Motocross test photo

[peski]

Used 1/1000 setting, not sure about the f setting and other stuff. Still learning....Am I in the ball park? What is a good shutter speed for capturing crisp stills. Can I use the same shutter speed for cloudy vs sunny days? My sun Taylor at Budds Creek last weekend......

 

[adamwilliamking]

If you're going to be taking pictures of your son like this more in the future you might want to learn this technique which is pretty popular in motor sports.

Photography Tips - Panning and Focussing

As for this shot it does sort of look like a snapshot and im not sure about the conditions but i think an even faster shutter may have been required.

Do you use any post processing tools? Giving this photo a bit more contrast without over doing it may save this one, but definitely look into some fast action techniques as this type of photography is not easy.

 

[peski]

Thanks for the input, this is all so new but so interesting. While it may not look like it, This IS a panned shot. I was trying to get sequenced panning shots all day. It was very overcast all day. I sort of got some help from another guy there, but he was pretty busy so I kinda messed around on my own just to see if I was close or not. No processing, just downloaded straight from the camera to the folder......I will search for more technique, I'm just not sure of the proper wording to search.....

 

[adamwilliamking]

Panning isnt going to make a visual difference at Shutter Speed 1/1000 You need to be down at 1/30 1/60 maybe 100. Thats why its so tricky!

 

[peski]

1. So....Are you saying to keep the shutter speed slower during panning action?
2. And then should I Keep the shutter speed higher when keeping focused on an area waiting for the subject to ride through the field of view?

 

[ToddLange]

hey! my first post. lol. my friends ride motocross and one of them use to shoot for a riding magazine so one day he showed me how to use his camera(before i got my first) and how to get some good shots. i normally choose to take pictures of the riders when they are coming around a turn. i think i get the best pictures when they are. and i have the camera on action mode.

imo turns are the best places to get a good artistic looking shot. now im not the best photographer out there. i just barely got into photography a few months ago but the way the dirt gets kicked up around the turns is beautiful in a picture.

these were taken at the larettas cooperland qualifier

 

[twozero]

Panning isnt going to make a visual difference at Shutter Speed 1/1000 You need to be down at 1/30 1/60 maybe 100. Thats why its so tricky!

that would be too slow. 1/100 would be the slowest. for a while i shot cars at a local spot and found that 1/200 was great for faster moving cars. the background will show motion but you don't have to worry about,losing detail.

keeping your f-stop around 5.6-8 seemed to work out the best. of course this isn't always obtainable.

it will be a lot of trial and error, but just keep shooting. pay attention to what settings you liked and what worked when you are looking at them on the computer. then just try to keep replicating those settings.

also, i personally would try to keep a little extra room on the side of the photo where the rider is heading.

 

[peski]

Todd....nice shots....what shutter speed? Just focusing on a specific spot and waiting for the riders to come through or are they panning shots?

twozero....thanks, you guys have given me more education than I could ever read....makes it easier to understand when when we can go back and forth on the forum as opposed reading some site and not having anybody to ask questions to. I think the front tire is cut off because I didn't finish panning as the shot was taken. I was attempting to use the burst while panning and the auto focus would sometimes lag a little. So as far a shooting riders coming through a specific spot without panning. Is that when I want the faster shutter? What would be a good starting point.

 

[gsgary]

Positioning is as important as your camera setting, for your shot you were on the wrong side of the track
Another thing you can try when panning is second curtain sinc flash this shot was at 1/40 on a fast corner

For head on shots i use a minimum of 1/320, this shot is 1/320 it will give you a bit of movement in the wheels

You don't need super fast shutter speeds to get sharp shots another 1/320 it gives you a nice blur to the wheels and dirt

For panning without flash i will go as low as 1/30 but 1/60 is a nice speed this is 1/60

 

[peski]

gsgary,
thanks for the tips, they are starting to add up and make sense. How about some suggestions for pics that are NOT panned. How about a starting point for shutter speed for non-panned shots? Budds Creek is a tough place to shoot just due to the layout, it's hard to get to the insides of the turns. But, we go there enough I can spend some time figuring it out.....

 

[Blank]

I was going to post this as a new topic, considering your questions were specific, I may as well tack on the end. I will answer your questions as to what I do and think about when covering an event (others may not agree and have different views, I am comfortable in what I do though, I like my results, as do my customers...so here goes)

If I am at a new track or dont know it too well, I will do a track walk, really take a good look around and see where potential action hot spots will be. Take some test shots, see what focal distances will have disturbing backgrounds, the path of the sun throughout the day, burroughs or lower areas i can shoot from, where will be a good area to pan from, where will be my safe spots trackside for face shots..things like this.

Once the riders are in warm up laps, I will usually watch for the first lap or two. Paying attention to what will provide action, what the line seems to be for most, what level of rider can clear what jumps, doubles, triples, etc.

My technical setup. The examples I am posting were shot with a Canon 70-200 2.8IS, on a Canon 40D, 8GB card. I didnt need IS on this day, thats just one of the lens' I have.

I always shoot in RAW. I have complete control in my editing. All the below images have some editing (not too much). I hear complaints about RAW takes too much memory, BUY MORE CARDS THEN!

1. I was down below the rider on a high berm.
ISO 100 f5 1/1250. I took a 4 sequence burst and this was the best shot.

2. This corner offered a ton of action. The bikes basically came to a stop, with the dirt drying out and riders piling up on eachother, many shots were captured here.

ISO 100 f4.5 1/800. 2 sequence burst

3. Just keep moving around the track to all the hot spots you notice, a shot will sooner present itself more than later.

ISO 100 f3.5 1/800

Emotion is everything in sports. No matter what sport it is, you need to see the face. Sporting images will show face 9 out of 10 shots. Kids in sports will always attract sales to the parents. Capture both the kid and the look, it's all green!

4. ISO 100 f5.6 1/640

PANNING. This doesn't come easy to anybody. Practice is all I can say. This shot, I had the 70-200 on. I was approximately 100' from subject. The riders were coming from a high speed left hand corner.

Settings were:
Manual (using the wheel to dial in apeture as they approached)
A1 Servo (focal tracking)
Focal Length 200
Drive - High Speed Continuous
High AF point (in landscape)
ISO 100
f22
1/80

Lock you right elbow into you ribs, pan on a level plain. Keep your focal point in the same spot with motion (in this case, his helmet). I took a 5 sequence burst. I had AF tracking as he was coming around, ran my burst as he was plaining across me, and followed him even after the last frame was shot. This will take some practice, you will get it though.

Hope this helps. Sorry for the long reply. I wanted to offer some insight into the way I work and what I look for. This is not a tutorial, just what I do.

Good Luck.

 

[peski]

This is exactly what I'm looking for. We have a 2 day event coming up this weekend. I will try out some different settings and keep you posted.....thanks to all of you of the input. I will post some early next week for review......Pat.....

 

[DRoberts]

Good post by Blank...the only thing I would add is to maybe start at about 1:250 f/11-14(on clear days), ISO 400. Adjust to your light meter. Practice with that for a couple of motos then try working towards the settings Blank has on his. That low of an ISO can be tricky with panning, even with your shutter speed as high as he has his.

Use AI-servo

 

[peski]

Ok, here it goes, now I'm confused. I shot several panned burst photos starting in order 1/20 1/50 1/100 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000...About 20 photos at each speed. I picked fast riders so I could get an accurate test. The blurry one is 1/100 and the clear on is 1/1000. What am I doing wrong that makes it so blurry and yours are so clear. The faster speed I choose, the clearer things are, which is exactly the opposite of what you are telling me.....The ones I took at 1/20-1/500 got progressively sharper and clearer as I kept going with the progressively faster speed.

 

[ToddLange]

Ok, here it goes, now I'm confused. I shot several panned burst photos starting in order 1/20 1/50 1/100 1/125 1/250 1/500 1/1000...About 20 photos at each speed. I picked fast riders so I could get an accurate test. The blurry one is 1/100 and the clear on is 1/1000. What am I doing wrong that makes it so blurry and yours are so clear. The faster speed I choose, the clearer things are, which is exactly the opposite of what you are telling me.....The ones I took at 1/20-1/500 got progressively sharper and clearer as I kept going with the progressively faster speed.

the faster you have your camera the better the photos should be. right? lol. im pretty sure that your doin it right.

blanks first photo was shot at 1/1250 the next two after that were set at 1/800.

the longer the shutter is open during any kind of action sport the more blur there will be in the photo.