Theories behind the shots

[FiestaSam]

Hi all,

New to this forum so be gentle . I am currently studying media production at university and am in my third year, when I leave I want to work for a racing team creating their marketing material and that is why for my final project I am attempting to find a driver/team who I can do some work with. I want to know if there are any theories specific to photography of motorsport as our library has turned up nothing so far but photography in general. Looking through a few posts it seems there is a vast knowledge on here and I look forward to your replies. Thanks guys,

[bella]

what are you looking for specifically when you say theory? producing an artistically pleasing shot, or producing a shot likely to get in the magazines, or alongside a news report, or....?

[CLIP-Motorsport]

There are a few books out there about photographing cars but the only one I know of that is motorsport specific is one called "Motor Sport Photography" by Tony Pleavin.

Covers a lot of the basics, includes panning, camera techniques, composition and a bit on the journalistic/business side of things. might be a good starting point.

[FiestaSam]

Thanks I will look into getting that book.

Well the theory of decisive moment applies but I was wondering what else makes a stunning picture such as the ones like Darren Heath takes.

[bella]

the first thing to bear in mind is that photographers such as darren heath are as much artists as they are photographers. they use their knowledge of their cameras and the ways it uses light to paint photographs. they look at the entire scene, from the background to the foreground, the subject, the lighting, everything.

so you need to learn the manual functions of a camera inside out before you can understand how photographers produce their work. i'd recommend spending an entire weekend at a circuit in the spectator areas trying to replicate some of the work you see. then you can start to understand the process. motorsport photographers who use sites like flickr generally have the meta data for their images available - have a look at the shutter speed and aperture.

as well as looking at photography maybe have a look at some art books as well, ones that deal with still life and composition perhaps because at first glance it might not have much relation to motorsport but in effect that's what you're producing - a still life photograph, albeit for a tiny fraction of a second.

[Richard B]

There are quite a few forums with advice/examples of motorsport photography, in particular try POTN
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...play.php?f=118

[PDS]

Sorry, I thought you said you wanted to produce Marketing Material? To sell advertising space on a race car?

A little tip, Sponsors want to see their name standing out nice and visible on a product!

They are not interested in an Arty image where there company name is a blur.

Unless you want to produce something to go on the cover, people parting with money will not be interested in it.

And to do that, you need to have an idea of your own, not someone elses!

[Tim the Grey]

Theory of Motorsport Photography?
Find out what the customer wants.
Shoot It.
(Get Paid if you are good!)
Seriously, as said earlier, different target markets appreciate utterly different images.
I have seen stuff in sponsors calendars that requires little or no thought.
I have seen images that have other photographers breathless, but they have a VERY limited market. If any.
I have seen specialists from outside our closed little world come in, and take interesting images, but NOT of cars racing!
I have seen images where you can tell the picture was pre-planned, set up, and executed perfectly.
I've seen instant reaction shots that make your eyes pop.
Sometimes pin sharp everywhere works, sometimes a multi coloured blur suits.

So, there are a LOT of questions you need to answer, before anyone here can give you a clue...