This is a follow-up to last week's podcast, where I talked about photographing stationary cars. This time, I'm diving into how to capture moving cars.
When it comes to shooting motion, you have to ask yourself a question: Do you want to freeze the action, or do you want to show motion? Let's break down both options.
First, if you want to freeze the action, you need to shoot as fast as the object is moving. Easier said than done, right? That's because there's more to determining the shutter speed than how fast the car is moving. It's also about the distance between you and the car and the focal length that you're shooting at. The closer you are to the car, the faster your shutter speed will need to be. It takes practice to get this right, so don't be afraid to experiment. Start by choosing any lens and aiming it straight ahead. Be sure to hold your camera steady and then fire as the car passes by. Then check the image to see if it's sharp. Be sure to enlarge the playback image and look carefully. If it's not sharp, speed up your shutter speed until the car is sharp. You'll probably need to go faster, but only increase the speed one or two stops at a time. Once you find the right speed, you're golden. Remember, this doesn't mean that you can shoot all moving objects at that setting; it will always depend on the speed of the object and your relative distance to it.
Now, let's say you want to show motion. One of the best techniques for this is called panning. Panning involves moving the camera with the subject as it moves and then pressing the shutter button so the subject stays sharp while the background becomes blurred. This creates that sense of motion. The trick is not only to move the camera at the same exact speed as the car, but also to press the shutter button as you pan. If you move faster or slower, everything in the shot will be blurry, and you'll lose that focus on the car. A common mistake I see is that people start panning with the car but stop moving just as they press the shutter button. That sudden stop generally makes the object blurry and possibly gives you a sharper background, which is the opposite of what you want. So remember to keep moving as you press the button.
Now, if the car is moving slowly, you'll need a slower shutter speed to blur the background. But the slower your shutter speed, the harder it is to keep the car sharp. On the other hand, if the car is moving quickly, you can afford a slightly faster shutter speed, which will make it easier to keep the car in focus while still getting the motion blur in the background. However, if you shoot too fast, everything will be sharp, and you'll lose the blurry background and the feeling of motion, which completely defeats the purpose. The key is balance: too fast of a shutter speed and both the car and the background will be sharp; too slow and everything will be blurry.
And one more tip: when you pan, make sure your camera is moving perfectly parallel to the ground. Any up or down motion will make everything blurry. Another trick that you can deploy is to use a flash with a long shutter speed. This will guarantee that your subject, that is, if your flash is actually hitting the subject, will be completely sharp while the background is blurry. Unfortunately, it gives it a pretty fake look. In other words, it doesn't feel very organic, but it does work.
As for the other settings on your camera, set your focus area to a smaller area so that it only hits the car you're shooting. Put your focus mode to continuous rather than single shot because the car is moving, and set your shutter mode to burst so that it continues to fire as you keep your finger down on the shutter button. Be careful not to spray and pray, though. Stay under control and only fire when you have the shot. If you spray and pray, you may run out of buffer. I'll explain that in the next pod.
To sum it up, if you want to freeze the action, shoot a fast enough shutter speed to match the car's speed. If you want to show motion with panning, slow down your shutter speed and make sure to follow the car exactly. It'll take some practice, but once you nail it, the results will be amazing.
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