WEC at Silverstone 2019

W

WFC Smiffy

Messages
10
Name
Ryan
Edit My Images
Yes
Evening all,

I said I would get around to posting some of my pictures from last weekends WEC at Silverstone so here they are. Bear in mind I only picked up a DSLR camera about 2 years ago, so the pictures may not be of the best quality, but I tried!

Any feedback you can give me, be it a setting change or just using the camera (the camera in question is a Canon 1300D) would be greatly appreciated, I want to get better!


IMG_2913
by Ryan Smith, on Flickr

IMG_3865
by Ryan Smith, on Flickr

IMG_3641
by Ryan Smith, on Flickr

I hope I have uploaded these right, if not, could an Admin correct them, please?

Thanks guys! :)
 
andrewc said:
What shutter speeds were these taken at? No. 2 is too fast as you can read the tyre markings which makes the car look stationary. Practice Practice Practice...
Click to expand...

I was using the 'sports' mode pre set on the camera as I didn't really know how to set it up, so I let the camera decide for me (lazy I know, but I didnt want to risk pressing buttons I didnt know what they did.

I've just had a look at the manual expose mode and its saying 1/125. Like I said before, I used the 'sports' setting, so whether that keeps the shutter speed at 1/125.. I'm not sure:facepalm:
 
Sports mode is good for sports where freezing action is desirable - football, swimming, athletics. Motorsport is different, you need to use a slower shutter speed to preserve some movement.

Next time, try Tv (Shutter Priority) mode and try < 1/400
 
For motorsport you’re probably best starting in Tv mode which allows you to choose the shutter speed. The camera will then adjust the aperture automatically (and possibly ISO depending on your setup)

Depends on what you’re shooting but for WEC(or ELMS) GTE cars hammering it on the straights you could probably start with 1/250 or even 1/360 for a modest amount of tyre blur and work your way down from there. Having said that on the straights if you go much lower you’ll find you get a decreasing amount of the car sharp due to the differing speeds the front and back move relative to the camera’s sensor.

If you want the whole car sharp you’ll need to be panning from the inside of a bend but having the right part of the car sharp and the extremes (back and/or front) blurred adds to the sense of speed. For GT cars on the straights aim to follow the number board (side on) or the front corner (if you can see front and side)

And finally a bit of advice which everyone might not agree with, don’t get caught up chasing very slow shutter speeds for the sake of it. The slowest option isn’t always the best.
 
Nothing wrong with #1 that a slightly tighter crop wouldn't sort out.

As others have said, using Sports mode isn't the best for motorsport, especially panning shots where you want some movement in the frame. Use TV mode and start at 1/400th or 1/320th of a second and work down from there. As Mark says above, don't go chasing super slow shutter speeds just yet until you've perfected your technique.

Think about the light as well, #2 is shot into the sun so the side of the car facing you is in shadow. Whilst not an absolutely hard and fast rule, you should try shooting with the light coming from somewhere behind you for the best images
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top