How to take the best action shots on race day
Racing a car at 200 mph is hard enough! How about trying to get the “perfect shot” of one going that fast? Photographer Aaron Pierce offers up a few suggestions on how to do it right!Top Tips:
– Think outside the box. Look for unique shadows, reflections, different perspectives, etc.
– Pan. The camera works just like your eye. If you follow a car down the track, the car stays in focus. If you look at one section of the track, the cars are a blur. So move the camera at the same relative rate as the car. Vary the shutter speed to get different levels of motion blur in the background, but try to get the car in focus.
– Try new angles.
– Manual focus or use your focus lock button to look past the fence – the biggest frustration while shooting at IMS. Fix focus on one point and pan with the cars until they get there.
– Monopods can help keep a steady shot and you can pan with them.
– If close to the action, in pit lane, look for the special moments. As a driver gets into the zone, doing a helmet, or an interaction with a teammate or another driver. These timeless moments are happening, but rarely photographed, even today.
– Think about composition or the way you frame your picture and arrange the subjects. Make it interesting. This goes for folks both in the stands and in the Snake Pit.
– Don’t just take pictures of cars. This race is a tradition and you want to capture those family moments so you can pass them along to the next generation. These are more important than pictures of cars on track.
Also, on May 6, the Stutz Artists Association will open a special art exhibit designed specially to celebrate the 100th running of the Indy 500. “Fast Forward, Look Back” will include art and artifacts from the archives of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway rarely seen in public, as well as local artists’ contemporary work featuring the sport of racing. The exhibit will be going on all month. They also received a grant from the 500 Gives Back program that will allow them to sponsor photo workshops for 10 students from IPS #114. Selected students will travel to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in limousines, with cameras, equipment and instructors who will teach them how to photograph speeding racecars!
During the month long celebration of the 100th running of the Indy 500, the Stutz Artists Association will present the past, present – and through the work of the students the future of racing and racing fans! Plus, it will provide these young artists a skill and interest they can enjoy and appreciate for the rest of their lives. Photos produced by the students will be on display at the closing reception on Friday, May 27, 5-9 pm.
To learn more about Aaron Pierce and the exhibit, visit www.stutzartists.com/artistPierce.html.