If you are looking for a fast-paced, challenging, and fun outdoor genre of photography, then there may be nothing more perfect than motor sport photography! Although, as fun as it sounds there are many nooks and curve balls of this genre that will put your photography skills to the test. Are you ready for the race? If you are a newcomer to motor sport photography, we have a lot of information that will help you get started on your journey.
Fast-paced motor sport photography
Motor sport photography is a form of capturing motor sports in their prime. It could be a road run on a fast motorbike, a stock car race, or a dirt bike meet. Either way a motor sport photographer must be present on the ground during these races to capture some great vivid shots. Without some background knowledge on how to capture great motor sport photography, especially with the speed of these vehicles, along with the amount of smoke or dirt around, it is more likely that you will go home with nothing but blurry photographs and no second chance!
Here’s some of what you need to keep in mind to overcome the challenges of motor sport photography and to get that perfect shot.
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Motion shots
The first thing that you should know and be well-prepared with is motion shots. The entire concept of motor sport photography is to take the best images you can while those vehicles are in motion. So having good firsthand experience and background information on motion photography will provide you with an advantage. Practice as much as you can on regular roads, people, animals, anything in motion!
Get used to the camera and focus settings. Attempt back-button focus if your camera has it available. Learn how to use your camera’s manual settings so that you can master this and put it to great use when on the track!
If you are looking for a fast-paced, challenging, and fun genre of photography, then there may be nothing more perfect than motor sport photography!
Equipment
It is almost mandatory to use a mirrorless or DSLR camera for motor sports events as the quality will certainly differ when compared to using lower-grade cameras. Since many of the motor sport racetracks will have a distance limit to which you can stand, it is also extremely important to pay attention to the kind of lenses you will be using during motor sport photography.
Telephoto lenses at 200 mm or longer are the best option for motor sport photography. You can also expect to remain standing on the sidelines of the racetrack, waiting for cars to arrive for extended periods of time, so also use a solid and sturdy tripod as well.
Location
Finding the right on-site location for your photography is the first step when you enter the racetrack. Use Google Earth and other local satellite imagery and maps to determine the best location for your photography setup. Join Facebook groups related to the racetrack and search through or ask questions within the group.
Then study the start and finish line of the racetrack to understand the lap time and lap route of the cars. Look at and study the corners or turns where cars would need to slow down or take a long turn. These spots are more likely to give you some great angles and enough time to take great images. Other spots around the track for great action shots would be fast and sharp bends where you would be more likely to capture hair-raising collisions and spin-outs.
Move around
As important as it is the find the right spot, it is also a great idea to include some variety in your photography. So even if you have found the right spot along the track, do not spend all your time there. Know when it’s time to leave and more to the next spot. Try to cover the entire field and you will walk away with a great diversity of action shots. Moving around the racetrack will ensure your portfolio of motor sport photos will have a wider sphere of angles and shots.
Pay attention in motor sport photography
Do not make the mistake of waiting until the last moment to set up or to take the photo. Many photographers at the beginning of their motor sport photography journey have fallen into the trap of shooting to their heart’s content only to realise the camera settings could have been better. So, make sure you have experimented with settings and filters, have taken a couple of test shots and are completely at attention to shoot as soon as cars appear. Just a one second delay could miss the perfect shot!
Camera settings
You may need to increase the shutter speed more than usual whilst photographing the cars on the racetrack, so manual settings are a must. Start with a shutter speed of 1/500 and then gradually increase or decrease depending on how your initial shots come out. Being outdoors the daylight may be quite bright, so start with and ISO of 100 and if the images are too dark you could try increasing the aperture (lower the f-stop) or increasing the ISO.
Experiment with both motion tracking and fixed still photos
Motion tracking in photography is where you keep the subject in the centre of the frame and pan the camera to track the movement of the subject. This is especially effective with higher zooms and a lower shutter speed. The background will become blurry whilst maintaining sharp details of the subject. The result will be photos that depict movement whilst keeping the subject in focus.
It will take a while to master this type of shot, but the result can be some of the most awe-inspiring motor sports imagery. The use of a monopod with your camera will also go a long way to ensuring you capture that perfect shot as you will be able to pan with the movement of the subject whilst keeping the camera level and eliminating a substantial proportion of camera shake.
Autofocus
A good camera with fast auto focus will work wonderfully as you should be able to have the lens set to a wide aperture (f/2.8) whilst maintaining focus on the subject. If using manual focus experiment with different apertures, ISO settings and shutter speed to determine the best settings based on the speed of the vehicles as they pass by.
Burst mode
Burst mode will also assist if you feel you cannot capture the right image with single shots. It will allow you to take multiple photographs, but at the expense memory card space and will likely result in many out of focus images.
Income earning potential in motor sport photography
Motor sport photography is a thrilling and adventurous activity, and if you can depict the thrill of an event in your photographs you just may get noticed by sponsors, race teams, participants, or media outlets. Although this type of photography usually starts out as a hobby from a love of and interest in motor sports, it just may well earn an income through your expertise when you become proficient in this genre of photography.
The motor sport photography journey
Try capturing as many motion photographs as you can, even when you are not on the racetrack. Follow all the above tips when you are at the track, and you will be ready and set to take amazing images on your motor sport photography journey!
Portfolio
If you want to be recognised widely for your motor sport photography, create a website and maintain a portfolio of your images and also display them on your social media accounts at TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Have fun with fast paced motor sport photography!
You will always be on the move with motor sport photography.