Car photography

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GavSterry

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Gavin
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Hey all, can anyone give me any tips on shooting cars? Stationary cars at shows etc. What sort of lenses i should use, flash or anything? Any tips or help at all would be gratefully appreciated .
 
2 tips I have for you are low shots seem to work pretty well, if the steering is turned it looks better if you take the wheel face on rather than tyre on. Wide angle makes for some interesting shots. try for some funky angles too.

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Even a slight turn of the wheels makes a big difference, not the best example and far from the best shot but shows what I mean...

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here is one i took of my car ages ago on a compact.

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Cool thanks and Ki what lens was used on the first 2 shots? Did you use a flash or anything. Same to you nissan man?
 
The beauty of digital = take shots with different lenses, angles, settings and with/without flash. Different vehichles/situations call for different settings/lenses.
With 18-55 you can get close to use the different angles and with the 55-200 you can get shots where you are unable to get close but also some good part shots such as hood scoops, wheels, exhausts etc.
Flash can be used to fill in spoked ally wheels and details of engine bays.
When indoors try without flash upping the iso and you can get a better colour even in flourescent lighting.
 
GavSterry said:
Hey all, can anyone give me any tips on shooting cars? Stationary cars at shows etc. What sort of lenses i should use, flash or anything? Any tips or help at all would be gratefully appreciated .
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Blimey where to start?

It's a bit different if at a show, track etc and the car is just parked up. Then it's worth going wide and filling the frame with the car to avoid other vehicles
such as:
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and this was in the line at the ferry.
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Otherwise if you've got the car(s) on their own it's all about location and lighting
This was Barrichello's car the Monday after the British GP. I was given 5 mins witht the car in a dark sports centre with strobe lights flashing
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This was on a shoot for Classic and Sports car magazine (dec 2009 issue)
hardest part was post production of taking out the reflections of the owners etc in the cars
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This was on top of a local car park, lit with two flash guns at dusk
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This was outside my house, lit with battery powered camcorder lights either side. The yellow on the ground is overspill from the street light, which was ruining the previous shots until I climbed it and put bin bags over it.
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This was at a meet at the dome car park. 1/10th sec exposure using a tripod
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I've bought more lighting stuff to experiment so hopefully will have some other examples soon.
 
with car shows you are better off going for detail shots, sure get whole cars, but really you are just recording the event and not going to get the same type of quality as doing a specific car shoot. The major problems with car shows are people and space round cars.
 
Ive been taking pics at car shows for years now and the thing you'll need is a decebnt wide lens as its often hard to stand far away from cars in enclosed spaces, and a big stick to beat away anyone with a mobile phone camera getting in the way as they usually do.....oh god that makes me so cross!
 
I used to be into my car photography.....
As already said, if at a show then get in close with a wide angle.
Don't be put off by crap weather, the shots are still there for the taking.
Although not possible at most shows, owners are usually happy to reposition their cars if they think you stand a chance of getting a half decent piccy of it; it's worth asking!

Byker28i - nice to see some Tiv piccis on TP :D
Here's some I took earlier.....


1) The awesome TVR Speed 12, pre-restoration. I love the OTT shapes in this image.
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2) TVR Vixen
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3) TVR T350
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4) Can't remember which model, but no prizes for guessing the make ;)
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5) TVR Tuscan, Griff 500 and a 450 SEAC in the Lakes
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6) TVR Griffith 500 in a wet and cold Lake District
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Wow thanks all, some great info there, i was asking as ive just started working again and want to treat myself, I would love to do more car photography. So im guessing flash could be a possibility also a wide angle lens. I'm still learning so can anyone recommend a wide angle lens. I dont want to go mad price wise, but any info is appreciated.

Gav
 
Whats the best way to take reduce reflections from the paintwork? In particular photo's of your reflection.
 
Danger_Mouse said:
on a 400D i would say the sigma 10-20 is a good choice wide angle.
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Thanks, not being fussy, but anything slightly cheaper? Thats nearly £400 and i just dont want to spend that sort of money until im more confident and know i like snapping cars. :thinking:
 
Not a big of the rex (prefer the 7 :)) but that is an absolutely awesome shot ;)
 
heres mine. thought the cossey one werent to bad.and the one with the focus st170's
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pic of the focus was taken with our old camera:)
 
How about getting a Sigma 17-70 they are sharp stopped down and you can nearly touch the car with the end of the lens as they focous so close, i loved the one i had..well the second one i had anyway :)

I love car pictures, a couple of my baby below ( not with 17-70)

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:thumbs:
 
Depends a lot on the sort of shows you're at


Colour contrast opportunities

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Details

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Line-up

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Wide low-angle + sky

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Low angles work, especially with dropped suspensions

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Human Interest - make the people there part of the picture

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Poor weather is an opportunity

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musicman, can't see any of your photo's but intrigued to see them :)
 
Low light is an opportunity when you have a tripod

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I use a mix of wide and tele lenses ranging from a 15mm fisheye

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to a 70-200mm

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Most of the time I shoot using only available light.
 
wow thanks. Some nice shots there i love the fisheye one! Just gotta find some nice cars to try them on :D
 
Musicman are some of those from No Rice at Guildford/Fleet??
 
I can't see any of musicmans shots but defo interested in hearing about car shows in guildford/fleet as it's my local area, is it a regular thing ?
 
newbeee said:
Musicman are some of those from No Rice at Guildford/Fleet??
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Yep.

I haven't been for about a year, though. I'm afraid I lost track with all the switching of venues and other things combined with my being very busy at work.
 
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