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Dan Mold shows you how to capture tack-sharp motorbike racers and super-speedy motion blur for pro-style photos at your local race track

Master your panning to take amazing motor sports images

Many of the best motor sport photos have one thing in common: a sense of speed. We’re taught that fast shutter speeds will freeze moments of action, so why would the high-octane energy of motor sport be any different?

At a shutter speed of 1/3200 sec you can capture a crisp shot of a motorbike zooming round a circuit. But you’ll also freeze the background and wheels, removing any indication of motion. For all the viewer knows, your subject was stationary on a racetrack.

To retain a sense of motion, you need to shoot at a much slower shutter speed. The problem is, this will blur the entire subject.

The answer is to sight and track your subject through the viewfinder, match its speed while engaging continuous focus and press the shutter when everything is well-framed. This is called panning. Do it in one fluid movement and you’ll end up with spinning wheels and a tack-sharp subject surrounded by smooth lines of blur. Faster subjects and slower shutter speeds result in more motion, but the harder it is to keep the subject in focus.

Depending on the speed of your subject, around 1/320 sec is a good middle ground that provides decent motion blur and a high hit rate of sharp subjects, but to start with, trying shooting at faster shutter speeds, and slow it down as you get more confident. Read on to see the kit you need, how to set up, and which settings you can use to inject more exciting variety into your motorsports pictures.

Follow our advice and you’ll be shooting super-slick shots of superbikes in no time at all. Now all you need to do is a head over to your local racetrack and twist the throttle on your camera!