r/formula1•10 yr. ago

So You Want To Take Pictures Of A Race (Motorsport Photography, a quick and dirty guide)

Here's a quick guide for those that love to take pictures when they go to watch a race, but feels that their photos lacks something, or just started into following motorsports and would like to take pictures when they attend races

But first a disclaimer. I am a casual photographer, and what I teach here might not be for everyone. Some of you even are better than me, and I hope that those who are would add their advice to this thread.

I've been following motorsports since I'm in university, and over the years I've been visiting various races in Malaysia. Be it in Sepang or somewhere near Kuala Lumpur. I've also has helped some people with Super GT coverage when it was held in Sepang a few years back.

1 - Gears!

The most important thing that you need to have. Your camera gear. Any kinds of cameras, in theory, would do. But preferably use a DSLR. Do you need an expensive one? Not really. A standard, entry level DSLR with a good kit lens would do nicely. I myself used a Sony A350, Sony A55V and then to a Canon 650D and yet some of the best pics I have taken were with the A350 + 55-200 kit lens. If you know your gears, it helps a lot.

2 - Lenses

If you are at the grandstand, the best bet would be the 55-200mm kit lens that most camera companies sell alongside your DSLR body. It's fast enough to use in the bright sunshine, and should be sharp enough for you to get a good picture

You could invest more in high end lenses (L lenses for Canon as an example) but only if you have the cash to spare. Most of the time you can be amazed by what your kitlens can actually do.

Also avoid extreme range lenses (lenses that covers wide angle to telephoto, for example the Tamron 18-300mm lens) as they are slow, and most of the time you will end up with blurry images.

3 - Camera settings

Have you see those dials on top of the cameras that has "M, Tv, Av" and etc on them? Well they have their uses. Most people opts for Auto because that's the easiest. but you will end up with what the camera THINKS is the best settings, and won't be what you want.

For starters, I usually use Tv (on Canon, other cameras might differ), which is Shutter Priority. This means that you set the shutter speed, and the camera will compensate the aperture accordingly. 1/250 for me is a good starting shutter speed. You can get those panning shots where the car looks stationary and the surroundings are still moving. If the picture looks blurry, raise the shutter speed.

For a bright sunny day, start with an ISO value of 200. Higher ISO leads to brighter picture with the cost of noise/grain. So you want to have the lowest ISO you can get away with. ISO 400 is usually still acceptable and sometimes on a really cloudy day I can go up to ISO800.

4 - Always use RAW

RAW might be larger than your standard JPG, but it retains a lot of information that can help with your picture during editing. A picture too bright or too dark can usually still be salvaged by RAW.

5 - Make sure extra memory cards and batteries are nearby

You will take a lot of pictures, and with RAW, the space needed increases massively. A 32GB memory card will usually be quickly be filled. So always bring extra, just in case. Extra batteries are also a good thing because you never knew when you can run out of it.

6.1 - Continuous shooting

Another reason you will fill your memory card quickly is that you WILL be using continuous shooting mode. What this does is that your camera will continue to capture a picture as long as your finger is on the trigger button (AKA machinegun mode due to the sound it makes)

6.2 - Panning

In combination with continuous mode, you will also be panning the camera. This refers to you moving the camera in a sweeping motion, following the car as it moves. Pre focus on the car as it comes into view, press the shutter and don't let go as you pan. You will find out that most of the time the pictures that looks the sharpest/best are usually the one in the middle/near the end of the panning sweep.

The rule of thumb for me is for each 10 shots, 1 good shot would usually come out of it. So don't force yourself to get the "perfect" shot each time you press the trigger.

7 - Location, Location, Location

Most people will focus on the main straight and try to take a picture as the car goes by. This is actually the hardest place to get a good picture as the car is at it's fastest here. A good place is where the car is slowing down into a corner (like a hairpin), usually a very slow one. This gives you a good time to pre-focus on the car coming in, and your panning will be easier as you follow the car into the apex. Another good thing is that overtaking usually takes place at slow corners, so you might be able to get an awesome overtaking picture too.

Another good place is if you can get a seat where the car is coming right at you (K1 grandstand at Sepang for example, is situated at the end of the main straight, and looks directly down the straight). You can get a picture of cars going side by side usually here.

8 - Don't be afraid

The most important bit. Don't be afraid to experiment. Tilt your camera a bit. Zoom in or out more than you usually would. Sometimes the best picture are the ones that is not so traditional. You can always edit the RAW files later to crop or fix the lighting or whatever.

Anyways I hope this short guide could help with people wanting to take pictures during a motorsports event. Here are some of the shots I've taken over the years

http://i.imgur.com/I4wJirz.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 50mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/zocVgYH.jpg - Canon 650D + 70-200mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/KQ9GFMz.jpg - Canon 650D + 70-200mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/wjfCGd9.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 50mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/trqijJ8.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 55 -200mm kit lens

http://i.imgur.com/D0iPmXy.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 55 -200mm kit lens

http://i.imgur.com/nSX78PV.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 55 -200mm kit lens

http://i.imgur.com/6heRh8f.jpg - Canon 650D + 70-200mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/yBmK97F.jpg - Canon 650D + Tamron 18-50mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/Lp7hX8s.jpg - Canon 650D + 70-200mm lens

http://imgur.com/Nz4P1oj - Canon 650D + 70-200mm lens

http://i.imgur.com/Ptpn97f.jpg - Sony Alpha A55V + 50mm lens