Race cars

[Frogballs]

I took these yesterday and I am new, I have a 20d with a 70-200 2.8IS USM and most shots I took were blurred from bad pan, but the question is how to make them better. Some cars look parked and some look great. Is it really just panning and a slower shutter speed to get the car crisp and the wheels spinning? The lack of room I had between all the pro camera guys standing on the track left me no window of opportunity. What can I do?

[Frogballs]

here are 2 more

[amosher]

In my humble opinion, not so bad. Yes, drop your shutter speed to get a blurring and with it the impression of speed. You have to find the balance point of what looks good. The advantage of a digital is that you can quickly review the shot and see what works. Practice your panning. Notice that you can use different speeds depending if the cars are going directly left to right in front of you as opposed to coming at you.

Other thoughts - your group shot of 3 cars in different classes offers a different and interesting visual contrast. Do not sit at one corner and shoot 200 pix of cars at the one point of the track, look for interesting angles (not always where everyone else is standing), climb a tree and shoot down into the cockpit. Let the people and features of the track provide an interest backdrop to the car. Have fun.

[KennyG]

You have had to use a crop to a non-standard size which means you need to learn how frame correctly. Shutter speed way too high, exposure way off. You need to think about backgrounds. Shoot from a spot where you won't get cones and if you have people in the background, include the full person not just their legs.

You have the right camera but 200 max is too short unless you are on top of the cars. Get a TC to improve the framing and reduce the need to crop. Next time, post the full shot, not an odd shaped cropped version, or even a crop to the right ratios would be better.

[chrisu002]

meh

[Frogballs]

Well I wanted to post the full version before I went to bed, but I cannot resize in Photoshop Elements low enough to be under the 100K. I am sooo new at this and cropping was the only way to get under that number. That's why all the pictures are so different in size. I tried reading the sticky on resize but I am still not getting it. :confused::confused::confused::confused:

[chrisu002]

Well I wanted to post the full version before I went to bed, but I cannot resize in Photoshop Elements low enough to be under the 100K. I am sooo new at this and cropping was the only way to get under that number. That's why all the pictures are so different in size. I tried reading the sticky on resize but I am still not getting it. :confused::confused::confused::confused:


go topaint, use strech scew

[Frogballs]

This is the uncropped unedited version. KennyG you had said to post it so let me now, and thanks.

[PhotosGuy]

1. Listen to Kenny!
2. Other threads:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58417&highlight=panning
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70558

3. Here's a tip on panning:
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.