Formula 1 photography tips

cokebottles

cokebottles

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Chris
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Hey guys.

I'm looking for some advice from those of you that shoot motorsports - and specifically something as quick as F1. I had a go in the summer of 08 with my 450D and a rented 300m F4 L and 1.4x TC at Silverstone and got some shots I was happy with. My keeper rate was relatively low, maybe 10%. Never having used such a long focal length, or shot motorsport before - the panning technique was tricky so I found I was upping my shutter speed to 1/1000 or higher to get sharp pictures. This consequently robbed the photos of any look of speed.

I'm heading out to Barcelona on Wed to catch the final F1 tests before the season starts. Weather permitting this should give me a couple of days of shooting, with my 450d again but this time Ive got a 100-400mm L with me.

The advice Im looking for specifically relates to how I can get some "special" photos. Focusing was a bit of an issue last time. I tried to stick to the centre point with AI SERVO but sometimes this didnt allow correct framing and the focus would miss.

Any advice anyone has would be greatly appreciated - I certainly plan to share my results when Im back next week!
 
i'd say just hunt around for a few good vantage points. I usually shoot in shutter priority and start high (eg. 1/800) and stop down one at a time as low as I can go before I get too much blur, you'll find the more practice you have panning the slower you'll be able to go. handy at the end of the day when the light is failing on you too! (you'll struggle at 1/1000" at a long Focal length by then!)

lock onto the car as early as possible and pan smoothly clicking as you go.

this thread may help...
CLICKY
May not, of course...

good luck, and have fun! :)

James.
 
another technique I use (before the days of autofocus) is to pick a point of the track where you are going to take the shot and manually focus on that. Pan with the car and shoot when the car reaches that point.

Remember to continue panning after you've shot
 
I found at the F1 test at Silverstone a couple of years or so back, that I was getting the best results at Luffield-Woodcote where I could get right up to the catch fence and the cars were going (relatively for F1 cars at least) slowly.

Even with the cars going slowly and shooting at about 1/400, there was still enough movement in the ground and wheels to blur the tyre logos to give the impression of movement.
 
Sadly the days of F1 testing at Silverstone seem to have gone...but at least the GP is still here!

It's worth trying to get into other events, especially on a Thursday for events such as the Touring Cars etc, as you can get to wander round lots of areas where you wouldn't normally be allowed without a pass. That's the only problem with F1, that you can't get the best vantage points for shooting, and the bloke sat next to you in the grandstands doesn't really want a face full of 400mm lens as you perfect your panning technique LOL
 
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