case of upping your shutter speed accordingly then balancing the aperture and ISO. Even if you're going for the frozen shot, I'd strongly suggest using the same panning technique as before as it makes it far easier to frame your subject and avoid off-putting jerky movements.

Other than that its over to your creativity!

Mike
 
To maintain a sense of movement you need to keep your shutter speed at the lower end of the range (although the exact setting will depend on where and how fast they are moving).

I view the "safe" range for panning shots ie maximum number of keepers to be in 1/160 - 1/250, ISO 200-400, aperture f/8 to f/11 (I generally shoot in Tv and accept what it chucks out in that range, with some exceptions). This is of course a general rule - you have to view each case on merit. You'll find that you will tend towards 1/125 - 1/100 with practice

Going slower gives more blur and reduced keepers. Going faster has certain applications but you run the risk of static looking bikes.

Best thing is to experiment - but I would steer clear of 4 figure shutter speeds!
 
The simple way is to start off with a mid ISO, fastest shutter speed you can get, gradually reduce the shutter speed until the wheels blur. A greater DOF will make panning and focusing much easier to achieve.
 
Aperture... well, whatever you need really. The only time I care particularly is when using TC's where I make sure I'm around f8/f9 to keep it crisp. Tend generally not to let the aperture get too small (f22 etc) just because up there it means I could be dropping down the ISO to get cleaner shots.

ISO - low as is usable. Low is clean.

Shutter - most motorsport is shot in shutter priority mode. The speed controls how much motion blur you get in the shot. Of course its a balance between blur and sharpness. Quite which speed you need is rather dependent on the shot - dead head ons you need something maybe as high as 1/640, whereas a nice sweeping side on pan you could get down to 1/60 easily.

If you want to see some of what I'm talking about, check out some of my BSB shots on here... I leave the EXIF intact.

Best advice though, get out there and shoot, get some practice in.
 
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