KennyG
25th of December 2004 (Sat), 04:06
If you are taking portrait pictures in a studio you carefully consider the background. If you are a sports photographer you don't always have a choice of background, or do you?
I have looked at a lot of my own pictures as well as those from other motorsport photographers and considered what makes up the overall look and feel of a good shot. Yes, getting a racing car nice and sharp with perhaps the body leaning/lifting on a corner and the wheels nicely blurred is one aim, but a busy or distracting background can totally ruin your efforts.
It is putting some thought into the background that often seperates the good from the really good shots. My own technique is to make sure I get to the circuit nice and early and, despite having been there many times before, look through the lens at each of my chosen spots for the day. I don't want to find a new bit of 'scenery' that wasn't there last time, such as cones or a new advertising board and have it/them appear in my shots. I have taken some sample shots over the season as a demonstration of 'bad practice' for a couple of new photographers that I am helping along the road and I will use them here.
What are you trying to say with your picture? If you want to show that there was a big crowd in attendance, then make sure you get the stand in the background, but far enough OOF so that it does not detract from the main subject. If, on the other hand, you want to really isolate the racing car(s), make sure you have a non-distracting background. There are a couple of other variations, such as making sure the venue can be identified, or, if there are nice hills/fields in the background for example, they can go to make up the shot. You do not want distracting objects to lead the eye away from your subject.
Here are two examples. The first has some brightly clad marshals to distract the viewer and the second shot was taken only four feet further down the track from the first, changing the shot angle. Obviously the second shot has a much cleaner background and ended up being published.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-4.jpg
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-5.jpg
What do you do if you can not easily move location, or you absolutely must have a shot from that particular spot? If you can't move sideways, try going down or up. This is not a silly as it sounds. Most shots tend to be taken at eye level when standing, but have a totally different look and feel if taken from say 3 to 4ft above ground (about barrier height), where a different vertical angle on the background can hide offending objects.
The two images below show how changing the vertical angle works, the first has an ambulance in view and the second taken from a few feet lower down a dip the circuit, giving an upward view, has the required clean background as well as a much better 'feel' to the shot. I have been known to take shots while lying on the ground, firing through a small gap in the barrier, just to get that different angle.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-1.jpg
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-2.jpg
Another technique is to frame the car very tightly to hide anything behind it. I must add here that a lot of publications like to have room to do their own cropping and a very tightly framed shot may not be acceptable. Drivers, teams and sponsors are simply after a really good picture and the decision on what framing/cropping looks right in these circumstances is generally yours.
One car in a picture can be boring, unless it is that way for a reason, such as a shot for the team/driver or stock. Two or more cars give a better feel of track action and add depth to the image. Think about the purpose of the shot and, if you are trying to convey on-track action, try to get two or more cars in the shot. Here is an example which also takes into account the background.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-3.jpg
Don't just turn up at a race circuit, find a comfortable spot and start taking pictures. Think about what you are doing with the scenery. Walk the circuit until you get the background you want, taking into account how the cars will look when you take your shots. Look at where you will be panning and where the framing will be when you press the shutter. Don't forget that you have to factor in the direction and angle of the sun as well.
Everything goes out of the window when there is an incident and the value of the picture is in what is happening, not in the asthetics. This is news taking over from photographic niceties and techniques. Just get the shots, forget the rules.
It is as this point I will say that, if you have not thought of working this way, then it may sound over-complicated. Trust me, once you have done a couple of meetings where you plan the scenery as well as the cars, it will become second nature and your pictures will benefit.
I have looked at a lot of my own pictures as well as those from other motorsport photographers and considered what makes up the overall look and feel of a good shot. Yes, getting a racing car nice and sharp with perhaps the body leaning/lifting on a corner and the wheels nicely blurred is one aim, but a busy or distracting background can totally ruin your efforts.
It is putting some thought into the background that often seperates the good from the really good shots. My own technique is to make sure I get to the circuit nice and early and, despite having been there many times before, look through the lens at each of my chosen spots for the day. I don't want to find a new bit of 'scenery' that wasn't there last time, such as cones or a new advertising board and have it/them appear in my shots. I have taken some sample shots over the season as a demonstration of 'bad practice' for a couple of new photographers that I am helping along the road and I will use them here.
What are you trying to say with your picture? If you want to show that there was a big crowd in attendance, then make sure you get the stand in the background, but far enough OOF so that it does not detract from the main subject. If, on the other hand, you want to really isolate the racing car(s), make sure you have a non-distracting background. There are a couple of other variations, such as making sure the venue can be identified, or, if there are nice hills/fields in the background for example, they can go to make up the shot. You do not want distracting objects to lead the eye away from your subject.
Here are two examples. The first has some brightly clad marshals to distract the viewer and the second shot was taken only four feet further down the track from the first, changing the shot angle. Obviously the second shot has a much cleaner background and ended up being published.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-4.jpg
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-5.jpg
What do you do if you can not easily move location, or you absolutely must have a shot from that particular spot? If you can't move sideways, try going down or up. This is not a silly as it sounds. Most shots tend to be taken at eye level when standing, but have a totally different look and feel if taken from say 3 to 4ft above ground (about barrier height), where a different vertical angle on the background can hide offending objects.
The two images below show how changing the vertical angle works, the first has an ambulance in view and the second taken from a few feet lower down a dip the circuit, giving an upward view, has the required clean background as well as a much better 'feel' to the shot. I have been known to take shots while lying on the ground, firing through a small gap in the barrier, just to get that different angle.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-1.jpg
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-2.jpg
Another technique is to frame the car very tightly to hide anything behind it. I must add here that a lot of publications like to have room to do their own cropping and a very tightly framed shot may not be acceptable. Drivers, teams and sponsors are simply after a really good picture and the decision on what framing/cropping looks right in these circumstances is generally yours.
One car in a picture can be boring, unless it is that way for a reason, such as a shot for the team/driver or stock. Two or more cars give a better feel of track action and add depth to the image. Think about the purpose of the shot and, if you are trying to convey on-track action, try to get two or more cars in the shot. Here is an example which also takes into account the background.
http://www.motorpix.co.uk/misc/demo-3.jpg
Don't just turn up at a race circuit, find a comfortable spot and start taking pictures. Think about what you are doing with the scenery. Walk the circuit until you get the background you want, taking into account how the cars will look when you take your shots. Look at where you will be panning and where the framing will be when you press the shutter. Don't forget that you have to factor in the direction and angle of the sun as well.
Everything goes out of the window when there is an incident and the value of the picture is in what is happening, not in the asthetics. This is news taking over from photographic niceties and techniques. Just get the shots, forget the rules.
It is as this point I will say that, if you have not thought of working this way, then it may sound over-complicated. Trust me, once you have done a couple of meetings where you plan the scenery as well as the cars, it will become second nature and your pictures will benefit.