first track pics

[aristowercz]

i dont realy understand how people get there pictures so clear and vibrant. if you guys dont mind can you tell me how how i could have done better and give me some tips.:) but all together it was a fun time. thanks in advanced.

1)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e79/dclsvtec/beachandtrack070copy.jpg
2)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e79/dclsvtec/beachandtrack138copy.jpg
3)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e79/dclsvtec/beachandtrack164copy.jpg
4)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e79/dclsvtec/beachandtrack123copy.jpg
5)
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e79/dclsvtec/beachandtrack077copy.jpg
yeah the flag realy caught my eye thats why theres so many pics of them

[CliffordPhotography]

yours look just fine to me

[aristowercz]

i dont know i just see peoples pics where the pics look like they have pictures where the colors just jump out and are so vibrant.

[rbush83]

Yours aren't lacking much for color. One thing though is the quality of light you are getting. The angle of teh sun and level of cloud cover from none to overcast makes a difference. For an example, I have a thread click here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=225879). Pictures 4 & 5 are the exact same spot on teh track, but different times of day. YOu can see the difference the angle of the light makes. Your shots appear to be taken very close to noon. That is the worst time in terms of light, but sometimes that's just out of your control I know. Photos taken in early morning or in the evening have better light.
Another key thing is nailing exposure and keeping your subject sharp too. Good luck.

[Picturesports]

A couple of thoughts for you ....

The two flag photos are the clearest (for me) and are taken at a focal length of 75. The others are 210, 300 and 125 respectively. Try experimenting with the results you get as the focal length gets longer. You may find that the lens you are using has sweet spot. If you are using a 75-300 USM III then try over exposing a stop or two. I found this helped the colours when I was using one.

Other tips, from the articles on the forum, would be centre point focus, AI servo mode and Shutter priority at 1/320 or there abouts.

Cheers

[Owain Shaw]

I have to second the comment Picturesports makes about over-exposing. I used to over-expose about a third of a stop on my 90-300 and that worked wonders for the colours. Don't wish to state the obvious but, stopping down is going to really help a lot (again, find the sweet spot for your lens(es) and stick to that for the best results. Could also try the in camera perameters for Contrast and Saturation.

[Trackday.Net]

I suggest you try to remember what you did in that Nissan Z shot with regards to where the sun was. The only other thing is to try to replicate how steady your hands were and apply that to a moving target.

[sageone]

cool pan on the bike...

[mrr_84]

Very cool, love the drifting and bike picture.

[Scott-JL]

Ok, in my opinion the shots are generally composed well and the colour looks strong.

#1 has great colour, well framed, but the black flag is distracting, as it seems to be out of focus due to using a wide aperture. A higher F-stop on this would have helped, but you need to find the balance so that the track in the background doesnt enter the field of vision.

#2 and #3 both seem to be marginally out of focus. I cant put my finger on it, whether the DoF is too shallow, or whether the shutter speed wasnt fast enough.

#4 is nice, although I would have liked to have seen more of the bonnet. Again, maybe the aperture could have been increased to give a slightly bigger DoF.

#5 is nicely done. Probably my favourite of the lot in terms of getting it right.

Overall I like the stuff, and it's very marginal in terms of what you need to tweak to turn them into great shots. Without seeing the EXiF data, I'm guessing it's mostly aperture that's the issue. I had the same sort of shots for a while, and managed to increase the quality by shooting with a higher ISO, and smaller aperture through experimenting.

Out of interest, what kit are you using, and what's the EXiF data on those shots?

[aristowercz]

Ok, in my opinion the shots are generally composed well and the colour looks strong.

#1 has great colour, well framed, but the black flag is distracting, as it seems to be out of focus due to using a wide aperture. A higher F-stop on this would have helped, but you need to find the balance so that the track in the background doesnt enter the field of vision.

#2 and #3 both seem to be marginally out of focus. I cant put my finger on it, whether the DoF is too shallow, or whether the shutter speed wasnt fast enough.

#4 is nice, although I would have liked to have seen more of the bonnet. Again, maybe the aperture could have been increased to give a slightly bigger DoF.

#5 is nicely done. Probably my favourite of the lot in terms of getting it right.

Overall I like the stuff, and it's very marginal in terms of what you need to tweak to turn them into great shots. Without seeing the EXiF data, I'm guessing it's mostly aperture that's the issue. I had the same sort of shots for a while, and managed to increase the quality by shooting with a higher ISO, and smaller aperture through experimenting.

Out of interest, what kit are you using, and what's the EXiF data on those shots?
well im using a 20D with 75-300mm f/4-5.6 where would i find the data at? i deleted them from my camera. sorry im still a noob with the camera and computers.

[rbush83]

The EXIF data is still intact, I peeked.
One method is to right click the file on your comp, hit properties, and on that window click the Summary tab, and then click the advanced button.

[aristowercz]

the shutterspeed f stop and all that fun stuff right?