Please click on the above image to view it larger.

The action shown above happens all the time in pit lane, but getting an image like this isn’t the easiest thing to do. A slow shutter speed is required to show this much movement in the spinning wheel, something around 1/30th of a second. Without a tripod, it can be a challenge to hold the camera still enough to have the swing arm sharply in focus.

This is where the physical technique of holding the camera comes in. Only practice will help you develop it. But you don’t have be in pit lane to practice. Just set your camera to 1/30th of a second and start shooting. Your subject needn’t be moving, either. The trick is to keep the camera itself from moving while the shutter is open.

Even when shooting a stationary subject, if the camera moves during exposure, the image will be soft. Pay attention not only to how you hold and support the camera and lens (hold them as if they were a large egg – you don’t wan to drop it, but you must be gentle with it so you don’t break it) but also to how you press the shutter. A stab at the button will move the camera just when you need it to be still. Press just firmly enough to trigger the exposure. Pretend you’re at a wedding and trying to make as little noise as possible. The harder you press the button, the more noise it’s going to make!

If you can get sharp pictures at 1/30th, you can try even slower speeds and experiment to see what sorts of unexpected results you get. And you can also start working on your slow shutter panning shots. If you can hold the camera softly but firmly for a slow shutter shot of a static subject, panning at slow shutter speeds will be easier.

Once you’ve practiced enough to shoot hand-held at such slow shutter speeds, you may also find that, mysteriously, the quality of your lenses has improved. Not really, of course, but it may seem like it because camera movement during exposure is often mistaken for suspected softness in a lens. Many lenses, even pro quality ones, have been accused of being soft because the photographer couldn’t hold the camera still.

Practice. Practice. Practice.

Photograph: ©2013 by Scott Jones / PHOTO.GP – All Rights Reserved

Camera Info: Nikon D4 with Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8

[mgallery keyword=”Pit Lane”]

To see more Motorsports Photography Tips, check out this page!