DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

I shot motorcycles as a hobby, now I am a pro, here are my best 7 tips

May 6, 2018 by Colin Brister 4 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

My photography started as a hobby, which became and passion and led to me becoming a professional. Mainly being self-taught, I was one of the first in my field to use portable lighting, and I now light all my subjects; from nature, portraits to architecture and of course motorbikes!

I cover Motocross race meets throughout the UK and provide track days for amateur photographers to learn how to light and shoot fast moving motorbikes. I also make tutorial videos on lighting.

I undertake projects for one of the largest lighting companies in the UK and have published a book called ‘Light, Shoot, Capture’ which gives full details on lighting setups and what you can expect to gain from lighting your subjects.

Here are my best seven tips for action sports photography…

1. Know your sports

The best and the most important advice that I can give is; watch the sport. Before you take a shot, spend 10 minutes and watch. Look for the where the competitor is in his best position. For motocross, it is where the rider has got the bike leaned at the lowest point or where the rider is accelerating out the corner with the mud flying everywhere. For jump shots, it will be where they are at the highest point or just showing a bit of style…

2. Low = good

For motocross always shoot low, it gives a better angle, brings in the texture of the track, gives the rider more stature when shooting corners and more height when shooting jumps.

3. Variety of lenses will let you get a variety of shots + mud

This is not unique to sports photography, but there is something to be said about focal length and mud. Try a range of lenses. My main workhorse is the 70-200 f2.8, but this doesn’t stop me getting a 10mm fisheye out and getting into the action, so long as you don’t mind getting your gear a little muddy. Each lens will have its own attributes and results.

4. Know your shutter speed, match it to the details you want

Motocross is one of those rare motorsports where it can be shot frozen, but all options work. For moving wheels, set shutter speeds between 320-500. For frozen whatever you want. When I’m using lighting I am able to shoot all the way up to 1/8000th, but also sell a lot of shots lit at 1/40th… so try everything..

5. The riders have good tips. Listen!

Get to know your sportsman. It is always great to chat to the guys and girls and useful to get ideas from; they are always up for trying something different!

6. There is an ISO sweet spot. It’s 200-400, sideways.

If you are planning to use lighting, then ISO’s set between 200-400 has always worked best – the sweet spot. I always use my lighting from the side, never straight on at the rider.

7. Tomato soup is your friend

On a cold winters day shooting… Tomato soup is definitely a winner…

About the Author

Colin Brister is a photographer based in London. He mostly shoots motocross. For the last eight years, Colin’s ran ImageMX Photography. Colin is also a brand ambassador for Pixapro in the UK.  You can see more of his photos on his website, Facebook page, and ImageMX.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

How To Shoot Motorcycles Using Only One Speedlight Default ThumbnailDavid Hobby vs. Buzz Lightyear (The Camera) – A Close Tie 19 Signs You Are Treating Your Photography as a Hobby and Not a Business The Internet is going nuts over this Hobby Lobby photo shoot

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: Colin Brister, motorcycle, motorcycle photography, photography tips, sports photography

« Start your color grade with the Infinite Color Panel
NYC Parks employee finds 3,000 photos that have been lost for 40 years »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Sony teases upcoming ZV-E1 full-frame vlogging camera coming on March 29
  • The Xencelabs Pen Display 24 is silent, glare-free retouching tablet
  • Fall in love with astrophotography with these 10 space objects
  • Hipstamatic app relaunches as a social network, but only for iOS
  • Instagram now has ads even in search results. Sigh

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy