The Best Places to Take Photos at Le Mans

Catch snaps of speeding race cars and photograph the best in the business as they take to the famous French circuit. Photos of Le Mans take pride of place in many a motorsport enthusiast’s portfolio. The ‘24hs’ is one of the best races to get on the camera and add some spectacular photos of the event to your collection.

We give you the best spots around the track to take photos, including the iconic Tertre Rouge and the Porsche Curves. Plus, there’re some useful tips to sharpen your motorsport photography skills.

What is 24h Le Mans?

24h Le Mans is the world’s most famous endurance race, taking place every year at the Circuit de la Sarthe, near the city of Le Mans, France. It’s the highlight of the FIA World Endurance Championship calendar.

The team that covers the greatest number of laps in 24 hours wins. Over 270,000 visitors flock to Le Mans every year and more than 220 million watch the race live on TV worldwide. Visiting 24h Le Mans is on the bucket list of every motorsport fan and at Hertz we are so excited to sponsoring Team JOTA.

Camping at Le Mans has been one of the event’s traditions for many years and you should consider it to get the best photos. The campsites are placed right next to the circuit, getting you close to the best viewpoints.

What are the Best Places to Take Photos at Le Mans?

Circuit de la Sarthe uses both public and purpose-built roads, before snaking back to the pit lane – which makes it quite a challenge for photographers. However, if you plan in advance and research the circuit thoroughly, Le Mans offers quite a few photo opportunities.

Here are the best places to take photos:

The Start Line

The start line is a great place to take some pre-action shots before the lights go out. Here you can experience the calm before the storm, where drivers sign autographs, wave to the crowd and get ready for the race. Plus, you can get that memorable shot of all the cars together at the start line.

If you have grandstand seats, the Goodyear and Panorama grandstands are worth going to get a good view of the cars from the Dunlop curve and through the Dunlop Chicane – a place where many incidents happen. This area is also good for capturing the cars as they go under the Dunlop Bridge at sunrise.

The Pit Lane

This mid-action spot allows you to take documentary-style and editorial-style photos of the drivers and their cars, especially at night under the floodlights.

You can attend some night practice sessions to familiarize yourself with the place and the view. Make sure you pay attention to the radio announcements to find out who is coming into the pit and at what time.

When drivers come out of their cars, the media flock around with cameras and microphones, so if you position yourself on the opposite side, you can get some good angles and take pictures without getting random hands and heads in the shot!

Tetre Rouge

Located outside of the track, Tetre Rouge is your place for getting panning shots. Between here and the Esses you can also cross the track to the inside and take some great photos of the cars coming from Dunlop, down the hill.

Porsche Curves

The entry to the Porsche Curves is the closest spot to the track, only a few feet away from the tarmac. You can get some brilliant close-ups and leading line shots here, especially towards the evening when the sun starts to go down and the light is at its best.

If you walk further down to the banking that overlooks the first curve you can achieve some decent panning shots, but you must have a long lens to get it right.

Ferris Wheel

Although the queue can be quite long, you don’t want to miss this opportunity to get some wide, aerial shots of 24h Le Mans. The ride is conveniently located in the main grandstand area. Jump on it and capture the beautiful views of the racetrack and its surroundings – these can be quite Insta-worthy.

Tips for Taking Great Motorsport Photos

Use long lenses

To catch the action up close, a telephoto lens is crucial in motorsport photography. A 500mm lens is the most popular choice amongst photographers, but even a 300mm with some teleconverters will do a brilliant job. This type of lens is usually heavy, so a tripod or shoulder rest would be helpful.

Pack a wide lens

If you’re planning to take some photos around the pit lane, a telephoto lens won’t work if you’re close to the scene. Instead, change the lens into a wider one. A fisheye lens can achieve some great shots of the drivers next to their cars.

Slow shutter speed for panning shots

To freeze the action, your shutter speed must be set to fast, however, a panning shot is the opposite, despite looking like a moving scene.

To achieve that eye-catching shot of the subject isolated from the blurry motion, you need a combination of slow shutter speed and horizontal camera movement. After you set the shutter speed on slow, if your photo is overexposed, increase the aperture and that’ll minimize the amount of light coming in while increasing the sharpness.

Light trails at night

You can get some great motorsport night light trails photographs at Le Mans, especially at the Porsche Curves and anywhere else with bends and corners.

All you need is a tripod, a slow shutter speed of a few seconds or more, and patience. You can even use your smartphone camera for this if you have a pro mode that allows you to set the shutter speed manually.

For general night photographs, you need a low aperture and a low shutter speed that’s high enough to handle the camera shake.

Make the most out of golden light

Depending on the weather, the best times in the day to take photographs are one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset, when the golden hour offers the softest and most flattering light. Save your best shot ideas for these times and plan ahead as the light changes very quickly. In fact, for the afternoon’s often harsh light, consider buying an ND (neutral density) filter.

Let’s Go!

Now you have everything you need to know about Le Mans’ twists and turns, you’re ready to set up camp and snap away like a pro and catch the action with your own camera. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to get wonderful action shots, just experiment with your camera and have fun.