Outdoor sports action photography

[cudamomma]

I love taking pictures of drag racing cars. I want to be able to get more control of depth but want to use the repeat shutter setting. How can I get the depth of field and make the car the main focus of the picture in an action shot?

[Stephen]

Hi cudamomma! Our Community and Subject Matter Experts would love to help you with your question, but it is helpful to know which camera and lenses you're using. 

[cicopo]

I haven't shot the drags since the days of manual focus lenses & film so it's going to be much easier to learn now. Your goal is very similar to what I do shoot these days & I have an article on line that should be a good start and then combine that info with my motorsports comments in a thread here. You may need to buy a lens (depending on what you already have) & if so I recommend either the 70-200 f4 L or the 70-300 IS as good choices.

On line article is here

http://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/showthread.php?t=147971

Motorsports comments are here

http://forums.usa.canon.com/t5/Lenses/Canon-EF400mm-f5-6-versus-Canon-EF100-400mm-f4-5-f5-6/td-p/300...

Learning good panning technique will take a while, but it's the trick to getting the right result when combined with the right shutter speed.