HOW TO TAKE GREAT AUTO RACING PHOTOS

Reprinted with permission from the New York Institute of Photography website at www.nyip.com

Quick: What's the second-most-popular spectator sport in America? Before you say "football" or "basketball" or "baseball," think auto racing. That's right. Other than horse-racing (which takes first place by a nose), more people attend auto races than any other sporting event. We all know Memorial Day is Indy 500 time, but even if you're not going to Indianapolis, you may be part of the big year-round crowds at local drag strips or midget car tracks or demolition derbies. If so, here are some tips on how to take great auto-racing pictures from the world's largest photography school, the New York Institute of Photography (NYI).

"Your Number One objective should be to try to produce a sense of speed in your still pictures", says Chuck DeLaney, Dean of the world's oldest and largest photography school. "With a sense of speed, your photos will have the dramatic impact that you feel when you're actually at the race track." DeLaney points out that there are three ways to do this.

The first technique is to freeze the action with a fast shutter speed. This may be fine for a pole vaulter, but it's a bad choice at an auto race. If you "freeze" a speeding car or motorcycle so that it looks like it's standing still, that's exactly the way it will look - like it's standing still. It may as well be parked!

The second technique is a better choice at the raceway. Place your camera on a tripod and shoot with a slow shutter speed. How slow? Start with 1/30-second and experiment with even slower shutter speeds like 1/15th or even 1/8th. On your prints the racing cars will come out with a blurred look on your prints. This blurring implies to the viewer that they're whizzing by.

The third technique is an even better choice at the raceway. As we just described, place your camera on a tripod and use a slow shutter speed. This time, however, pan as a car whizzes by. How do you pan? You pick up the car in your viewfinder a few seconds before you actually press the shutter button. Follow the car in your viewfinder by swiveling the camera to keep it in view. As the car zooms by, press the shutter button. Keep following the car in the viewfinder for a few more seconds. Result: The racing car will come out sharp in the print, but the background will blur. This blurred background implies "speed!"

With either technique, there's one more subtle trick NYI suggests: When you look at the racing car in your viewfinder, position it off center - with open space in front of it. In the finished print, this adds to the illusion of speed because it gives the car space to "move into." The picture looks much better this way.

These are just a few of the tips on auto-racing pictures on this month's NYI Website, which features breathtaking photos and advice from Bruce B. Miller, a pro race photographer and NYI graduate. You'll find more at www.nyip.com