damn, i cant take action shots of motorsports

[saturnin]

i'm really starting to get pissed here. I've been going to take pics of racers and i cant take pics with motion. Ive tried it all Shooting on manual shooting Tv/Av as i've read in these threads....they just come out super still...... i'm using 24-700mm L glass. Is it me??? what do i need to do, the closest i get is with the background super blury but no motion tho.

[Reyno]

Be patient. Use panning technique. To do this, set your AF Mode to AI Servo, set to tV mode (between 1/25 to 1/60), and use a tripod or a monopod. Here's how it works, if your subject is coming say from the right, rotate your body(not your feet) in that direction and start focusing on your subject. While following the subject, when your subject is perpendicular to your feet (or just about) take your shot, and most importantly, follow through on the subject even after your shot was taken. I hope this help.

[dmp-potn]

Hello,

That's kind-of a short lens for the kind of shots you're aiming for. The EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM with a 1.4x teleconverter on a monopod and/or with IS set to mode 2 would be a good start. If you can rent a 300mm f/2.8L IS USM or the 400mm version, that would be better.

You need to get further from your subject and pan the camera to track their motion. A shallow depth of field combined with panning will really make the bikes stand out from the background. With the EF 24-70L USM (a fine lens), you're too close to pull this off effectvely. If you get futher away with that lens, the subject will be too small in the fame to really work, so a longer telephoto is really necessary.

I hope this helps! Looking forward to seeing your next set.

[saturnin]

yah thats why i'm always so close to the subject is cuz if i go to far the lens makes the subject lool like an ant..so all the photos are usualy pretty close like the ones i've shown above...

i might have to invest in a 200mm lens soon....i just dont want to think that if i get the lens those type of pics will come out automaticaly, id like to see if ppl with the 70mm hae done action shots...

[Rumjungle]

Could you please list the exif data on the shots above? I'd like to see what your settings were.

[gmen]

Use panning technique.... between 1/25 to 1/60... and use a tripod or a monopod.I would agree with much of your advice Reyno...

However, the so-called 'ideal' shutter speed for panning will vary depending on your distance from the subject, the speed of the subject and your angle relative to the subject. If you're shooting a fast moving race car with a 300mm lens, a shutter speed of 1/200s may suffice. In order to fine tune your technique, it's best to start at a higher shutter speed and then work your way down as you get into the rhythm.

Also, in my experience using a tripod is not conducive to good panning... it's simply too restrictive. Unless you're shooting with a very heavy lens, even a monopod can work against a smooth panning technique.

Here's an example at 1/125s shot with a 300mm lens...

http://www.tgsphoto.co.uk/blog/images/20050729152605_blog008.jpg

Hopefully this illustrates that you don't need to use an ultra-low shutter speed to get some reasonable background blur.

You need to get further from your subject and pan the camera to track their motion. A shallow depth of field combined with panning will really make the bikes stand out from the background. With the EF 24-70L USM (a fine lens), you're too close to pull this off effectvely.I'm going to beg to differ again... if only a little bit ;)

It is possible to pan when you're very close to your subject. It's just a good deal more difficult. In these circumstances, the panning 'swing' is close to 180 degrees and is very fast... so you really have to focus on your technique.

Here's an example at 1/60s taken at 17mm on 1.3x crop body...

http://www.tgsphoto.co.uk/forum_images/bikeoids005.jpg

A shallow DOF isn't a necessity for a good panning shot. By default, you're blurring the background anyway whilst trying to keep the subject relatively sharp.

Also, it's not always possible to use a wide aperture in bright conditions when you're shooting at such slow shutter speeds (without utilising neutral density filters). The example image above was at ISO50 and f/10 :rolleyes:

EDIT: I should add that I am by no means an expert on panning as I rarely indulge in it :lol: I would heartily recommend spending some time browsing the posts in the Motorsports section as you will find a myriad of fine examples there.

---- Gavin

[dmp-potn]

Hello,

yah thats why i'm always so close to the subject is cuz if i go to far the lens makes the subject lool like an ant..so all the photos are usualy pretty close like the ones i've shown above...

i might have to invest in a 200mm lens soon....i just dont want to think that if i get the lens those type of pics will come out automaticaly, id like to see if ppl with the 70mm hae done action shots...
I agree that you will have to practice up a bit with a longer telephoto to get the shots that you want, but the investment will be worth it. Using the right tool for the job almost always makes it easier to get the results that you want.

As I mentioned before, if you can rent a few longer lenses first, that will help you to know which one to eventually buy. For example, you could give http://www.rentglass.com/ a try. Others in this forum have had good luck with them (when they actually have the desired glass in-stock!).

[Reyno]

Rumjungle... here's the EXIF: ISO100, 1/60, f/5.6, Tamron 28-300 @ 300mm, monopod. I did shot at lower and higher speed but the results were not what I wanted. As I went lower than 1/60, the more blurring occured and the more details are lost.

[Mint_Sauce]

Go stand on a main road (the pavement not the actual road :D ) and practise shooting cars going past. Might be wise to do it away from view to avoid being labelled a mentallist. I imagine it would then be very quick and easy to perfect your technique using this method.

[Rumjungle]

Thanks Reyno. What about you Saturnin? What were your settings?

[saturnin]

i read on here to try to shoot in Tv mode so i tried.
green 23 bike
Tv mode
FL 43mm
f 2.8
1/8000
iso 400

motard
pretty much same as above

[Rumjungle]

There's your problem. Your shutterspeed was 1/8000. Next time, keep it in TV mode and bring the shutterspeed down to 1/320. Start with that and try moving that setting up and down (1/640 ~ 1/80) to find the amount of blur that you prefer.

Also, you can lower the iso to help slow down that shutter. Let me know if that works for you.

[shakin360]

Be patient. Use panning technique. To do this, set your AF Mode to AI Servo, set to tV mode (between 1/25 to 1/60), and use a tripod or a monopod. Here's how it works, if your subject is coming say from the right, rotate your body(not your feet) in that direction and start focusing on your subject. While following the subject, when your subject is perpendicular to your feet (or just about) take your shot, and most importantly, follow through on the subject even after your shot was taken. I hope this help.


When you use AI servo, which focus point should be used? Center or all?

[GerryDavid]

i read on here to try to shoot in Tv mode so i tried.
green 23 bike
Tv mode
FL 43mm
f 2.8
1/8000
iso 400

motard
pretty much same as above

Thats becasue the shutter speed was 1/8000. Bring the iso down to 50 and change the shutter speed to 1/125 and the aperature to F8 and try that. The fast shutter speed isnt giving you time to pan and is capturing the moment.

*the above settings assumes its the same lighting conditions, and the point being is to use a slower shutter speed, the lowest iso available and an fstop that gives you a proper exposure*.

edit > I loaded this page a while ago and just got aruond to reading/posting, and someone beat me to the 1/8000 thing, hehe. Just noticed that after I posted.

[Reyno]

When I'm panning, I almost always use the center to follow the subject for some reasons- it is easier for me to see the subject if it's in the center, I think it the AF tends to be faster that way, and if I miss my shot while the subject is in the center, I can just fire and not cutting the subject.

[Rumjungle]

Here's an excellent tutorial by KennyG about shooting motorsport with regards to AF point selection and how it affects composition:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=135409

[Reyno]

Thanks Rumjungle, that's a good and very interesting tutorial.

[NordieBoy]

The dirt bike was at 1/320th 76mm, the mountain bike was at 1/400th & 70mm

[NordieBoy]

Even a 50mm 1.8 can do it (1/500th) :)
This one could have done with being down around 1/320th or so but it was one of my first motorsport events :D