auto-x: I need a bit of help

[XSIgabe]

I've been out twice shooting auto-x and I look at my pictures and they feel...blah..like they could be better...but I don't what I could do do to make them better.
Any one have advice to make my pictures better\sharper?
examples:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/gabe_drummer/wrxautox.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/gabe_drummer/vwjetta.jpg
*Yes I went through tutorials*

[Flores]

What 'look' are you going for?

Some folks prefer to create a sense of motion with their shots. Others want razor sharp images, where you can see what the driver has stuck in his teeth...

Some ways of doing that:

you need more than just the car in the frame. Give the car some place interesting to go, or show it coming from someplace interesting

slow down the shutter, so you can pick up some motion. you will have to pan the camera to really get that right. takes practice.

I know you don't always get to choose were to shoot from, but late in the afternoon/early in the morning, you can only try to get the sun to your back.

a personal pref: Get low. Or Get High. your shots are going to look just like everyone else's snap shots if your just standing with your tripod/mono pod. Low is good if you are trying to catch driver expression and car suspension movement.

Pick a good corner for autox. This was done with a cheap 'point in shoot' and I did before I 'got serious' about photography.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2283/61/81/1103603547/n1103603547_30308218_9161.jpg

technically, it's underexposed, and it's low resolution, and probably a little out of focus, but the driver loved this shot. It shows him DRIVING his car. He could see how close he was getting to the cone, and the wheel being turned, with the car leaning out conveys a sense of action.

So, it's not a great photo, but i think it shows what some folks look for in autox pics. I'm just a beginner too, so don't carve my words in stone :)

[13inches]

1) Use AI Servo focusing, This is a must. AI Servo works best when you can track the object for a second or two before firing the shutter, so give yourself a lot of time to get the car in frame and track it before shooting.

2) Use the centre focus point. This is more of a beginner technique and you can get more creative with using outer points later, but for now use the centre point as it will yield the most accurate results.

3) Use manual exposure. This will help ensure that your exposure is right more often than not. When I'm lazy I use Tv or Av but depending on the colour of the car that's passing by you'll get a few shots that will be slightly underexposed. The two shots you posted are underexposed so practice getting your exposure right.
I've also noticed you appear to be shooting either early or late in the day (perhaps this was an evening event?) which may make manual exposure more difficult as the lighting conditions will be changing often. In this case Tv or Av might be better choices but you will lose some shots.

Flores has done a good job of trying to choose the type of shot you want. We had a rather rainy event a few weeks ago so I didn't spend much time behind the lens but when I did get out to shoot a few pics I mainly focused on the front-3/4 type of angles and a few direct panning shots.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3398/4630080311_fe4ee9c7c7_o.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4060/4630080421_8eb242f72a_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3364/4630685146_13217d82c6_o.jpg

[rogazilla]

Above has been good advice, I find that often time, I will prefocus on the cone before the car comes around. That way you can start grabbing in focus shot sooner. Depends on the speed of the car, 1/60 to 1/125 for shutter speed usually create the wheel spinning look that makes the car appear at speed instead of parked on the track. Learn to pan or I usually use monopod to assist me.

I am still in process of putting photo in my Zenfolio but there are some of my early autocross work back in 2008 when I first got my XSi. I'd say 99.9% are jpg straight out of camera with zero pp. Most shot with Tv and I was experimenting between 1/80 and 1/125 and 1/250. Some shots were from my finance and they are probably P or auto mode (the ones with a guy in black pants and shirt or the black s2000 AS9).

And check out the Track day album for the motorcycle that I did a couple weekend ago. most are shot in Tv 1/80 and a few 1/125.

[LiberationFrequency]

The prefocus thing is huge and I have used it at my first drift motorsport event before. I would manually focus in on a car that went around a turn prior to the car I wanted to shoot... then when the positioning was right I would grab the shot of the car I wanted. Focusing on a particular part of the turn is kind of a gamble though, but even for a noob like me it turned out okay.

Part of the reason was the fact that a fence was in the way and auto focus would pull the fence in haha

[chris jones]

I use manual mode and set the exposure first. Then I use center point AI servo focusing. Take lots of photos to up your keeper rate. If there is one thing I've learned its take more photos than not enough.

[Flores]

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs354.snc3/29334_1454117308609_1103603547_31383513_3397564_n. jpg

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs334.snc3/29334_1454176870098_1103603547_31383889_5994502_n. jpg

From today... :)