Shooting Rally Cars Question...

K

King Antonius

Suspended / Banned
Messages
34
Name
Tony
Edit My Images
Yes
Quick question. I'm off to a rally tomorrow. I've never had a camera at a rally before. What advice would you give me for shooting the cars. Not just technical camera setup, but positioning of myself to get exciting views/angles.

It's also most likely going to be grey, dull and wet, so not much sunlight or interesting skies...


Thankyou
 
if your going to the richard burns memorial rally at RAF marham, you are limited on your choices!

i went today and there were very few places to get any shots from, to be honest there were very few places you could acctually watch or see the track from....

As for positioning, i find getting them just as they turn in head on works well, and get as low as possible :)

most of all though! have fun :)
 
Nah it's one just over the border in Scotland.
 
Safety wise the inside of a bend is usually safer than the outside, also distance and preferably a solid tree to duck behind.
 
Ended up sneaking into some non-spectator areas, had a great day, nearly got hit twice, thank god for trees and fence posts! Was great fun though.
 
I'll try and get some up tonight. Busy moving house at the moment.
 
Not bad for a first attempt.

I think you went a bit overkill with the editing though....!




From experience ( i shoot alot of rallying, my favourite thing to shoot! ) , 99% of clients/drivers would buy this photo ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingantonius/6046643479/in/set-72157627441849204/ ) if it was of them, because it's real, lots of nice and vibrant colours, sharp and it's catching them in action.

Whereas, only 1% of clients/drivers would buy this one ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingantonius/6046674465/in/set-72157627441849204/ ) because it's been overkilled - there's no colour in it , and hence it's quite dull and boring, no vibrance and doesn't really tell a story for those reasons...

Hope my advice helps :) Adam!










I think the editing overkill ruins several of your photos - i'd love to see them in their un-edited, full colour state :)
 
Last edited:
I've got another set of ones that are not so extremely edited a swell, don't worry. I have them uploading now.
 
Thats why I kept the originals. As you will probably guess looking through my flickr, I love to heavily edit my photos, taking them quite away from what they were when taken (without manipulating content within the image). But I've kept the originals for press/use etc.

I've been contacted by the rally organisers to use shots from both the originals and the edits on their website and publications. I'm well chuffed.
 
King Antonius said:
Thats why I kept the originals. As you will probably guess looking through my flickr, I love to heavily edit my photos, taking them quite away from what they were when taken (without manipulating content within the image). But I've kept the originals for press/use etc.

I've been contacted by the rally organisers to use shots from both the originals and the edits on their website and publications. I'm well chuffed.
Click to expand...

Nice one :)

If you ever want to talk about rally photography, you've got my username!
 
Static cars (if you happen to be able to see the cars between stages)

Get down on your knees (or lower) far more interesting than shots of cars taken from normal eye level.

Isolate interesting parts of the car rather than trying to get the whole car in the shot.

Cars in motion (during the stages)

Bends and bumps are the place to be. Cars sliding or catching air generally give far more interesting shots than straights.

Early morning/evening stages also add some interest, as the rally cars will generally have their lighting rigs on.

Speak to the stewards for advice on good spots.

Stay safe.

Shutter priority.

EDIT: Sorry just seen you've already been to the rally! Hope you had a great time.
 
Last edited:
robbie_d said:
Static cars (if you happen to be able to see the cars between stages)

Get down on your knees (or lower) far more interesting than shots of cars taken from normal eye level.

Isolate interesting parts of the car rather than trying to get the whole car in the shot.

Cars in motion (during the stages)

Bends and bumps are the place to be. Cars sliding or catching air generally give far more interesting shots than straights.

Early morning/evening stages also add some interest, as the rally cars will generally have their lighting rigs on.

Speak to the stewards for advice on good spots.

Stay safe.

Shutter priority.

EDIT: Sorry just seen you've already been to the rally! Hope you had a great time.
Click to expand...

To be honest , shots which only have part of the car in them are pretty boring and guff. Makes it look like the photographer couldn't get them in the frame.

And from experience it's better to use manual, you set the shutter speed, you choose the right aperture and ISO and you're ready to go.
Also, on Shutter Priority, the camera doesn't usually choose the correct exposure because due to glare/reflections on the body work it chooses the wrong points to get it's info and you end up with underexposure, overexposure and ocasionaly the correct exposure.
 
Last edited:
inlineadam said:
To be honest , shots which only have part of the car in them are pretty boring and guff. Makes it look like the photographer couldn't get them in the frame.
Click to expand...
I think he means fairly close detail shots rather than randomly chopping the car up.

inlineadam said:
on Shutter Priority, the camera doesn't usually choose the correct exposure because due to glare/reflections on the body work
Click to expand...
And there's always one crew that come along with their lights on in daylight - a non issue in manual but a recipe for significant underexposure otherwise.
 
inlineadam said:
To be honest , shots which only have part of the car in them are pretty boring and guff. Makes it look like the photographer couldn't get them in the frame.
Click to expand...

It's all down to personal preference though isn't it? I mean, this is one of my fave photos that I took on the weekend:


Solway Coast Rally 2011 by King Antonius, on Flickr

Now, under your opinion above that is boring and guff. Thats fine, you are 100% entitled to your opinion. I disagree and I love shots like this, or where you can only see part of the car or whatever.


This is what I love about photography. It's all subjective to who is looking at it. Something that some people may love, will nearly always be hated by someone else :)




On another note, I shot manual for all of the photos. I try not to use any form or automation at all.
 
King Antonius said:
It's all down to personal preference though isn't it? I mean, this is one of my fave photos that I took on the weekend:


Solway Coast Rally 2011 by King Antonius, on Flickr

Now, under your opinion above that is boring and guff. Thats fine, you are 100% entitled to your opinion. I disagree and I love shots like this, or where you can only see part of the car or whatever.


This is what I love about photography. It's all subjective to who is looking at it. Something that some people may love, will nearly always be hated by someone else :)




On another note, I shot manual for all of the photos. I try not to use any form or automation at all.
Click to expand...

I should correct myself, i meant to say that they tend to be boring and guff, though i know and have taken a few like that which are good..

I was just trying to make it clear that not to go out and soley take shots of only certain parts of the car, these shots are those " special " ones!:thumbs:
 
King Antonius said:
What advice would you give me for shooting the cars.
Click to expand...

An Uzi works well although they tend to jam when they get hot, however this tends to p off both drivers and race officials - on the whole i'd stick taking photographs :lol:
 
haha funny man! ;) Not a shotgun? Nice spread froom the shells :P
 
Thought i'd re-visit and post about an experience i just had!

I had previously said , use manual to shoot. Sometimes you shouldn't.

I was at a small event ( grass testing ) ( basically rallying around a field! ) and the light was constantly changing every two minutes, everywhere i pointed my camera required a different aperture which meant i had to keep changing it.

However, in the afternoon i took the decision to switch to TV ( shutter priority ) where i choose the shutter speed and let the camera choose the right aperture - what a difference! Saved so much more time and made things 100 times easier, and 9 times out of 10 it choose the correct aperture. Job Done.

USE TV! ( shutter priority - you set the shutter ) if it's very changeable lighting.
 
Last edited:
Tony, I really like both the edited and un-edited version of the shot you've taken of us, the C8 JDM Impreza....

Also like the edits of Paul Swifts Mk2.

Also, not surprised you almost got hit a few times, that corner in your first few edited shots was crazy slippy lol!
 
Last edited:
Yeah it was amusing on the fist run watching the cars suddenly loose grip. Really got exciting on the though when you were all going round it sideways.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top