ACTION SHOTS
PANNING
‘Panning’ is basically snapping a passing car from the roadside. Top tip is to get as far back from the road as possible and focus on a single point of the car as it passes whilst firing off multiple shots. With some experimentation with shutter speeds and practice keeping things smooth you’ll be doing these in no time.
RIG SHOTS
The most complex action shot is that captured by rig. Be it a home-made or off-the-shelf rig, it’s basically a large pole attached to the car with suckers typically with the camera at the far end taking in all or a section of the car. With a long exposure of often ten seconds or more the car will be sharp, and the background blurred hugely as we roll along. And gently does it! The average speed is walking speed, engine turned off to reduce vibration and a helper ducking down at the opposite end of the car pushing! All this fakery can look superb once you’ve completed the shot, just remember there’s the task of editing out the rig too before it’s ready to show off, so always position the rig somewhere that doesn’t obscure any vital areas of the car which will be tricky to clone in later!
‘CAR TO CAR’
Often the giving the most dramatic and authentic looking results. There’s nothing quite like hanging out a window, door or tailgate whilst shooting a car a couple of feet away. The main issues here are safety! Get a seatbelt around yourself and wrap the camera’s strap around yourself too. Also make sure the drivers are paying full attention for any potential hazards too. Image wise it’s mostly about trying to keep things steady. So, practice how you support the camera and go as slow with shutter speeds as you dare!
EXTRAS
There’s a bonus fourth type of action shot, and that’s hooliganism! Some owners may well be up for some tyre smoking shenanigans if the location allows, and this has the possibility for the most spectacular shots, but it’s also the easiest to go wrong! Keep your distance, expect the unexpected and always do actions shots at the end of the shoot! Car owners can get over excited and crashes, damage and mechanical failures are far to regular occurrences when that’s the case!