Behind The Scenes>> Shooting Jdm Allstars

I was scouring my brain to try and come up with ideas for Photography Month when Rod suggested that maybe I could try and talk you guys through shooting specific events. I'm by no means an expert. I am only an amateur in this business but I hope to make something of myself someday. The first event I'm going to walkthrough with you guys is the second round of the JDM Allstars series which took place last weekend at Donington Park.

The opening shot in this story is of Alan 'Chubby' McCord in the V8 S15 Silvia. What I wanted from this shot was to show the inclination of the first the corner whilst capturing the countryside in the background. I also wanted to convey the movement of the car. I used a relatively slow shutter of around 1/100th of a second and let the camera figure out the aperture for me. Generally at low shutter speeds, the depth of field won't matter a whole bunch as the low shutter will blur the foreground and background, providing you pan with the car. I also got low with the camera so I could capture the haze of the car rising over the crest, where it appears the wheels have melted into the ground.

Moving around a little, I always try and find interesting angles to shoot at. This shot is of the same corner but shot through the trees, which kind of frames the car. It would probably of looked better without the fence but sometimes there are somethings you just have to live with.

This is pretty much the standard drift shot I set out to capture at each event. You get a good sense of movement with the low shutter, clean background, good smoke and angle too help the image.

Same spot, same car but this time with more zoom. The difference a tighter capture can make is quite amazing. It literally focuses your attention entirely on the car and sponsors (The latter of which is a good thing if you plan on selling prints afterwards)

Again I'm still in the same spot with a tight field of view. This time I've dropped the shutter from circa 1/125 to around 1/60 and converted the image to black and white as I felt the shadows and light on the car worked better with the higher contrast black and white finish.

Before I continue, I just need to point out that there is no point in worrying about the numbers when shooting. What I mean by this is don't lose focus on what you're shooting just because you can't decide between 1/100th and 1/125th or between F/8 and F/16. By all means be aware of the outcomes of using a faster / slower shutter speed or a wider / narrower depth of field and use this knowledge to adjust to each situation. Very rarely will the same settings work in two different situations.

You might of noticed that the windscreens in a lot of my shots are pretty much refection free, allowing you a clear view of the driver. This is achieved with a wonderful piece of glass called a circular polarizer which through some sort of witchcraft can remove reflections from certain places when rotated to the correct angle. The downside is it increases the relfections elsewhere and you lose a considerable amount of light. The latter is acceptable during the day but at night slow lenses will suffer. By slow I mean lenses with a maximum aperture of f/4 or higher.

Even if you've found an absolute killer location to shoot from, it will always be to your benefit to move around and vary up your shots. No editor or client wants 100 photographs of them from the same corner.

Even if you are limited to the one location, try mixing it up by adjusting your framing, maybe shooting a little bit wider and placnig the subject elsewhere rather than the centre of the frame.

Don't be afraid to include subjects in the foreground. Sometimes they may intrude in an image, but in cases like this they do kind of add to the story in the photograph by providing a human element to the picture.

Even when the action takes a break, run off a few frames of the empty track. Again your providing more than just images of cars at an event, your trying to capture the atmosphere and to tell the story.

Know your subject and choose your spot wisely. It may look like I'm dangerously close here but the fact is the car is always travelling away from me. However if this was a grip event, there is no way in hell I'd stand in the same position. You have to know and understand how certain discipines can act and react. I've seen very, very experienced photographers, one in particular was ex-WRC, nearly get mowed down by a drift car because they don't understand how the cars react on the limit.If you're unsure of where you're standing ask a marshall or just move somewhere else.

This was a bit of an experiment that almost worked. A wide framed shot with a super low shutter can often result in a great photograph. The trick though is to try and get the bloody thing sharp !

If you have a burst mode, use it. Often when things go wrong for a driver it'll happen quicker than most of us can react. This is where a fast burst mode is worth it's weight in gold. Sure, you'll hear people describing it as 'spray and pray' but there's a difference between a 'spray and pray' shooter and one who knows how to use the tools he / she has in front of them.

You have to know when to convert an image to black and white. Nine times out of ten I'll see black and white photographs that aren't black and white at all, they are just desaturated greyscale images. When converting an image properly always ask yourself is this conversion adding to or taking away from the image ?

Don't forget the drivers. Motorsport is more than just about the car. Too often people forget about the fleshy bit behind the wheel.

Always be on the prowl for a story. At every motorsport event there are always several miniature dramas taking place. It's up to you to hunt them out and convey the story with an image. Here Luke Fink broke a front mount intercooler and was kindly loaned one by one of the guys who had his car on static display.

Sometimes even the more obscure images can tell a story.

You have to be prepared to trade things off. Using a wide aperture will usually result in a wheel stopping, fast shutter speed. Before I would of discounted an image where the wheels aren't moving and thus looking parked on track but there is always a time and a place for everything. Don't close your mind to certain approaches !

I hope some of you might take something from this post. I don't know a whole lot but what I do know I've put before you. The most important thing about motorsport photography, more important than the image taking process is safety. You can't take a good photograph if there is an S15 parked on top of you. Upside down. And on fire. Always, always, ALWAYS listen to the safety marshalls. It might seem like they're out to stop you getting that awesome shot but sometimes that awesome shot is not worth your life.

Paddy

If you have any questions on anything (especially if I've been too technical) fire up a question in the comments and I'll do my best to reply.

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1

I'm really loving the pics and all the details of the shots. Some of the best coverage I have seen here on Speedhunters! Thanks Paddy, hope to see more great shots soon.

2

What is the slowest shutter speed you can use while still panning? If you want to use 1/125, do you need to be stationary?

3

Great write up, definitely some good tips that I try to keep in mind when shooting an event.

4

@Adam



In theory anything as long as you want is possible. In reality however under 1/125th will start seeing your keeper rate significantly drop. For smoothest panning, the best position is to stand with your feet a shoulders width apart and track the motion of the car with your hips and upper body.

5

Great write up Paddy. And plenty of good tips too.

6

Thanks Paddy,



Last time I was out, I struggled to have a lot of keepers, even shooting around 1/200. Still learning my new equipment.

7

Nice insight mate. Good stuff...



Not just anybody loaned his intercooler out... haha... Nice to see the Banana on here again :D

8

Epic article.



Pic #9..had to look twice before i noticed a car in the smoke of the driftworks s15...fun fun :P

9

Thanks Paddy! Great coverage and tips!! Now i am ready for Gatebil next weekend!.

10

I want a feature on that Zenki S14 and its suspension setup.

11

First picture of Driftworks s15 desktop please

12

great post paddy, sfatey is everything, good tips there

13

Great write up Paddy! I think I'm the guy kneeling down at the Armco in the 'subjects in the foreground' shot!



Some really useful info here!

14

the best picture taking ive done, has always been while something is moving, if i need a still shot i just turn up the shutter speed, i like the blurred background it reall adds to a photo in my opinion

15

Speedhunters just took it to another level. Thank you Paddy, you just made me think..a lot...about any pix I take again.

16

Thanks for the advice. I like this Don't forget the drivers. Motorsport is more than just about the car. So true.

17

Awesome post and a real insight into Photography. Thanks :D

18

because of you i love the photography!!!!!

19

Hmm if it wasnt for my mate i would try the low shutter speed, but he said that anything under 1/600 is meaningless... Next time i will try with the ones you said ;) Maybe it will work fine. Btw u are using autofocus or manual one?

20

Paddy you forgot another point - when shooting on the edge of woodland behind flimsy Armco, have a clear exit route planned incase it goes wrong!

21

Great post. Thanks!

22

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23

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