Critique, RallyCross

I would love to get some advice on what I can do better for my shots. I know there is a section for this but I never receive any advice on the critique section really. Give me the harshest comments you can-I want to know what I need to work on!

The Lancer is motion blurred just enough to detract and not enough to show off speed, but I like the overall comp with the dust flying. Maybe more panning with the car to get the bg blurred out and keep the car sharp? Semi is distracting in the bg.

2nd Subie's shot is cropped oddly for me with the cones slightly cut off. Also seems like a somewhat odd mid-range between an action packed full frame shot of just the car and a bit of smoke and a full "scene" where there is more context to what the car is doing.

3rd one is a wagon...nuff said! Really though, this is pretty good, more context like I mentioned above. Dead center for subject.


Overall, I know you probably can't change it but if you could shoot these later in the day/earlier in the morning, I would personally like that light more than the near mid-day light these are in.

Clean the dust off your negatives These shots look pretty good from this angle, you captured the car at the right moment where the car is sharp just before it rotates, but you still get a little motion blur from the dust. Maybe try and get some different angles. The middle image is the best of the three in my opinion, I like how the car is framed between the two cones. The other two show nice action, but the cars are too dead in the center.

Can the faces of the car's occupants in the middle one be made clearer by dodging or use of very dilute pot-ferri? If the driver and co-drivers' expressions are easier to see then this might convey the drama of the scene even better. It is the best of the three as it stands.

pentaxuser

Instead of asking others how they would shoot your shots, ask yourself what could I have done to be different. You are too static with your approach to your subjects, here comes a car-click, here comes another car-click, etc. Think of this like eating an ice cream cone, you can stand in one place and lick it (and be afraid it's gonna drip), OR you can try to figure out crazy amazing ways and places to eat it (and so what if it drips). Move around and look from different angles, don't be afraid to see things differently, throw out all your racing magazines with all the trite banal shots and invent your own style.

Great to see you are out there trying more! Motorsport photography can be fun - adding that with some film can be a challenge!

For me, the image that stands out the most is number 2. It might not be everyones cup of tea, but I like the static nature of the image and I quite like the framing. If it were me, I'd possibly have the car a bit more towards the left of the frame, but ensure that there is plenty of space to drive into.

One thing that you must watch out when doing motorsport is not to become a 1 trick pony. Its cool when you get that bang on sharp shot, but when every shot is the same, well, it gets a bit monotonous. Mix it up. Do high shutter stuff. But also don't be afraid to drop down to 1/60th and do some panning.

Also, like any other photography, watch your foregrounds and backgrounds and try and eliminate some of the distractions where possible. I know, its not the easiest thing to do when you have limited access or there are lot of distractions, but keep it in mind when choosing where to stand.

Keep up the good work.

LifeIn35mm said:

I would love to get some advice on what I can do better for my shots. I know there is a section for this but I never receive any advice on the critique section really. Give me the harshest comments you can-I want to know what I need to work on!

Click to expand...

For all of them some edge burn will help, in my opinion. Also, printing drit or sand in sun can be problematic. It is hard to get the density just right. I think it might need to be a little darker in your prints. The auto is good, so maybe that area needs to be held back just a little while printing the rest darker.
The last image is spoiled by the dust. If you are using a glass carrier, make sure all surfaces are clean. Try antistatic brush or compressed air.

Subject matter is fantastic by the way!