5 tips for taking photos at the Grand Prix of Baltimore
When photographing anything with speed, the main thing to remember is your photos should relay motion to the viewer when possible. If your photos show a race car with tires static and the car and tires tack sharp, the car might as well be in a showroom standing still.
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- Team Penske driver Will Power is reflected in his side mirror as he awaits the start of the 2nd afternoon practice session, at the Mid-Ohio race course, in preparation on August 3, 2012. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- Race cars round a turn at t the start of the Baltimore Grand Prix on Sept. 4, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- The winner of the Baltimore Grand Prix, Will Power rounds turn one near the end of his dominant win on Sept. 4, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- Pole setter and victor Scott Dixon during the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on August 7, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- IndyCar racing at the August 7, 2011 IndyCar series event in Ohio. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- Team Ganassi driver Dario Franchitti, who is in 1st place in the points battle, racing at an August 7, 2011 IndyCar series event in Ohio. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- Ohio native Graham Rahal, driving his Service Central Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara, during the 2nd practice session for this Sunday’s Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio on August 5, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- Group Porsche, driven by Marc Bunting and co-driver Dion van Moltke jumps the chicane during the ALMS race on August 3, 2011. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- The #1 Audi R8, co-driven by Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro, set the pace during qualifiers at the “Cadillac Grand Prix at Washington, D.C.” (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- The #1 Audi takes the lead in the first turn of the first ever Cadillac Grand Prix at: Washington, D.C. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
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- The overall winner, a Corvette from the Corvette Racing Stable, in the Rolex 24 at Daytona is shown in the closing laps with drivers Johnny O’Connell, Chris Kneifel, Ron Fellows and Frank Freon on February 3, 2001. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
So how do you capture motion in race photos? If you have an SLR camera, where you can alter the aperture and shutter speed, then you’re in control and ready to go.
Here are five tips for taking racing photos at this weekend’s Grand Prix of Baltimore:
1. Slow shutter speed and panning with the car. This will result in the car sharp with the background blurred. It will take some practice to find the right panning speed, but you will have lots of time for that during a race. Remember to keep the camera level (if so desired) while panning. The current trend is for tilted horizons in photos, which can work at times.
2. Slow shutter speed and keeping the camera still. This will have the car appear blurred as it speeds through your image against a sharp background, an effective way to show the car’s motion.
3. Very slow shutter speed and pan with the car. This will effectively blur the car and the background side-to-side and up and down. If done right, it can result in a very pleasing image. If it’s too blurry, try to step up the shutter speed one step at a time, until you get what you are looking for.
4. If the cars are coming right at you… Remember you can get by with a slower shutter speed than you think, because the car is not crossing your shutter horizontal plane. So try using a low-to-medium shutter speed, such as 125th-250th of a second. This will keep the car sharp, but blur the tires as they rotate. This can make for nice motion, which will relay the sense of speed effectively.
5. Watch your background. If you can move around, try to get as clean and empty a background as possible. The cars are brightly painted, so in most cases you don’t want the background to fight with the car for attention. Also, pay attention to the foreground for the same reason. “Back-lighting” can be fun to play with, as the polished sections of the car will reflect the light and form the outline of the car. If doing this, play with your exposure until you obtain the desired result. Several “stops” underexposed from normal probably will give you the best results with this effect.
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Chris
Aug 30, 2012 @ 15:48:47
My 5 from a lot of experience:
1. Shoot during practice or qualifying. There is less rush and you don’t have to spend all race taking photos. Take photos of cars going very slowly in pit lane or on a cool down lap, etc. Then enjoy the race.
2. Use an SLR if you want good photos. Most point-n-shoot cameras take too long to focus and open the shutter. By the time a point n shoot gets ready, the car has zoomed by or is totally out of the frame.
3. If you must use a Point n Shoot (or a phone), you ++must++ pan along with the car to get anything in frame. Practice a lot.
4. Remember the sun, if it’s behind you the cars will show their colors brighter, and the camera shutter will be faster too. Near sunrise or sunset gives better colors and more drama sometimes.
5. When you get home, delete a lot of photos. Photos of you and your friends at the race are keepers. But more than 20 cars during the race tend to get boring to look at later on. Trim your collection and only keep the best of the best.