# First time Moto X



## Kev Richards (Feb 14, 2015)

Hi all, this is my first time taking shots of this nature. They were taken on two separate days at a local practice track in Coventry. The organisers where gracious enough to not only allow me access free of charge but also to go onto the track to better vantage points. The first two shots were taken on a very muddy day, the second pair on a much dryer weekend. I would appreciate any pointers is how I can improve my shots as I plan to go back again....and again.

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## gsgary (Feb 14, 2015)

Shutter speed was too fast making them look static you also didn't pick a good vantage point


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## Kev Richards (Feb 14, 2015)

gsgary said:


> Shutter speed was too fast making them look static you also didn't pick a good vantage point


I totally agree that they look static. What shutter speed would you recommend for these type of shots.


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## gsgary (Feb 14, 2015)

Here are some of mine
notice the tread on the front wheel is blurred all @1/320


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## Designer (Feb 14, 2015)

First, find a better location for shooting.  If the riders are crossing your field of view, then you should pan with them.  Find a place where the action is at its most interesting.


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## Kev Richards (Feb 14, 2015)

gsgary said:


> Here are some of mine
> notice the tread on the front wheel is blurred all @1/320


Many thanks, I can certainly notice the difference.


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Feb 14, 2015)

Your shutter speed is fine. Take a look here Simon Cudby Photo Video - Home page images 
Simon Cudby is regarded as the #1 MX shooter in the world. Tell me how many blurred or panned shots do you see? Open any MX magazine and look again.... Zero panned or slow shutter shots. If you have any hopes of being published keep your shutter speeds high!


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## Kev Richards (Feb 14, 2015)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> Your shutter speed is fine. Take a look here Simon Cudby Photo Video - Home page images
> Simon Cudby is regarded as the #1 MX shooter in the world. Tell me how many blurred or panned shots do you see? Open any MX magazine and look again.... Zero panned or slow shutter shots. If you have any hopes of being published keep your shutter speeds high!


Having looked at the link I can see what your saying. His images are extremely crisp. There is also no noise present at all either which I tend to get from using fast shutter speeds and high ISO


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## Kawaracer (Feb 15, 2015)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> Your shutter speed is fine. Take a look here Simon Cudby Photo Video - Home page images
> Simon Cudby is regarded as the #1 MX shooter in the world. Tell me how many blurred or panned shots do you see? Open any MX magazine and look again.... Zero panned or slow shutter shots. If you have any hopes of being published keep your shutter speeds high!


But still his pics show a dynamic action, I don't like the B&W of the pics in the OP, They deserve some collor.


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Feb 15, 2015)

I agree they should be in color but for his first time at the track I think he did great. Mr Richards, if you have any local motocross forums you might want to join them to make some connections at nearby tracks.


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## Overread (Feb 15, 2015)

The best thing you can do is learn to shoot both kinds; experiment and play around and see what YOU like. If you want to be published then do listen to feedback and study the market; but understand that different viewers want different things and that just because one pro does it one way doesn't mean everyone has to. By learning the core skills you are then able to choose yourself. 

I'd also say that whilst the linked pro is getting sharp bikes in static motion they are making heavy use of either jumps (where the motion is slower anyway) or where the bike is kicking up a huge storm of dust behind it which gives the sense of motion.

Noise is another aspect and learning to work at sports is part and parcel of learning to deal with high ISO noise. It's a nightmare; but learnable! Learn to expose to the right as much as you can (look that theory up as well as how to read histograms if you're not doing so already); learn what your setting limits are (ergo how wide you can go on aperture - how slow in shutter speed (and how fast if you want blur). Then you can use that to guide how high you need to take your ISO.

Don't fear the ISO either; if you need it higher take it higher. A clean well exposed photo will have less noise than one you have to bump up in editing; even if the ISO is lower. Furthermore accept that sometimes its going to be dark and your going to be maxed out on your settings and thus having very noisy shot to work with. 


I can't give advice on angles (not shot this kind of event before); but study others work. Look at how they compose - the angles they go for - get an idea of the positions they are shooting from.


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## Kev Richards (Feb 15, 2015)

Th


Overread said:


> The best thing you can do is learn to shoot both kinds; experiment and play around and see what YOU like. If you want to be published then do listen to feedback and study the market; but understand that different viewers want different things and that just because one pro does it one way doesn't mean everyone has to. By learning the core skills you are then able to choose yourself.
> 
> I'd also say that whilst the linked pro is getting sharp bikes in static motion they are making heavy use of either jumps (where the motion is slower anyway) or where the bike is kicking up a huge storm of dust behind it which gives the sense of motion.
> 
> ...


thank you very much for your advice. I will be going back again and will continue to adapt my own skills.


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## Kev Richards (Feb 16, 2015)

Kawaracer said:


> Fox_Racing_Guy said:
> 
> 
> > Your shutter speed is fine. Take a look here Simon Cudby Photo Video - Home page images
> ...



Here are the same shots in colour


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## Kev Richards (Feb 16, 2015)

Another shot taken on the day


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Feb 16, 2015)

Very nice, I like the color shots. Looks pretty muddy, most guys around here would not run their 4-strokes in those conditions for fear of plugging the radiators. I find MX very challenging with most time running in bright mid day sun. Overcast days are few & far between where I live.


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## gsgary (Feb 16, 2015)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> Very nice, I like the color shots. Looks pretty muddy, most guys around here would not run their 4-strokes in those conditions for fear of plugging the radiators. I find MX very challenging with most time running in bright mid day sun. Overcast days are few & far between where I live.


They wouldn't be racing on 90% of UK tracks then if they are so mardy


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## Kev Richards (Feb 18, 2015)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> Very nice, I like the color shots. Looks pretty muddy, most guys around here would not run their 4-strokes in those conditions for fear of plugging the radiators. I find MX very challenging with most time running in bright mid day sun. Overcast days are few & far between where I live.


It was very muddy. the guys were doing a few laps then coming off to pressure wash the bikes.


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## funwitha7d (Feb 19, 2015)

love that last bunch esp that one and one immediately above, hoping to get similar later in the year when we finally get some rain


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## Kev Richards (Feb 19, 2015)

funwitha7d said:


> love that last bunch esp that one and one immediately above, hoping to get similar later in the year when we finally get some rain


Thanks very much. I was pleased with how they came out for my first try at it. Got a fair bit to go though before I'm 100% happy with them.


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## DBA (Mar 30, 2015)

Like was previously mentioned, in this industry we generally keep the shutter speed high enough so that the wheels don't have a blur too them (unless you're going for a panning shot).

I'd stick with color for the bike shots. B&W works great for candids from the pits or starting area though.


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## Kev Richards (Mar 30, 2015)

DBA said:


> Like was previously mentioned, in this industry we generally keep the shutter speed high enough so that the wheels don't have a blur too them (unless you're going for a panning shot).
> 
> I'd stick with color for the bike shots. B&W works great for candids from the pits or starting area though.


Thanks very much for your comments


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