Rolling/Tracking shots

[TomN1994]

Hi guys,

basically I have a photoshoot tomorrow evening with 2 cars, and have managed to convince a friend to bring her Range Rover along so I can get rolling shots of said cars, I was just wondering if anyone has any tips to help me out with as I have tried rolling shots before, but let the camera sort out the shutter speed, but it wasn't a planned rolling shot before it was just a random car we stumbled upon whilst out driving.

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

There'll be plenty of information in old topics about rig shots, but old-skool tracking techniques still work.

The shutter speed depends on the speed of the vehicles, but the joy of digital is that you can check and adjust as you go. Choose as fast a shutter as will give you sufficient blur, and use something padded to rest the camera on to reduce shake.

[TomN1994]

Thanks, I won't be using a rig, as I don't have one, but would a small pillow or something along those lines work?

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

The truck thing was a bit last-minute so I was using a balled-up fleece against the window frame. About half the shots were acceptable, with some being plenty sharp enough.

Full manual or shutter priority is the way to go though.

[TomN1994]

S. Gonzales Esq. said:

The truck thing was a bit last-minute so I was using a balled-up fleece against the window frame. About half the shots were acceptable, with some being plenty sharp enough.

Full manual or shutter priority is the way to go though.

I will try both at 1/5th I think

[S. Gonzales Esq.]

More like 1/60th I suspect.

[markmullen]

You want the smoothest bit of road you can find with the best sight lines in case you need to be on the wrong side of the road. If you do venture out on to the opposing carriageway have a clear plan of what will happen when you encounter traffic, who will accelerate and tuck in front, who will brake, you don't want to get knotted up with one another.

Most of the tracking shots we do are 40-50mph.

Run up and down the same stretch of road so you know the bumps, potholes, undulations, and what your background will be.

[gary71]

Just to show variation in the shutter speed at pretty much the same road speed:

1/60th:


The genuine T by Suggs, on Flickr

1/250th:


The RS by Suggs, on Flickr

Both these were shot handheld straight out of the window from each of the cars.

[mattdaniels]

Most tracking shots I've done / seen done are at about 5-10 mph.

If it's safe to do so you can switch the engine off on the camera car which helps reduce the vibration, sometimes necessary depending on shutter speed.

[TomN1994]

these shots will be at 30-40 mph, so would 1/60 be a good shutter speed?

[The Moose]

gary71 said:

Just to show variation in the shutter speed at pretty much the same road speed:

1/60th:


The genuine T by Suggs, on Flickr

1/250th:


The RS by Suggs, on Flickr

Both these were shot handheld straight out of the window from each of the cars.

Out of interest, how much processing has been done on those?

[smoores]

A Rare Sight by Sam Moores Photography, on Flickr

This was done at 1/125 so it really depends on speed, we were going quite a bit more that 5-10mph. I am not sure about resting on something as you might get shaken about more by the car than you would hand held. Also definitely shoot in continuos to get a better chance of a good shot.

[gary71]

The Moose said:

Out of interest, how much processing has been done on those?

None Apart from a crop.(but not a big enough crop on the T as you can see where I had my finger in front of the lens..)

Both shot with a circular polarizer in place.

Edited by gary71 on Monday 17th October 18:08

[TomN1994]

Thanks for the advice chaps, will be trying a few different shutter speeds etc, hopefully the range rover will be smooth enough not to need a pillow/balled up jacket or whatever, and I can do it handheld.

[Nick Grant]

This was about 1/5, 20 mph.


Jesus Drives A Volkswagen, Ultra VW, July 2010 IMG_9815 by NickGrant.co.uk, on Flickr

[TomN1994]

They didn't work out, as something came up so we had to delay the shoot, so it was too dark, ended up getting light trails though

[Luca Brazzi]

A couple from me...both at around 30-40mph

at f/10 + 1/50th sec:


same again here:


Basically, if you're travelling at the same speed as the target, treat it as a static object, and just allow for your own camera shake abilities, and the vibrations from the road and vehicle you are travelling in.

Oh, and my tip is shoot from a low view point
LB

[Adz The Rat]

This was taken at 1/25, car was probably going about 50mph


MK2 Escort by Adam Kennedy Photography, on Flickr

[mattdaniels]

Adz The Rat said:

This was taken at 1/25, car was probably going about 50mph


MK2 Escort by Adam Kennedy Photography, on Flickr

That's a pan though, it's not a tracking shot. ie. you were stood still panning the camera, not in a moving vehicle yourself taking a shot of another moving vehicle.

[Adz The Rat]

Ah yes, skim reading fail on my part.

Ignore me.......