will47 Loc: Indianapolis, IN

Tomorrow I will be trying to shoot something I have never done before: moving objects mainly race cars. I will be using a Canon EOS 60D with a Canon EF 20-200mm 1:2.8 lens. L II USM. Can anyone offer tips on the best way to get started? i.e. f stops, focus modes etc. This will not be oval track but will be drag racing. I have never panned before and this will be my first practice session but my understanding is that I will have a clear field of view. On a second camera (also a 60D) I will be using a Tamron 24-70mm 2.8. Any help will be appreciated.

Mac Loc: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia now Hernando Co. Fl.

To freeze the moving car, shoot in Tv at about 1/500 to 1/1000. In Tv the camera will adjust the aperture for a good exposure.

Zazzy1 Loc: Northern Ca.

Google Panning.

chrisscholbe Loc: Kansas City, MO

If you're in a position in front of the cars, using a fast shutter speed should work to freeze the cars.

You can also try panning as they go by you.

You can also use a slower shutter speed and get them coming off the line toward you but close the shutter before you have to turn.
The idea is to have most of the blur/movement behind the car and the front of the car end up in focus.
If you can use second screen shutter flash, it might help, though, I would understand that they might not want flash to distract the drivers.

Good Luck and Have Fun.

rmorrison1116 Loc: Near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania

First, I'm guessing you mean EF 70-200 f/2.8L II as Canon has no zoom I know of that starts a 20mm.
I've shot drag racing before, at Maple Grove near Reading PA. It all depends on the weather. If you have a nice bright day then you're in luck. Depending on the class of cars, you don't want to be shooting them in motion from a 90 degree angle unless you are at the start line. After that, anything from pro stock on up will be going to fast for the 60D's 3 to 5 frames per second. To compensate for this, be more down track shooting towards the oncoming cars, you're more likely to get better shots this way. Shoot in continuous bursts, AE servo, not one shot. It's only 18 megapixels so you can cram a whole lot of photos onto a 32 or 64 GB card. Bring extra batteries, the 60D doesn't get the best fuel mileage. You want to go with as high an ISO and as high a shutter speed as possible. You will determine this when you are at the track and do some test shots. Like I said, it depends a lot on the weather. Also, since you're using a f/2.8 lens, bokeh is up to you. The wider open the aperture, the softer the background.

The 60D is or was a good general purpose camera for it's day and that was 6 years ago, it would not be my choice today for any kind of high speed motorsports. But, back in the day, I used my 60D for lots of things, including motor sports. Also, try a few video's, the 60D does a fairly good job, for it's age, at video.

By the way, I still use my 60D but it spends most of its time on a tripod photographing things that are moving real slowly.

twowindsbear

Use good hearing protection!

pdsdville Loc: Midlothian, Tx

If you get a chance practice panning by a highway or maybe even panning fast flying birds.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I shoot a fair amount of drag racing since my son is a drag racer. The easiest place to shoot the cars is near the starting line. I'm assuming you will not have credentials to actually stand on the starting line or right beside it to shoot. If you do or can these are good spots to shoot from with a 70-200 lens. The short end will allow you to get the entire car and you can zoom in to just focus on the drivers or car details. For dragsters I like to frame the driver and the motor behind them.

The burnouts are nice to shoot, just don't be directly behind the car when they do the burnout as you will get pelted by water, dirt, stones, rubber and anything else the car picked up on the way to the starting line. You will only make that mistake once! If I am shooting near the starting line I use a lens hood and keep my lens pointed to the ground when I am not shooting because the air will be filled with burnout smoke and rubber at times and you don't need this on your lens.

Burnouts are nice to shoot from a 3/4 view either front or rear of the cars. Let the burnout get going a second or two so it is really rolling off the back of the car and tires and shoot with a high shutter speed to freeze it all. The car launch can be shot from the front or rear also for different effects. My tip would be to watch the rear tire of the car and when you see it start to wrinkle the sidewall fire your shutter. This will get you shots with the front wheels raised on the launch. Slower cars may not wrinkle the tire much so you can also listen to the motor reving up prior to the launch.

If you are shooting from the front I would focus on the hood scoop or around the base of the windshield. With a moderate aperture that will get the key parts of the car in focus. If shooting from the rear angle I usually focus around the middle to rear of the door area. Shooting the cars further down the track is best done from the stands. The problem with stopping the motion is the car can look like it is parked on the track. Gets boring but is a good way to document the cars and paint jobs though. Panned shots work better down track. That might be hard to pull off with your camera, but give it a try. Start with a shutter speed of 1/60 to 1/100 second and the sharpest overall shots should be when the car is 90 degrees to you. You can also try panned shots closer to the starting line too. These are easier as the cars are not moving as fast as down track. But depending on the type of car they can be moving at 60-100mph as they pass the tree.

Shots with the car coming at you with the chutes fully blossomed are neat too but are more dangerous to get as you are more in a danger zone down track and some tracks will restrict where can shoot from down track for safety reasons. Do what you are asked.

Also don't forget about shooting in the staging lanes or even in the return area at the end of the track. That is where the people and some of the emotions of drag racing can be captured. Especially as you get down to the final rounds of eliminations. Access to staging may be restricted depending on the track and event, but the turnoff area at the end of the track is never restricted in my experience...but it can be a hike to get there without a golf cart. Capturing the drivers getting their gear on and strapped into the cars is in many ways the heart and soul of drag racing. Never forget that most of these guys and girls are risking their own money, car and safety to do what they love and put on a show for the fans.

Take a look at Black Rock photography on Facebook to see some of the work of my friend Tara. She shots some nice stuff. Rachel Craine is another good shooter that usually has some stuff on her Facebook too.

Post some of your results for us to see!
Good luck and enjoy yourself.

Best,
Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC

foathog Loc: Greensboro, NC

Slower shutter speeds as you pan THRU the shot can give you some interesting blur shots.

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

I'd also use the focusing mode Al Servo AF and Single (center) point focus. I use the combination a lot for speedboat and hydroplane racing; also use the high speed continuous shooting mode.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Definitely agree with AI servo mode and high speed continuous. If you plan on panning, I've found that a shutter speed of 1/125 - 1/250 works well depending on distance to the car.

thomseninc

Everything depends on where you sit, or what you are trying to capture. If you sit at the finish line and try to capture the car crossing the line, panning is your only hope, but I still don't think you'll have much luck. A top fuel or funny car is crossing your FOV at around 330 mph. If your shutter is running at 1/1000 the car will still move close to 6 inches while the shutter is open - tough shot to get. If you sit back at the starting line the shots can be easier. Burnouts are easy to get and look fairly dramatic. If you want to see flames coming out of the pipes you'll have to wait until after dark. The NHRA only runs after dark during qualifying on Fridays, so that is your only chance. The top fuel cars can go from 0-100 mph in 0.8 seconds, so you end up trying to get a night shot with a fast shutter speed. VERY difficult. Strongly suggest fast glass and a camera with excellent high ISO performance. Good luck!

(Download)

JCam Loc: MD Eastern Shore

Considering the speed at which these dragsters are moving, and the fact that the OP said he was going to try panning--he almost has to--I don't think 1/250 will be nearly fast enough. Most of the speed and hydroplane boat racing shots I post on UHH, have been shot at 1/1000 or higher with a high--ISO +/- 1000--to allow smaller (closed down) f stops. Granted that I also have to consider the fact that my boat may/probably will also be rocking, and my subject boats are only doing 80 - 130 MPH and may be a couple hundred yards away so they don't cross the field shooting field as quickly as the dragsters that may be only 50' away, but under 1/1000, I get many more blurred shots.

If the cars are doing any trial runs before the races, it would probably be worth the OP's while to get get there early for some experience and the practice.

Good luck and good shooting. Please post some of your shots.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

May be. Good advice to go early and take some trial shots as modern dragsters are unbelievably fast. When I participated in the 70s, 7 seconds and 200mph was a good time, and now they're in the 3's! I was basing my shutter speed recommendations on some shots I took at VIR (road racing track with ~6000' back straight) where the Porsches were in the 130 mph range, and I was sucessfully using 1/250 from about 100-150 feet panning directly from the side. Here's an example (not super sharp, so maybe a higher shutter speed would have been an improvement, but didn't want to freeze the wheels and background).

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

In my opinion this looks a bit static. If you had used 1/60 second, the background and wheels would have been nicely blurred, giving a much more dynamic impression of speed. You were in a good location for this shot, and it looks to me like you have the panning skills to lock on to the car at slower shutter speeds. It is a nice shot, nonetheless.