How to approach this, supermotrad evening practice

[Eyal]

I need help to know how to get the best out of a practice.
The place is not that well lit (mainly a big parking lot with high lights). I think 200mm is the max I really need. I think at 2.8 800 ISO I should be able to get enough light.

As I have yet to take take evening shots of fast moving motorcycles, I could use some tips from the more experienced.
How should I use the flash for compensation (and if should I)?
I can get sometimes "up close and personal" at some corners. Will 24 F/4 be good enough for that to get some nice wide shots?

I am more into street photography, so I appreciate any help and tips I can get to move into sports.

Cheers.

Also regarding settings, to use shutter priority as I almost always use for sports? Flash to use at manual to not get flat shots? How much to correctly set the flash?

[DC Fan]

Originally Posted by Eyal

The place is not that well lit (mainly a big parking lot with high lights). I think 200mm is the max I really need. I think at 2.8 800 ISO I should be able to get enough light.

Fast lens, high ISO. Night racing pictures:



Focal Length: 104.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.0040 s (1/250)
ISO equiv: 3200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB






Focal Length: 91.0mm
Aperture: f/2.8
Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320)
ISO equiv: 3200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB





Focal Length: 200.0mm
Aperture: f/3.2
Exposure Time: 0.0031 s (1/320)
ISO equiv: 3200
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Auto
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB

Available light, no flash. From a Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 non-stabilized lens and a Canon 60D.

Settings will depend on light, but ISO 3200 is a good starting point, as demonstrated here. Available light photography was used at this dirt track because flash tends to illuminate the dirt and dust in the air. Situations such as these are where a light meter is useful, to take incident readings of the level of illumination falling on the subjects, and basing the camera settings on those readings.

[kurtw]

+1 to the previous point on exposure. Without knowing your lighting, 800 ISO is probably optimistic unless you are panning.

Also, white balance is crucial in that situation and the AWB cannot be trusted. Shoot RAW and plan to make WB adjustments, or if you are going to shoot JPG, shoot a WB target (e.g. a white number plate) and set a custom WB before you start.

When I shoot supermoto, it's always outdoors during the day but I always like to play around with flash in the evenings when the light is fading. Anything other than light fill is a tricky proposition for me and strictly for creative/experimental effect. But this often produces some of my favorite shots.

I would be shooting either Av set wide open (to get the fastest shutter speed the light will allow) or Manual with Auto-ISO if I know exactly what SS I need (to get the best ISO the light will allow). Manual everything if the light is completely consistent everywhere. For flash settings, well, it depends on what you are trying to do. If you're just filling, use TTL and set Flash Exp Comp at least -1 stop. Manual zoom the flash head to focus it on the rider and/or tilt it up slightly to avoid foreground spill. If you're not sure what you're doing with the flash, stick to no flash or light, simple fill until you've got your safety shots and your bored and ready to experiment.

[Eyal]

Thanks for the suggestions.
The event is tonight, so I will try the M with auto-iso or high ISO with Tv and see which works better.
I hope the F4 of the 24-105 won't force me to too high ISO.

Cheers.

[kurtw]

Have fun! Supermoto is a blast to shoot!
Post some shots when you can!