# photographing motorsport particularly F1



## wickidwombat (Mar 24, 2014)

So I've got some tickets to the shanghai Formula 1 in april and plan to give the tamron 150-600 a good workout on the 5Dmk3

i've never shot motorsport before so looking for some good tips on shooting fast cars in action

panning shots ? what shutter speed is best?
AF settings? any good tips?

I should be fine with the models / promo girls
gonna take some fine glass, sigma 35 1.4, sigma 85 1.4 and canon 135L a mitros flash an odin controller and a roundflash modifier it's perfect for on or off camera and folds up super compact.

I'll have the EOS-M with the 11-22 to cover wide stuff better grab a couple more cheap batteries for this puppy though


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## TheJock (Mar 24, 2014)

We had a chat about this last year, lots of good advice in this thread matey ( http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=18034.0 ), you won't be needing ear defenders as the cars are quieter this year  but it'll be a cracking season, I won't see a race until the very end as I'm going to Abu Dhabi as a spectator this year, good luck and remember to post your pics in the Sports section


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## IMG_0001 (Mar 24, 2014)

I second TheJock on the thread,

However, I'd also suggest practicing panning beforehand if you are not familiar with the technique. Maybe try to find a local racing event you could try to photograph or at least try out panning on cars from a local road.

As for shutter speed, I think it is best to go down to at least 1/125s or so and it requires some practice hand-holding and panning 600mm at those speeds. I personally needed three grand-prix to get pictures I was happy of, and most of the time I was setup just barely slow enough for panning at around 1/250s-1/200s.

Good luck and post some pictures for us on that other thread:
http://www.canonrumors.com/forum/index.php?topic=18814.0


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## wickidwombat (Mar 25, 2014)

Thanks guys I read the other thread in its entirety it went a little off track. Excuse the pun. 
I am familiar with panning but should do some practice with the new random to see how it performs 
It seems the shutter speed for f1 panning is quite high compared to other things which I would use maybe 1/30 to 1/50 I'll see how the tamron goes with it.


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## IMG_0001 (Mar 25, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> ...
> It seems the shutter speed for f1 panning is quite high compared to other things which I would use maybe 1/30 to 1/50 I'll see how the tamron goes with it.



Don't get me wrong here, if you can go to 1/30th, your images will be dramatic. As I said, I found that 1/125th was the fastest speed where you start really having the effect. I am not that good at panning yet and had a hard time getting sharp subject under 1/200th.

Needless to say that it may be hard to get a good stance in the public areas, even if you hold a ticket of the more privileged categories. In my particular case, the photo spots I found are on strong inclines with uneven ground, and there is a bit of crowd there also. Less than perfect for stability. Otherwise, from the stands, it is shoulder to shoulder so again, hard to work in these conditions.


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## Steve Todd (Mar 25, 2014)

Looks like you have gotten a lot of good suggestions/recommendations! Having shot F-1, Indy Car, German Touring Car, Le Mans, and NASCAR since the late 60's; my only recommendation to add here, is NEVER turn you back to the cars if you are anywhere near the track! I look back at the shots I took standing on the side of the track (no guard rails or anything between me and the cars) and think, how stupid was that! Even when shooting from a protected spot, I've still had to duck behind cover to avoid flying stuff! It's much safer today, but keeping a weary eye out and maintaing spatial awareness of what is happening on the track is still a must! Best Wishes and be Safe!


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## mackguyver (Mar 25, 2014)

This isn't F1, but it's a cool article about shooting Sebring that Road & Track Magazine here in the US posted the other day:
http://www.roadandtrack.com/features/web-originals/the-shooters-of-sebring


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 25, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> So I've got some tickets to the shanghai Formula 1 in april and plan to give the tamron 150-600 a good workout on the 5Dmk3
> 
> i've never shot motorsport before so looking for some good tips on shooting fast cars in action
> 
> ...



Shutter speeds: 1/320 to 1/400 or 1/500. Use f/8 to f/9 to get all of the car sharp. And shoot manual to avoid the camera getting confused with different colored cars. Set the IS to mode two, the camera to AI Servo AF (but I've shot manual focus too because if you pre-focus you're faster than any AF).

Some stuff I've shot mostly at my local track (the TT Circuit in Assen, Netherlands): http://www.mrsfotografie.nl/auto-motorsport/

I'm fed up shooting from the stands, would like to get right alongside the track but haven't yet found a way to get the privilege. On sunny days I have to fight the reflections and have shot with a polarising filter ( ! ) to get reasonable results.

Good luck, and remember to enjoy the F1 (although the engine sound is horrible these days).


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## justsomedude (Mar 25, 2014)

I did a blog post on shooting motorcycles a few years back...

http://www.akphoto.com/the-art-of-panning-motorcycle-photography/

I hope this helps!

PS: Have fun at the races!!! woots


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## Lloyd (Mar 25, 2014)

wickidwombat said:


> So I've got some tickets to the shanghai Formula 1 in april and plan to give the tamron 150-600 a good workout on the 5Dmk3



I am looking forward seeing your results. I have also recently purchased the tamron 150-600 and want to try it out at the Austin F1. Last year I brought my old manual focus Canon 800 and had fun using it. However, I did not have as much fun carrying it. 

I am also a newbie to panning a F1 car and last year was my first attempt. One thing I found helpful was to focus your attention on the driver's helmet and as you pan attempt to keep it in the same location in the view finder. Most of the driver's helmets are brightly colored and give you a good reference point.

Here are two of my attempts both taken with my 5diii at 1/160s f/11.0 at 105.0mm iso100. 













Of course when you get really good you can pull off the ultimate pan ;D


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## Pugshot (Mar 26, 2014)

It's not F1, but here are two shots I took at the 2011 Petit LeMans race at Road Atlanta that illustrate the effect of different shutter speeds. Both are taken with my 7D and 70-200 at 81mm; both shots are ISO 200. The first shot was f/5.6 and 1/800 sec. The second shot was f/11 and 1/200 sec. You can see the difference the slower speed makes - and if I'd had better technique, I'd have taken the shutter speed even slower to get more background blur. If you're really good, you might be able to take it down to 1/60 or slower and still get acceptable sharpness. That's one good thing about digital instead of film: you can shoot and shoot and shoot, and then delete the bad shots!


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## TheJock (Mar 26, 2014)

mrsfotografie said:


> I'm fed up shooting from the stands, would like to get right alongside the track but haven't yet found a way to get the privilege.


*Mrsfotografie,* I have some goodies for you mate !!!!!
There is a Dutch racing organisation called Creventic, they run the Dubai 24 hours race and I get a photographers pass every year to attend this race. I’m sure they would welcome another snapper at races so contact [email protected] to see if you can get photographer access at any local races, having a (pardon the pun) proven “track” record will lead to further invitations to more prestigious events. Good luck mate 8)


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## Jim Saunders (Mar 26, 2014)

Pugshot said:


> It's not F1, but here are two shots I took at the 2011 Petit LeMans race at Road Atlanta that illustrate the effect of different shutter speeds. Both are taken with my 7D and 70-200 at 81mm; both shots are ISO 200. The first shot was f/5.6 and 1/800 sec. The second shot was f/11 and 1/200 sec. You can see the difference the slower speed makes - and if I'd had better technique, I'd have taken the shutter speed even slower to get more background blur. If you're really good, you might be able to take it down to 1/60 or slower and still get acceptable sharpness. That's one good thing about digital instead of film: you can shoot and shoot and shoot, and then delete the bad shots!



Great shots, I appreciate the subtlety of a galloping horse on the side of a Corvette... ;D

Jim


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 26, 2014)

TheJock said:


> mrsfotografie said:
> 
> 
> > I'm fed up shooting from the stands, would like to get right alongside the track but haven't yet found a way to get the privilege.
> ...



*TheJock*, thank you for this! Not sure if they organize anything in Assen which is conveniently in my backyard. I do see the 12hrs of Zandvoort on the agenda. Cool stuff, will see what's possible


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## TheJock (Mar 26, 2014)

mrsfotografie said:


> ...I do see the 12hrs of Zandvoort on the agenda. Cool stuff, will see what's possible


No worries mate, if you don't ask, you won't get ;D


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## Bob Howland (Mar 26, 2014)

You might want to look at these for input on shutter speeds:

http://www.pbase.com/rhowland/2005_06_12_watkins_glen

The cars were about 200 yards away, moving across my field of view at 80-100 mph. The lens was my 70-200 Sigma EX. The longest lens I've ever used for panning was a 100-400. 

I've never been able to use a tripod or monopod when panning. When you're panning, you have to rotate your body not a tripod or monopod. I have found that I want my body in its most comfortable resting position at the end of the pan. Then twist your body, with your feed stationary, to where you expect the pan to begin, wait for the car to enter the viewfinder and unwind your body while following the car. If you're most comfortable at the start of the pan, you'll tend to lag behind the car. With my 40D, I was shooting at 6.5 FPS, which mostly was adequate. The 10D used for these shots was a bit slow. I wanted the car to be directly perpendicular to me or with just a little of the front showing, so timing was extremely tight. I'm waiting for Canon to introduce a mirrorless FF camera that can take 20 FPS, full resolution.


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## mrsfotografie (Mar 26, 2014)

I thought to add that in getting steady panning shots, it helps to hold the lens at the long end to get as stable a grip on the camera as possible. For this I like the 100-400 because your left hand is automatically at the front end of the lens.


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## Hesbehindyou (Mar 26, 2014)

Bob Howland said:


> I have found that I want my body in its most comfortable resting position at the end of the pan. Then twist your body, with your feed stationary, to where you expect the pan to begin, wait for the car to enter the viewfinder and unwind your body while following the car. If you're most comfortable at the start of the pan, you'll tend to lag behind the car.



My technique is to sit/stand facing 35-45-ish degrees to the point where I'll take the shot. My aim goes off target a little as I go over 45-ish degrees, but by then the subject has been snapped. This is the opposite to Bob's, so I'll change it around and see if his way suits me.



> I wanted the car to be directly perpendicular to me or with just a little of the front showing, so timing was extremely tight.



Yeah, the amount of missed shots due to timing  I'm trying to fill the frame with my subjects now which makes things harder as they're RC powerboats (and fast ones at that) and they skip all over the place with slight changes of speed whenever they catch on a ripple (or 'wave' to these models  ). I'm gagging for a large sensor >10 fps camera with no lag in the viewfinder too.

Re shutter speed: 1/200 is fairly conservative. It'll likely give you the blurred background and plenty of keepers but I'd go real s-l-o-w and trade keepers for _really_ blurred backgrounds - it'll give you fewer keepers but they'll have wow factor. The nature of formula 1 means you'll get plenty of opportunity to take many shots of each car. If it's your first time I'd suggest mixing it up:

- Start out with 1/200 and pixel peep to check you've nailed 'em.
- Once you've nailed a car, reduce shutter speed to see how low you can go.


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## TexPhoto (Mar 26, 2014)

I find it helps to look at a particular focus point, usually the center one, and try and keep that on a particular part of the car like the side mirror. And a great imd to practice is during practice. That is the cars will be practicing for a few days before the race.


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## Pugshot (Mar 26, 2014)

Another thing that helps is, assuming you can get the right position, shooting the cars as they enter a turn. They brake going into the turn so they're going slower, giving you a better chance to get the shot. They'll accelerate in the turn itself, of course, as they get back up to speed. But I've had good luck shooting cars as they head into the turn, or as they're just starting to accelerate once they're in the turn.


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## Roo (Mar 27, 2014)

A lot of good advice here. I was going to suggest something similar to Pugshot but I was thinking more of a mid corner shot so you can see the tyres stressed under load. If you get your angles right you should be able to get them slowing through the corner and pan with them through it.

The tickets allow you access to any area on the Friday which is always the best shooting day anyway - 2 x 90min sessions and a lot less people to worry about. That is also when you'll see some odd things like fluoro paint being put on the wings to test aero. Looking at the track map I think I would shoot one session from Grandstand B and the other session from Grass Stand J as there are plenty of angles you can cover within each session. http://www.smartshanghai.com/smartticket/shanghai-f1. That map gives you a general idea of the views from each stand but unfortunately it doesn't allow you to pan through the whole viewing angle like the Monza and others do


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## wickidwombat (Mar 27, 2014)

Thanks for all the advice guys! much appreciated I've got top level tickets in the grandstand so i hope they met me roam around a little and I also really appreciate the detailed panning technique tips and shutter speeds


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