Motorsports Photography...The Last of a Dying Breed?

There are a lot of times within our industry that change is inevitable. Whether that change be things like going from quarter mile racing to eighth mile racing, getting your news from a magazine to getting it from the internet, and more. The one constant through time has been still imagery though, but has their time and relevance started to fade into obscurity?

I had an interesting conversation with another photographer over the weekend. He spends most of his time in the motocross world and we go to talking about photography and videography. Started discussing short video clips, long format video, and still imagery, along with the relevance of it all within the industry.

If you would have asked me 20 years ago, even ten years ago if video would become as important or more important than still photos I would have told you without a shadow of a doubt that answer would be no. Fast forward to the end of 2024 and the answer is maybe. Maybe video is just as important to some within our industry as still photos are.

Video is a tool for some and an entertainment for others. I see tuners using video all the time to see what is happening inside the car during a pass, what is happening with the tires, the suspension, etc. Those are things that still imagery will never truly capture. So does that means it’s importance within motorsports is greater than photos now? I would argue to my last breath that the answer is ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

While it is a fact that YouTube is the second most visited website behind only Google in 2024, that doesn’t mean that what the men and women holding a still camera are doing is any less important in the grand scheme of things. I happen to love watching good video content from the race track, but I always enjoy seeing the moments that are captured by other photographers at the race track.

This year was the first time I really noticed a decline in the amount of still photographers at larger events we cover. Whether that be Lights Out, No Mercy, YellowBullet Nationals, Mike Hil’s End of Season Finale, World Street Nationals, etc. I have seen far less photographers on the wall. I have certainly seen an uptick in the amount of people creating video content, some of which looks like a 5 year old was handed an iPhone 5 and pushed record.

There are those creators in the space that have no real vested interest in the sport and the health of motorsports longterm. Those are the creators that just want to be social media popular and get into races for free. There are photographers that dabble in the industry, but at the end of the day it is nothing more than a hobby for them. Then there are those that deeply love the industry but also carry a 9-5 job to support their ability to enjoy said hobby. At the end of that there are those that rely on the industry to make a living by capturing imagery from these events. The latter of which is a very very small percentage of the people you see on the wall each weekend.

Though change is good and we need to progress and get more eyes on the product, which is the motorsports industry, we need to do so in a responsible way as well. Not everything needs to be instantaneously posted on the internet either. There certainly needs to be a level of decorum when addressing crashes and other incidents in my opinion.

To come back to whether or not it’s a dying breed, the answer to me is no. My reasoning is simple though. You aren’t using video to create hero cards, sponsor packets, t-shirt images, etc. These things are done with still images. Video can capture an event, but photography freezes time. Photography captures that singular moment in time that you will never get back, never relive, and never truly duplicate. Photography allows us to capture true raw emotion in the blind of an eye. Usually a photographer sees a scene, whereas a videographer sees a subject. Both are important for the continued growth of the motorsports industry.

Equally as important is the need for companies, sponsors, promoters, drivers, and fans to support the photographers and videographers that are out there pouring their blood, sweat, and tears, into capturing and bringing to you the moments and action that happen at the events. Trust me when I tell you that none of us on that side of the wall are getting rich doing what we are doing.

We at E3xtreme thank all of you that have continued to support our coverage of events, our reporting of news, the reading of editorial content like this, and so much more as we rapidly approach our ten year anniversary. We look forward to another ten years and more bring you the moments and action that is motorsports!!