MCADXmag

Editor’s note: We’re excited and grateful to have Chris Kezer (rhymes with ’geezer’) as our Art Editor for MCADX Magazine. Those who have participated in the annual three-day motorcycleaddicts.org event at Grattan Raceway have been the grateful beneficiaries of his uncanny ability to produce heroic, action-charged photographs. Chris is the resident photo pro at the Lean Angle Performance School, and frequently shoots for the Penguin Racing School. He also happens to be a great guy, and as such, has agreed to share his understanding of the art of motorsports photography with us. Let’s get introduced:

Tell the folks surfing the web while they’re supposed to be working a little about yourself:
Hi, I’m Chris - I’m 32 years old and like long walks on the beach…oh, wrong magazine. Sorry. Well, my name is Chris and I am 32 years old, but for the purposes of this discussion, I also happen to be the owner of Kezer Photography, based out of Concord, New Hampshire. Several years ago, I made a decision to transform my hobby into a career. It’s still a work in progress, but I figure I’ve got plenty of time before I have to take the world by storm. I specialize in motorsports and photojournalism photography. I’m also a big fan of motorcycling. There, now we have something in common.

When did you become interested in photography?
I’ve been fascinated by cameras and photography since I was a little kid, and unlike a lot of other interesting things I’ve stumbled across, photography just stuck with me. Being able to almost literally stop time is just really freakin cool! Come on, admit it. You know you want to.

What sort of training have you received?
I have an Associate’s degree in Photography and will likely go back to finish my Bachelors. College is a wonderful and rewarding experience, but you certainly don’t have to get a degree in order to take good photos. Patience and practice will prove just as useful.

How is the move from hobbyist to pro going?
Pretty good! I recently had the opportunity to cover the New Hampshire Presidential Primary for McClatchy News Services, the third largest newspaper company in the US. During that time, I covered Governor Huckabee, Senators McCain and Clinton, former Governor Romney and even Chuck Norris. Chuck and his wife are very nice people, by the way. I’ve had my photos published in over a dozen newspapers and websites across the country, including a front page on the Miami Herald and the cover of OXX Cycle, a NH-based motorcycling magazine.


[BREAK=Improving your Motorcycling Photography]


Have you gone to the track and come home with pictures like these?



Would you rather they look more like this?

Mistakes are very common in the world of photography- and that applies to every level of experience. I don’t know anyone who can honestly say that every photo they shoot is a keeper: even Ansel Adams had his fair share of whoopsies.

Photography is all about recording light. From my experience, I’d say the most common mistake is thinking that your camera is going to reproduce exactly what your eye sees, but it won’t. The human eye can adapt to different lighting conditions and situations far faster and much better than any camera. Therefore, learning what your camera gear is capable of is very important if you want to produce images that will truly make your friends and family say “Wow”! Don't be afraid to experiment with your camera. The vast majority of people shoot with digital cameras, and let’s face it, experimentation is cheap. Don’t be afraid of your camera’s manual or artistic settings. Learn to use them to your advantage. Photography is art, get creative!

Speaking of art; just as there’s a butt for every seat, there’s an opinion for every set of eyes as to what is and is not “good” photography. Regardless, just know that your job as a photographer is to be able to tell a story to or create an emotional response from your viewer- without saying a word. That can be a tall order at times, and while there isn’t an absolute right or wrong way to shoot pictures, there are some general guidelines or rules of design and composition that you should become acquainted with.

But don’t just follow the rules, let your own sense of creativity come into play. Try different things and put your own sense of style into the image. Make it distinctively your own. This is the most difficult part of photography, in my opinion, and something you don’t need a pro level camera to achieve.

There are thousands of books written about the subject of art composition, so for this article, I’m just going to cover the most common and basic aspects of the subject.

[BREAK=Basic Composition]
First: Simplicity. We’re all familiar with the term K.I.S.S., meaning, ‘keep it simple, stupid.’ That certainly applies to photography. If you have multiple objects in an image competing for attention, your viewer will have difficulty understanding your intent. Try to keep your backgrounds clean. Add a little contrast between the subject and whatever else is in the photo. Cut the chaos and make it easy for your viewers.

These images all have cluttered or busy backgrounds. They lack a true focal point, and all of the elements are vying for equal attention. These are typical of snapshots. There clearly isn’t a planned design.

Simplify the background and isolate your subject. The effect is much more dramatic.

Second: The Rule of Thirds. Placing a subject smack dab in the center of your image seldom creates a feeling of “wow.” It just feels static. Try moving the camera around just a little bit, and place your subject off-center. This can create an image that pops.

The Rule of Thirds is pretty simple, really. Imagine a tic-tac-toe grid in your viewfinder, two vertical lines and two horizontal lines making nine boxes of equal size. Try to place your main subject on or near those lines, or the places where the lines intersect.

To best capture those scenic views that compel you to pull over and take the camera out of the tank bag, try to place the bike at one of the intersecting tic-tac-toe lines. Align the horizon on one of the horizontal lines of interest, rather than have it centered in the image.

The first example is of the imaginary lines that make up the rule of thirds.

Notice in the second example how the main subject's (#29) head and torso are both very near to the upper left intersection.

In the third example, I’ve bent the rule a bit: both riders are positioned along the two vertical lines of interest. While those images might normally compete for attention, the negative effect is reduced, because the first rider is clearly in focus while the other is not. I think having both on their respective lines balances out the image quite nicely.


The third rule for today: Motion. Since we’re dealing with moving objects, (motorcycles on the track) people expect to get a sense of motion from the photo. If the bike looks frozen in time, people will feel uneasy about the image, instinctively wondering why the motorcycle and rider aren’t falling down. Look at these two. They just don't look right.

Fixing that problem can be done with a technique called panning. Think of swinging golf clubs…well, scratch that; I can’t golf to save my life. Think of swinging a baseball bat instead. You don’t just stop the swing when you connect with the ball, do you? No, you follow through with the swing. In panning, you follow the motorcycle, press the shutter release and continue following the subject. This keeps the bike in focus and provides motion blur to the background and wheels/tires, like this:

These two photos are of the same rider, in almost the same spot. One was panned with a slower shutter speed while the other was shot with a higher shutter speed that stopped motion. Look at the cones and the spokes. Which one looks better or more natural to you?

Another form of motion, which isn’t quite as literal, has to do with the way a person’s eyes move across a photo. How did they find the main subject? Were they directed by some sort of leading line? Or, if the main subject is so prominent as to not be missed, where do their eyes travel from there? We all read the English language the same way, left to right, top to bottom. With a photograph, you can start anywhere and move in any direction. As a photographer, you can use diagonals to lead the way into the picture. Create a simple, intuitive path for the eye to follow to the main subject. One of the most common and graceful lines used in motorsports composition is called the S curve. How many times have you seen a photo of a bike railing along at high speeds on part of a track that looks like a sweeping “S”? And how many times have you sighed after looking at that image and thought to yourself “I wish I was there, right now.” You were led to that thought because the lines of the photo gave you the sensation of motion. Your eyes moved through the image, awakening your motorcyclist’s knowledge of how fun those curvy, S-turns are.

This image has at least three different types of motion on display:
·First, the track itself has a hint of an "S" curve to it, which makes you follow the riders' progress through the image.
·Next, you have the three riders stacked, almost like falling dominoes. Notice how your eye naturally starts at the rearmost rider's helmet, jumping to the middle, and then fixing onto the leader's helmet?
·Finally, you have the lead rider looking off to the right of the image. Those viewing naturally follow the direction of the subject’s gaze, along the direction of where they seem to be going. Your eyes probably moved all the way through this image in somewhat of a Z shaped motion without you even having to think about it. Pretty neat, isn't it?

Try to consider the path of moving subjects, and generally, leave space in front of them into which they can move. If you don’t, the viewer’s eyes will run right out of the image…and right on to something else - such as somebody else’s photo.

Here’s a perfect example of what not to do.

Now go have fun!


Next time: Choosing your depth of field in motorsports photography.

CBRVFR

My wife is an artist, and has taught drawing and painting for many years - she tells me your method of teaching composition based on the rule of thirds is the easiest and most accessible she's seen. Nice work, Chris.

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Godspeed, # 20
Rich Herald, the Gentle Giant

nhfirefighter13

Thanks, Dave (rhymes with "short")!

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http://www.kezerphotography.com
"Ok, so what is the speed of dark?"

bwhip

Thanks for the great article. I'm looking forward to trying these techniques next time I'm at the track.

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bwhip

Attached Thumbnails

       

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nhfirefighter13

Welcome to the world of real-life photography.
I bold-faced part of your comment because of its accuracy. Different people use different methods for different things. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.
I know a local photographer who prefers to set his camera on a tripod, preset the focus and hit the button when he thinks the bike is in the frame. He says that this technique works for him with good results. I've tried it a few times with spotty results.
I know some people claim to leave the camera on manual focus when shooting motorsports. It's never worked for me. The speeds are too fast (for me anyway) to get a good amount of shots that are acceptably sharp.
Others, like myself, usually leave the camera in autofocus mode (AI Servo for Canon users) and I find that works best for me. Is every one of my shots in focus? Hardly. Autofocus will fail to lock on completely a fair amount of the time...it's far from perfect.
When I use AF I have the ability to select my focus points on the camera. I use as few as possible in order to make it easier for the camera to lock on to what I WANT IT TO LOCK ONTO. If you just throw it on AF you're letting the camera choose your subject.
Shooting conditions can affect how well AF works. If it is a low light or low contrast shot, AF can get confused. This is usually indicated by the lens "hunting" for proper focus...and by you missing the shot you wanted.
There is no one proper method of focusing on moving objects. Getting used to what your camera is capable of and what appears to work for you most of the time is the only way I know of to find out which way is for you.
Practice, trial and error.

__________________


http://www.kezerphotography.com
"Ok, so what is the speed of dark?"

nhfirefighter13

Like it.

Nothing wrong here although not too many people go for shots like this...except maybe the sponsors. Focus looks good, though.

Cropped it a little. Looks like your focus was on the guy in the middle. Groups of three are nice to have but this one would also work with just the two on the inside.

This looks like it was shot with a very shallow DoF. The Suzuki stickers along the bottom fairing are nice and sharp but the top half of the rider are out of focus.

Overall....definitely not bad.

__________________


http://www.kezerphotography.com
"Ok, so what is the speed of dark?"

bwhip

Thanks! I took some more this past weekend, with improving results. I'll post them up soon after I go through them (many hundreds!).

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