How to get good pictures of moving cars?

[Jacob]

Alright, so on Sunday I am going to a racetrack with my dad and brother because they're going drifting and I want to get some photos of some racing cars driving with a blurred background and the car in focus.

I have a Pentax x90, 4.6mm lens, quickest shutter speed is 1/4000 of a second. Any advice would be appreciated? =]

 

[phillip]

The problem with shutter speeds faster than 250th you will stop all movement, and that takes all the excitement out of the image have a look at the video lesson on exposure here http://www.mccordall.com/photography/ there is also a written lesson on moving subjects, they were done by a car specialist so they will be great for you.

 

[PictureTaker]

You need to learn how to "pan," or track the action of your subject with your camera as you are making the exposure. My experience has been that you need to shoot at 1/60 or SLOWER to get a nice blurry background. With drifting cars, where the speeds are really not that high, you may need to go as slow as 1/15 or 1/8.

Set your camera in a continuous mode and let it take 4 or 5 frames per "exposure" and you will increase your chances of getting what you want.

Check the Exif data on the ones you like here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/samfeinstein/tags/pan

 

[JeroenWijnands]

You want a technique called "panning"and that actually requires a slow shutter speed.

http://www.digital-photography-school.com/mastering-panning-to-photograph-moving-subjects

Should get you started. It does take a few tries to find the right shutter speed. The effect is easier to achieve if you are relatively close to the car.

If you have kids and they can ride a bike get a kid on a bike and start practicing on him/her.

 

[Amy]

this type of shot is called panning. it requires a slow shutter speed. i can never remember (i'm just learning it myself and so usually just work through with trial and error!) but i think they recommend that you start with a SS of somewhere between 6 and 7 and work from there. And what you want to try and do is follow the car with your camera. When you've done it right you should find that the car is in focus but everything else is blurred.

I would recommend maybe trying out some easier panning shots like light trails too to get used to it. This is the same principle but the object doesnt move, just the camera and so you end up with a trail of light. You can then try moving the camera in a circle or in a pattern as you take the picture to get some interesting shots.

This was one of my very first attempts at a light trail http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy5272/5974473304/in/photostream
far from perfect but hopefully you get the idea! It was taken from a boat in the evening so it had some nice reflections on the water. i tried moving my camera in a kind of wavy pattern to get this one

best of luck