I've done a fair amount of "enthusiast" track photography over the years. Panning is a skill that can be easily learned, but takes a lot of practice and patience to learn well. From my own experiences, the best results will always be when you are perpendicular to the car's path. Best results achieved as you pan across your field of view, say from left to right. And shutter speed will be dependent upon the speed of the cars; cars moving at faster speeds will need faster shutter speeds to keep car sharp. Shutter speeds will tend to range from about 1/250 (for really fast car speeds) down to 1/15 or so for slow speed sections of the track. Nice bokeh like backgrounds seem to work best at the slower shutter speed situations.
When I decide I want some blurred panning shots, I'll try a couple at various shutter speeds, and then zoom the previews to find the speed that works best, where the car is sharpest. Smaller aperature can also be helpful, to give you some depth of field advantage. Aperature will vary with ambient light. When taking the shot, try to pan across in a straight line, and start panning before you hit the shutter speed. Deciding where you can best achieve your shot is also good to plan. Start panning before that point, and determine what will be your "trigger" to hit the shutter button; either a visible landmark or your body's relative position. Practice will be your friend to learn to do this. And with digital....it's MUCH easier than the old film days. Shoot..shoot...shoot and discard the ones that didn't work.
But, note that panning works best (only) when your subject is moving perpendicular to you. Cars coming at you are not good candidates for panning blurs. You can try some PP trickery to get a desired result, but tuff to get it looking natural. Another blur option is a zoom blur. Requires quickly moving a zoom lens through its focal length range while centered on a subject. Personally, I've found this hard to do except with slow shutter speeds. But again PP can provide some help. With your permission, here's your pic so tweaked: HillclimbCar2.jpg
Tony P. Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1) Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play Autocross and Track junkie tonyp.smugmug.com
.....The you need to use depth of field, by opening your aperture to f1.8 - f2.8.....
Not sure this statement is so correct. A smaller aperature will help to keep the car in focus, with a deeper depth of field. Blurring is achieved through camera movement, rather than bokeh'ing background with a very large aperature and shallow depth of field.
Tony P. Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1) Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play Autocross and Track junkie tonyp.smugmug.com
Not sure this statement is so correct. A smaller aperature will help to keep the car in focus, with a deeper depth of field. Blurring is achieved through camera movement, rather than bokeh'ing background with a very large aperature and shallow depth of field.
think again
When there is no lateral movement your choice for subject separation is to open your lens to try and get bokeh. If you're far away you're less successful.
When there is no lateral movement your choice for subject separation is to open your lens to try and get bokeh. If you're far away you're less successful.
Gotcha! I now see what you meant. In your earlier post, that sentence started with "The", which may have thrown off my interpretation. "Then" is probably what you meant. I see now how you can use shallow DOF for head-on shots. Something I hadn't thought about before. Thanks for contributing to my edumacation!
Tony P. Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1) Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play Autocross and Track junkie tonyp.smugmug.com
Gotcha! I now see what you meant. In your earlier post, that sentence started with "The", which may have thrown off my interpretation. "Then" is probably what you meant. I see now how you can use shallow DOF for head-on shots. Something I hadn't thought about before. Thanks for contributing to my edumacation!
Yeah, while it's technically possible - most outdoor motor sports are in bright sun, so you can't use it without blowing out your images.
But if your in a stadium setting (with lights on) or sunrise/sunset you have to use it.
Comments
It less possible to pan blur background when car is coming towards you
The you need to use depth of field, by opening your aperture to f1.8 - f2.8.
That step is thousands in equipment cost.
When I decide I want some blurred panning shots, I'll try a couple at various shutter speeds, and then zoom the previews to find the speed that works best, where the car is sharpest. Smaller aperature can also be helpful, to give you some depth of field advantage. Aperature will vary with ambient light. When taking the shot, try to pan across in a straight line, and start panning before you hit the shutter speed. Deciding where you can best achieve your shot is also good to plan. Start panning before that point, and determine what will be your "trigger" to hit the shutter button; either a visible landmark or your body's relative position. Practice will be your friend to learn to do this. And with digital....it's MUCH easier than the old film days. Shoot..shoot...shoot and discard the ones that didn't work.
But, note that panning works best (only) when your subject is moving perpendicular to you. Cars coming at you are not good candidates for panning blurs. You can try some PP trickery to get a desired result, but tuff to get it looking natural. Another blur option is a zoom blur. Requires quickly moving a zoom lens through its focal length range while centered on a subject. Personally, I've found this hard to do except with slow shutter speeds. But again PP can provide some help. With your permission, here's your pic so tweaked:
HillclimbCar2.jpg
Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1)
Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play
Autocross and Track junkie
tonyp.smugmug.com
Not sure this statement is so correct. A smaller aperature will help to keep the car in focus, with a deeper depth of field. Blurring is achieved through camera movement, rather than bokeh'ing background with a very large aperature and shallow depth of field.
Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1)
Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play
Autocross and Track junkie
tonyp.smugmug.com
Hi! I'm Wally: website | blog | facebook | IG | scotchNsniff
Nikon addict. D610, Tok 11-16, Sig 24-35, Nik 24-70/70-200vr
think again
When there is no lateral movement your choice for subject separation is to open your lens to try and get bokeh. If you're far away you're less successful.
Gotcha! I now see what you meant. In your earlier post, that sentence started with "The", which may have thrown off my interpretation. "Then" is probably what you meant. I see now how you can use shallow DOF for head-on shots. Something I hadn't thought about before. Thanks for contributing to my edumacation!
Canon 50D, 30D and Digital Rebel (plus some old friends - FTB and AE1)
Long-time amateur.....wishing for more time to play
Autocross and Track junkie
tonyp.smugmug.com
Yeah, while it's technically possible - most outdoor motor sports are in bright sun, so you can't use it without blowing out your images.
But if your in a stadium setting (with lights on) or sunrise/sunset you have to use it.
At least that's my experience