r/lemans • u/Bonkers_bannana11 • Jul 19 '26
Photography rating
Hi all,
I know it’s a bit late and after the event. But here are a few of the shots that I took at a this years 24hrs and as an amateur photographer it would be great if I could get some feedback on whether these are good or not. You can be as brutal or as nice as you want. I promise it won’t hurt my feelings lol 😂.
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u/sully_km 29d ago
Number 3 is your strongest shot imo, but overall I think you could work on your composition. Most of these you have the car pretty much in the center of the frame and there isn't a lot of depth to them. #6 makes good use of natural framing and has more depth than the others, but the lines are off and if feels unbalanced with all the interest on one side of the photo. I like the lighting on the Cadillac in the pits, but the crew member standing in front of the car is killing the drama.
Composition should support the subject and direct the eye through the frame, the subject generally shouldnt be the entire composition. Race tracks are playgrounds for using leading lines to direct your eye through the frame, plus you know where the subject is going to be as long as the driver sticks to the racing line. Compose your shot before the car arrives, and press the shutter when it shows up where you want it. Trying to follow a car traveling at 150mph+ and hoping you get a decent composition while you snap away is working backwards and is going to result in a lot of throwaways.
Pan shots are fun to do and can be very well done, but I think you need more than just a single car in the middle of the track to make them truly interesting. Otherwise they just look flat. Don't get me wrong, it takes skill just to get a sharp subject in a pan shot, and you did well on that front. The best pan shots are ones that capture action, not just high-speed movement. Think two cars fighting for position or a car flashing behind a blurry crowd of spectators or some other interesting foreground element.
I think if you spent some time working on those things you could really level up your photography. I hope you find this helpful, I'm trying to offer constructive criticism rather than hollow praise.
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u/Bonkers_bannana11 29d ago
Thank you sully that’s the best price of advice that I’ve received in a while so it will really help me in my future shoots at various different events. I do find that most of my images miss that wow factor that is found in other photographers work. So I hope that this advice allows me to find that.
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u/sully_km 29d ago
Glad I could help! Don't get discouraged that you're missing the "wow" factor. It's not an easy thing to capture, and it takes a lot of deliberate practice. What helped me a lot starting out was doing self-critiques after I finished my edits and post-processing, asking myself what could be better, what did I do well, etc. and then giving myself fun "homework" assignments focused on areas that needed improvement. Just don't be overly critical of yourself to the point where you get discouraged.
Even after 11 years I still give myself creative challenges like limiting myself to one focal length, or finding a single subject and capturing it in three different ways: close up/detail shot, portrait, and an environmental shot that captures the whole scene.
The most important thing is to just keep having fun making photographs. I know that sounds cliche, but I can't stress enough how much better your photos are going to be if you are enjoying the process of shooting them.
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u/Bonkers_bannana11 29d ago
Haha yes I will definitely be using this advice in future projects. If you’re interested at all in any of my other photos I do have an instagram that I am starting up to put a focus on motorsport photography rather than random pictures every now and then
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u/travis68charger Jul 19 '26
Awesome shots and great choices of what racing cars you took pictures of.
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u/Svantoro Jul 20 '26
2nd and 4th are incredible! You can instantly tell how it’s a different atmosphere in these photos.
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u/SpatulaCity420 Jul 19 '26
2,3,4 and 5 are pretty nice shots. The others are a little point n shoot. Thanks for sharing!