Ten tips for Better motorsports photos

10Panning technique

When panning hand-held, keep your elbows tucked in and rotate from the hips. This helps to give a smooth range of motion.

No auto power-off

Disable the auto power-off setting in your camera’s menu, otherwise you could miss a shot or two.

Spectator sport

If you’re a spectator in the crowds at a race, add colour to your foregrounds by panning and including them.

Watch and learn

Watch a few laps of a race to see the racing lines the cars take, and which drivers to look out for.

Practice days

you will find it easier to get access at your local race track during mid-week practice days rather than at big race weekends.

Check the settings

keep Info activated when you’re reviewing shots on the screen. This makes it easy to compare the effect of different settings.

Hit the deck

be sure to keep out of the way of spectators. Crouching down also gives a more dynamic viewpoint.

Access all areas

Don’t be afraid to move on to another location once you’ve exhausted your shot opportunities in one place.

Set for speed

It’s quicker to use the dials to change the shutter, rather than the screen controls.

Work with the weather

We had very gloomy weather, but by embracing the conditions and using the spray, we still captured atmospheric action shots.