Tips for shooting automobiles?

[webgirlsarefun]

I'm an SVT enthusiast and would like to learn how get shots that have the Road & Track/Motortrend look and feel to them.

Tips, suggestions?

Thanks!

-Dana

[IndyJeff]

Well Dana since everyone is just looking and not answering your post, I will attempt to help you here. I am assuming by Road&Track/Motortrend type shots you mean head-ons. That will take practice and digital makes it a lot less costly than it was with film.
First off, watch the cars thru the turn thru the viewfinder. Find a spot on the track where the car is in the frame the way you want it to be, i.e full frame, background included etc. Now find something on the track to focus on in that spot, a white line a dark spot on the track, anything in that spot. There are two ways you can try to capture the shot, one shot or a burst. With the one shot you watch the car and fire when it gets within your focused range. Depending on the speed of the cars, timing is a big factor with this approach. You must anticipate and actually fire a little before the car is on "the spot". With a burst you fire as the car comes into the frame and is soft and keep firing and let the car come into and out of focus. I have found with the D60 it is easier for me to get the head-on shot with a single shot as the D60 doesn't shoot fast enough in a burst. My old 10S would fire 5 FPS but the D60 is nowhere near that.
As far as apt and shutter speed, experiment some and see what is best for what you want. The slower the shutter the softer the image will be.
Hope this helps you.

Jeff

[scottbergerphoto]

Jeff,
I'm not the original poster but thanks for the instructions. I did a parade in NYC earlier this year. I don't know if you are familliar with Manhattan, but the tall buildings leave only small sections of sunlit areas for taking pictures. Somewhat similiar to your recommendation to pick a spot on the course to focus on and anticipate where the moving subject is going to be. My subjects were moving alot slower though!

http://www.pbase.com/image/21731893.jpg

Regards,
Scott

[ssim]

Scott

That is one cool shot. Thanks for sharing

[IndyJeff]

Scott it doesn't matter if the subject is 200 MPH or 2 MPH, if it is moving you need to anticipate where it will be and be in focus at that spot. Auto focus is great but too damn hard to get a bead on a subject and fire while they are moving.




edit: BTW great shot no matter how fast she is moving