I'm going racing! Need tips for girlfriend

[tim]

My girlfriend got me a session in a race car for my birthday (ages ago), and this weekend i'm finally doing it. Of course, I want photos! I've never taken car racing photos, so I don't know what settings are best to use, and I probably won't have a chance to experiment beforehand to work out what's best. I have no idea where she'll be standing.

Can anyone recommend the best lens/settings to use for this? I was thinking the 70-200 F2.8 IS on sports mode, IS on, on a monopod. Or would Av/F2.8/ISO 400 be better? I don't know whether to get her to try some shots of the side of the car as I go past, might be difficult depending on shutter speeds. Also not sure if I want her to try panning shots either, though the IS on mode 2 would help with that.

Any tips are most welcome :)

[tim]

Anyone?

[InspiredGraphix]

Tim,


While i am not a sports photographer, here are my thoughts.

f2.8 is probably a bit shallow for that sort of thing. Maybe f8 or so, f5.6 if you must. If you need faster shutter, bump up the ISO, but as long as it is sunny, should be ok.

Does your gilfriend know how to use a camera? If not, a P&S might be a better option. It is alot easier to mess up a shot using an SLR than using a P&S IMO.

Hopefully some food for thought there anyway.

Rob

[tim]

I have an A70, but it's not fast enough to take the picture. I don't think depth of field is an issue, all I want is a pic of the side of the car, maybe with me in it if possible, and I like blurred backgrounds. It won't be sunny as it's winter, there should be plenty of light though.

My girlfriend's used the camera before, but not to anything this fast, and not with such a heavy lens. She'll manage i'm sure, i'll give her a lesson beforehand :)

Anyone know what sort of minimum shutter speeds I should be trying for, given I don't want her to pan?

[joeseph]

Tim,
it's probably easier to set shutter speed to anything >1/250 (given a 200 lens) and let apeture take care of itself.
Hardest part could be getting focus, so if you get time take her out to practice on passing cars to see what works & what doesn't. I found at Pukekohe that the V8's were moving faster than the 100-400 could keep up so had to resort to focussing on a track point then shooting anything that was headed for that point. What sort of race car are we talking about? sounds like fun to me - if it was this end of the Island I'd offer to come & help you out, but Wn is a little far away sorry!

[tim]

It's a saloon car, and i'm not a racing driver, so I don't expect it'll be too fast... but of course i'll be going as fast as I can get the damn thing to go, within whatever sanity the guy sitting beside me enforces ;) He takes me around the course at the end of my laps, so I get to see how a real race driver does, which should be cool :)

I wonder what shutter speed I need to use to get a car travelling at 100kmph sharp? I'm thinking at least 1/500th, maybe even 1/1000th. I'll get there early and try to work it out beforehand I guess.

[InspiredGraphix]

Tim,

I would have to agree with Joeseph, but if she isn't to handy with the camera, then set it to even faster speeds. 1/250 will still get blurry if she is trying to pan it or anything. Setting the centre focus point only would help to dumb it down a bit too, and just get her to shoot away.

You could always enhance the blur in PP afterward remember.

Hope it all works out, post it when its all done!

Rob

[PhotosGuy]

Off the top of my head, I'd suggest trying an average like 1/1000 @ f/5.6 or f/8. Adjust the ISO for the lighting conditions.

Why not teach her how to pan? Go near a road & shoot some traffic. How hard can it be when you don't have to pay for film??

Shutter speed depends on the speed of the car AND your distance from the car AND the focal length of your lens. For instance, this one is an uncropped shot & the car was in 3rd gear & about 35' away, so you need a faster speed or a smoother pan.
Formula 500, 1/400 sec, ISO 400, 70-150 Vivitar + 2X, about f-16.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/WHRRI/Sunday%20July%2004/CRW2_0051.jpg

Stand with your feet in a line parallel with the direction that the car is traveling. You want a line drawn perpendicular to your shoulders to intersect the point where you anticipate taking the pic. Turning at the waist, start your pan WAY early, snap the shot when it's in front of you, AND continue the pan WAY to the side. This insures that the pan is smooth & steady when you take the shot. As you can imagine, I was panning pretty fast & the guy next to me moved away 'cause he said he thought he was in my shots.
This doesn't have to be hard with a little practice. The 1/1000 sec should stop most action & compensate for an 'average' pan. The f/5.6 to f/8 should give you enough DOF to compensate if she half-presses the shutter too soon.
Just be sure not to underexpose at a high ISO to avoid noise. And, if you can, shoot RAW.

More shots are here if you are interested: (http://photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/WHRRI/Sunday%20July%2004/)

[tim]

Thanks PhotosGuy, i'll teach her how to pan, should be easy enough following your tips. I'll use F8 or so too, good point about the DOF if she misses focus. I wonder if I should have her use AI servo or just to prefocus? Either way I think it's going to be pretty hit and miss. Hopefully i'll get car shots myself, doesn't matter if i'm in the car for them or not, you'll barely be able to see me. Shots getting in and out of the car are more important!

I'll definitely practice with her before the day, with cars on the open road. Hope no-one think's it's a speed camera and stops...!!

[PhotosGuy]

Shots getting in and out of the car are more important! For that I'd suggest f-11 on Av mode. Set ISO to get at least 1/200 sec.
I'd MF, but don't think you want her to mess with AI servo, & you shouldn't need it if she's not too close to the car. Teach her to focus with a half-press & immediatly full press before the car moves too far.
Have fun, & if the shoulder belts don't hurt, they aren't tight enough! ;-)

[tim]

For that I'd suggest f-11 on Av mode. Set ISO to get at least 1/200 sec.

I think I can manage to work that one out myself thanks!

I'd MF, but don't think you want her to mess with AI servo, & you shouldn't need it if she's not too close to the car. Teach her to focus with a half-press & immediatly full press before the car moves too far.
Have fun, & if the shoulder belts don't hurt, they aren't tight enough! ;-)

This is opposite of what people on FM are recommending. Advice there suggests having her pan, but using a high shutter speed, so the pan is really a "just in case" thing. Focus and press without panning could easily miss, and I rekon AI servo will work fine. Hopefully i'll be able to experiment beforehand myself to work it out.

Thanks for your advice :)

[Wazza]

Nice present Tim. That is something I would love to do.

How about you take pics of me driving?

The 2.8 I guess will be nice and heavy for anyone new to it!

I would probably recommend using TV mode of say 1/1000th, just to freeze the action, and then you can edit the DOF in photoshop, to blur out the action. I prefer panning cars at between 1/125-1/250th generally, but starting off, with a big heavy lens, would definately be difficult.

As for the driving...
Have no fear. :p
You'll have a helmet on, and probably someone next to you, to coach you through it.

The closest I get to racing is in computer gaming :rolleyes:

http://wazza.nfscity.com/videos/behindthewheel.wmv

[tim]

No problem, i'll take pics of you driving when i'm up there (from the back seat) ;)

I'm sure the guy won't let me hurt his car, so i'll do my best to push it to the limit. Of course my limit's probably a lot less than his, so no problem. The girlfriend will manage i'm sure, this photography larks easy eh? Just point the camera and push the button, how hard could it be ;)

[PhotosGuy]

This is opposite of what people on FM are recommending. Advice there suggests having her pan, but using a high shutter speed, so the pan is really a "just in case" thing. I don't remember saying not to pan? As you know, a higher shutter speed = less DOF, which is why I suggested 1/200 which should work well IF she's not too close to the car. Focus and press without panning could easily miss, and I rekon AI servo will work fine. People here who know a bit about photography are still having problems getting every shot sharp with AIS. Good luck with it. ;-)

[KennyG]

Don't shoot in Av whatever you do. That's for static subjects, not moving cars, whatever their speed.

If your GF has little experience with a DSLR, then set it to 1/400 or 1/320. Let the aperture take care of iteslf. Forget the monopod, it will just make it harder for her to use the camera. Put it in AI Servo and leave the IS on. Centre focus point and simply tell her to get the focus point on the car, count to one and press the shutter. Don't confuse a novice with the finer points of motorsporet photography. There are enough so called experts on here that are confused and they are used to DSLRs.

[tim]

Thanks guys, it went really well! It was so much fun being in a fast car on a good, wide track, and having no speed limits. I learned a few things about driving on the open road too :) Monopod wasn't used, and about 200 photos were taken - mostly because I couldn't find my larger memory cards when I needed them :(

Here's a quick preview of one of the best pics of the day, diagonal crop done in photoshop, bit of noise ninja and USM, nothing else changed. The photo was taken by my girlfriend. I'll post the others in a photo sharing section in the next day or so, and i'll post a link in this thread.

http://mrwild.co.nz/unprotected/potn/racing1.jpg