Question on how to shoot car rolling shots.

Hey guys, I wanted to know of you guys have any tips on doing car rolling shots? like for example taking picture of a car while it's moving, but capturing the car still and clear, but the background seems like it's going super fast. Like this for example: http://randy.mainevwsc​ene.com/images/fave1sm​all.jpg
Is there like a setting i should set it as? or is this a photoshop effect? thanks in advance!

That shot was likely done from another vehicle moving the same speed as the car.

yeah I kind of figure that, but the other day I was doing it with my friends, and I can't seem to get that same effect. we tried going faster almost 60mph, and we still didn't get the fast background effect.

Shoot from another car, obviously. But you need a slower shutter speed to make the background blur, but high enough to keep the car sharp. It's going to be a guess what that might be or, do some test shots and chimp to see what you get. Looks like fun.

omg, because i was shooting at total fast shutter speed, and i got pissed off because it wasn't coming out as i wanted. and i was thinking if slowed down the shutter speed it will be wayy too blurry, because im holding it by hand. so basically, u think i should just mess with the shutter speed?

If it were me, I would set up a tripod in the other car. Seriously. I have done this, in my van though and it works amazingly well. So get into manual mode, ISO 200 if it's sunny, use autofocus though, and an aperture of about 5.6. I think a shutter speed of 1/250 would be fast enough that the other car will be sharp, and the 5.6 aperture will give some bokeh to the background, and at 60mph, it should be streaking by like that other shot.

Can you post a couple of yours? What kind of shutter speed were you using?

I was such a newb lol... i was just shooting random shots.. and I couldn't get it.. it looked so ugly..lol. And I do not own expensive lens so it's hard for me as well. I was using 50mm 1.8. I also have a canon ef 100mm. But that's about it. not good for these shots you think?

Here's one of the shots, I'd have to upload more. http://www.flickr.com …/34038143@N03/3​487592153/

Definitely need to slow the shutter down some. Also, unless you are looking for the glare in the shot, put yourself on the same side of the car as the sun. Nice looking MR2 BTW.

The 50mm looked OK, but now you need to get on the other side, so the sun is at your back. And yes, slow the shutter down some more. The thing is, you can take a shot at one shutter speed then look at the preview to see if it was enough. How fast were you going in that shot though. maybe you need to go faster. Also it will help if the background is further away from the car.

i think that picture we were going around 45-50mph, it was a busy downtown street, and if we were to wait until night time, pictures would have been worst! lol. so basically, u think i should slow down the shutter speed and bring up the iso?

Maybe. Maybe not. The closer the camera follows the car, the sharper it will be. And there's no reason that all of the car needs to be sharp, either, unless that's what you personally want to happen.

http://img.photobucket​.com …0-%20Rides/F1-Blur-06.jpg

The official Dream Cruise - Saturday

Sharp subject while still keeping some wheel blur isn't easy & comes with practice.
It depends on the distance to the subject, the angle of movement to the camera of the subject, the focal length, the speed of the subject, & the effect that you're trying to get.
Try to keep the car as close to the same place in the frame as you can. I try to aim a focus point at something easy to see, like a headlight. Start at 1/100 sec & work your way down to 1/8 & see how steady you are.

i have seen this shot and a description on how the guy did it on another sight....


...here you go:
http://www.wheel-whores.com …viewtopic.php?f​=47&t=3967

I get asked about rolling (tracking.. for you brits) shots usually at least once a day by somebody..

I had included this little tutorial in another thread and often find myself referencing the thread, or linking people to it, so I figured it deserved a sticky of its own..

hell.. I learned everything I know from asking other people.. so who am I to keep the knowledge I have hidden away

here it goes..

Optimal Conditions
Your best bet is to get on a somewhat vacant, double laned stretch of road with a speed limit of 55 or above so you can do at least 65-70 mph..

It really helps if the camera car and the subject car are moving at the same speed. So a camera car that has Cruise Control is a big help, becuase then the driver of the subject car simply has to match the constant speed.

Also, try and shoot the car about an hour or 2 before the sun sets, and make sure the direction you are going on the road, has the sun lighting up the front 3/4 side of the car so you don't get any funky shadows.. although if its an overcast day, this is not as much of an issue.

keep in mind.. what I have described above are the "optimal" conditions under which to shoot rolling shots, but we all know that everything doesn't work out perfectly every time, so make due with what you can


Camera Settings

Everybody has a differnet preference, but I prefer to shoot rolling shots in Shutter priority mode. This way, I can set my shutter speed exactly where I want it to produce the motion blurred background that is desired when trying to capture a motion shot.

Once the camera is in Shutter priority mode (Tv), you can use your aperature button (on most canon's, I dunno about nikon) to set the camera to automatically over or underexpose the shots by holding it down and scrolling the setting wheel. We all know that the internal light meter on most cameras doesn't always expose things perfectly when set dead middle, so use your best judgement on this. Generally, if i'm shooing in bright sunlight, I set it to underexpose a click or two. But on grey days (overcast) I usually leave the exposure spot on, if not a click above.

When shooting rolling shots, the idea is to shoot at the lowest shutter speed possible, while still capturing a crisp image of the subject car. That is why its very helpful if both cars are moving at the exact same speed, because you will produce more quality shots. I usually start with a 1/10 shutter speed. I try to remain as steady as possible, and shoot between bumps in the road so my arms and camera aren't being jarred as I push the shutter button down. I shoot somewhere between 25-50 shots at 1/10th depending on how smooth the road is and how good the conditions are. If you can get a crisp shot at this speed, the results are usually quite awesome. I then click up to 1/13th and fire off another round, then work my way up doing the same until I've reached 1/25th. I usually don't shoot any higher than 1/25 for rolling shots, so that I'm sure to capture the motion well, but for those of you who just can't seem to get it, you can try moving up to 1/40 even 1/60 and you'll still get some good blur. Also, the faster the cars are going, the better chance you have of getting motion blur at higher shutter speeds.


These are all the technical aspects of shooting rolling shots that I can think of. Everything else beyond that is your own creativity. Angles, Composition, Lighting, Location... ect. And most of that stuff is a matter of opinion and interperatation.

Hope this helps.

Happy shooting 8)

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blueskyyy wrote in post #7850880
i think that picture we were going around 45-50mph, it was a busy downtown street, and if we were to wait until night time, pictures would have been worst! lol. so basically, u think i should slow down the shutter speed and bring up the iso?

If your shutter speed is too low, you'd have enough light so you can stay at iso100. I generally try to match the shutter speed with the aperture; so higher aperture and lower shutter speed to balance the light. Since you are moving already, the background of the car will be blurred because of your low shutter speed and the whole car will be sharp because of your aperture.

for what works for me is rolling at 50-60mph with two cars. 1 car for shooting and 1 car for taking the picture from. Set the camera to T/V mode and stop it down anywhere between 1/50-1/60 and let the camera find the f/stop (if you want more bokeh then you can set the aperture in manual mode along with the shutter speed). Since I am in an area where internet sucks, when i get home I'll photos up or just look at my flickr(all of those where my first attempts btw, i'll have new one up in a week).

remeber this advice is my personal advice and not textbook advice so please do what you find confortable and what you find to achieve the best results.

happy shooting! post pictures when you are done!