Photographing Motorsport and the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Motorsport season is truly underway here in the UK and across Europe. In the next 2 months we will spoilt by races, events and shows, including the British GP at Silverstone.

A personal favourite is the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Sussex. The nature of the event means you can get up close to the vehicles and drivers and see a wide range of on and off-road motorsports at close quarters.

For those of you attending one of these events I thought I’d write a short Guide to Photographing Motorsport to get the most out of your day, regardless of what camera you have, and share with you some of my photographs from a hot and sticky summer’s day.

Here are my six top tips:

1. Prepare well

“Fail to plan, plan to fail” – so said a wise Swiss friend of mine in a serious Germanic accent delivered with a dead-pan expression. He was right of course as last year we so very nearly came unstuck. Goodwood is notorious for it’s steaming hot days when the order of the day iss copious amounts of water, SPF50, and a good hat. In other years, wellies, rain coats and something to keep the camera dry will see you through. So rule one is look at the weather forecast. Whether it is sun or rain beating down on you from above, don’t ruin your day by getting heat stroke or falling over on the Goodwood Estate’s steep hills – it’s not cool.

You will do a lot of walking so pack light and give yourself a chance of lasting the day. It’s hilly so good footwear is pretty essential.

“But what about some photographic advice” you might say – so my next tip is:

2. Think about your kit

Bearing in mind you need to travel light, the following kit would be be a good choice for a day out photographing at an event like Goodwood:

Ideally you will have a camera that you can manually fix the ISO, shutter speed and aperture – the holy trinity of camera settings (more on that later). In my humble opinion you can have as many buttons and functions as you want on a camera, but these are the three that matter. You don’t have to have an SLR – most micro-4/3rds and APS-C and even some compacts will have this.

A range of focal lengths from wide angle c. 17-28mm at the widest and as high as you can go at the top-end (200mm+ is where you want to be). Geek point: for those without a full-frame camera it is important to consider the crop factor of your camera and multiply the focal lengths mentioned accordingly. Check out this useful article at Digital Photography School.

It goes without saying that you should ensure your batteries are charged and you have a spare if possible. This is especially true if you are using a smart-phone to take pictures.  Oh and make sure your memory cards aren’t full of pictures from your last holiday. Lens hoods are great to reduce unwanted artefacts appearing across the shot. Dust and rain are your enemies – protect your kit and be careful when changing lenses.

But what if you are attending with only have your trusty iPhone? Fear not, this leads me onto my next point.

3. Know thy camera and its limitations

You can get some great shots on any camera, but only if you know how to use it.

Unless you want to make enemies then before you do ANYTHING ELSE, please, please PLEASE turn the fake shutter sound off on your camera and the weird jingle it plays when it powers up. OK these events are noisy affairs so it’s unlikely you will distract the drivers it is a sure-fire way to irritate everyone else.

Basic functions you want to be able to locate include (in a rough order of importance):

1. The holy trinity of ISO, aperture and shutter speed. For a basic introduction check out this Infographic courtesy of the Photographer Abroad
   
2. Focusing zone – do you want to focus on a point or are you trying to average the focus across a scene. To focus on a specific subject such as a car or person you consider using single-point focus
3. Shutter drive – when you depress the shutter button do you want it to take a single shot (think sniper) or rattle of a heap of shots in burst mode as you track a subject.
4. Flash button – if you have an inbuilt flash, it is unlikely to be able to illuminate anything much further away then 5m so don’t for a second think you will light up a F1 car travelling at 150mph in the distance. So unless you’re taking a picture of your buddy standing next to Damon Hill, turn it off, save your battery and spare the retinas of those around you.
5. Auto-focus drive – when you depress the shutter button do you want the auto-focus to stay fixed on a single point or track a subject. For portraiture use the former but for recording the action the latter is usually best
6. Metering mode – unless you are shooting in fully-manual mode – do you want the exposure reading to be based on an average across the screen, or based on a specific point. Options are relatively self-explanatory: Spot-metering, Centre-weighted and Average metering are your options. On the basis you are generally pointing at a single subject (person or car), spot gives you the most control

In terms of limitations the quality of your lenses will determine the maximum shutter speed that you can shoot. In dark conditions or for fast moving subjects, crank-up the ISO. Grainy shots are better than unintentionally blurred ones

If you have a simple compact or smart phone you can still get some great shots. Camera phones have great wide angle lenses and panoramic functions, both great for capturing the general scene and often have macro capabilities for extreme close-ups of car details. And they weigh next to nothing! That said you probably want to shed any ambitions of a through-the-visor shot of Lewis Hamilton at full speed. But the principle still applies to knowing how it functions – how does the camera focus? How does it cope with changing light conditions? When you press the shutter does your phone have a long think about when to take the shot? If you know these things you can adjust your technique accordingly.

4. Study the venue

My main piece of advice is to live in the moment, have fun, and treat the photography as a secondary consideration. It’s a nice feeling when you have “the” shot, but spending all day staring at the back of your camera or hunkered down at one corner is a sure-fire way to miss out on the experience, and alienate any friends you are with.

There are some basic principles that I would apply equally to a personal visit as I would a professional shoot:

By watching the action first before reaching for your camera everyone wins and your photography will be better too. Why is this? Because you get a feel for the venue and the layout, where the action is happening and where the light is falling,

Look at the programme for the timings of events, crossing zones and the layout of the course. Don’t be in the wrong-place at the wrong time because they shut the access gate across the track ahead of the next session or you failed to appreciate the 30 minute walk to a different part of the course.

Scope out the best places to view the action – for example at Goodwood the crowds are clustered by the main start gate. However you are often further back from the action and can’t see the tarmac for high hay bales and the family of 7 ft giants that inevitably block your view. The track is straight too. By walking up the hill you have attractive bends and the benefit of elevation – with you either being higher or lower than the action which is great.

5. Think about your shots

By following my tips above you will have the right gear, in capable hands, in a good frame of mind and have a feel for the event. With that in mind you photographic opportunities will present themselves at every turn. Here are some things to look out for:

• Scene-setting – try and get some landscape shots mixing the place, people and action. Smart-phones and compacts all have great wide-angle capabilities to capture the scene and if you have a steady hand make a nice panoramic
• Details such as badges, car trim, engine detailing. Again modern smart and compact phones have incredible macro capabilities, often better than most professional gear
• Movement – slow the shutter speed down a little and pan to get a nice motion blur
• People – famous or otherwise, in and out of the car. One of the things I love about motorsport are the characters you see wandering around
• Abstract shots including reflections and shadows. Set your mind free and see where it takes you

6. Reflect on your work

After the event, be sure to download your photos onto your computer and back them up somewhere safe. Pick out a few of your favourites and pat yourself on the back for a job well done. Also choose one or two (no more!) that didn’t work out quite as you’d hoped, whether it was the subject, the composition, or the execution. Don’t beat yourself up but be sure to make a mental note how to get it right next time.

Recap

Hopefully you will have found this tutorial useful, as either a learning exercise or recap. Preparation, and being at one with your gear is the key to having a great time this summer and taking your photography forward. Whilst this article has been focused on motorsport the majority of the principles apply in other situations. If you have any feedback or tips you would like to share then feel free to write them in the comments below or drop me an email.

ABOUT RICHARD MURGATROYD

Richard Murgatroyd Photography is a UK-based commercial photographer bringing a natural, lifestyle approach to telling the story of your business or event.

You can see a wider selection of Richard’s commercial and corporate event portfolio here