Any advice on photographing fast cars on a race track welcome

[sharon167]

I have a Nikon d5100 and have only been taking mainly landscape and macro photography for about a year. I now have an opportunity to go sand ee a touring car race this weekend and thought it would be a great idea to try out more challenging photography. I have been googling and read that I need to pan with the cars to add motion blur to my pictures to bring them to life but am unsure what shutter speed, ISO, lens etc i should use?
It would be nice to at least get a couple of good shots so any advice would be great.

 

[gsgary]

What track and what lenses do you have

 

[sharon167]

It's at Thruxton UK and I have various lens, 18-200, 55-300, 10-24, 50, 85 and the kit lens.

 

[Steve5D]

I've found that I'm able to pan and shoot at between 1/80 and 1/125 of a second and get some really nice wheel blur while, at the same time, getting the car nice and sharp. Here are some recent ones:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Panning takes practice, but it's worth it...

 

[sharon167]

Amazing, I would be happy just to get one shot that looks that good.

 

[sharon167]

What lens did you use?

 

[gsgary]

It's at Thruxton UK and I have various lens, 18-200, 55-300, 10-24, 50, 85 and the kit lens.

Never shot there, i would take 55-300, 10-24 and 85. If they are using slick tyres you can shoot them head on with aperture priority F5.6 at 1/500 minimum up your iso if needed ( if they had treads with these settings the cars would look static) side on shots use shutter priority start at 1/200 and work your way down, when panning keep it smooth like a golf swing practise a few times before they come try not to move camera up and down as you pan. 85mm will be good for wide open portraits of the drivers if you can get in the pits, 10-24 for up close shots of the team working on the cars

 

[duhast]

I have a Nikon d5100 and have only been taking mainly landscape and macro photography for about a year. I now have an opportunity to go sand ee a touring car race this weekend and thought it would be a great idea to try out more challenging photography. I have been googling and read that I need to pan with the cars to add motion blur to my pictures to bring them to life but am unsure what shutter speed, ISO, lens etc i should use?
It would be nice to at least get a couple of good shots so any advice would be great.

My advice is try not to do this...

http://www.cracow-life.com/media/pics/jacques-henri-lartigue.jpg

 

[bhop]

Steve5D already covered it...


Evolution by bhop, on Flickr


Hunter-Reay by bhop, on Flickr

 

[Steve5D]

What lens did you use?

That'd be the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L...

 

[Jad]

Steve has it exactly right. Set your speed to 1/80 to 1/125. I like to focus on a spot on the track where I anticipate the cars will be. You should practice the pan so you get a level and smooth pan. You want to continue your pan right through releasing the shutter. It is just a smooth action that you will develop. It will be hit and miss but you will be surprised how many good one you will get.

 

[TATTRAT]

Again, Steve has pretty much nailed it. Panning will be your best friend for the best shots.

depending on where you are at on the track, remember you can focus through a lot of the fences too, so don't let that discourage you from location selection or getting close up. If you can shoot a little higher up, on a berm, and use some glass with a longer reach, it offers a bit better perspective, imo.

I have some from Donington raceway, it was preceding the actual races, so it was a trial day, but still great fun with some decent results.

 

[Steve5D]

And, like anything else, you'll develop your own style for panning. I actually pivot at the waist. I know people who simply pivot their head. It's all whatever works best for you and is most comfortable. There's no "right" way or "wrong" way...

 

[gsgary]

When you get the hang of panning you will be able to get down to 1/30

1/20

 

[cynicaster]

Some great shots in this thread.

I've always kind of wanted to try shots like this but have never given it an honest go.

Do you guys use continuous focusing, or do you try to kind of set focus for a certain distance and wait for the vehicle to pass through that "zone"?