Car Photography

[moodye]

so, i was looking at getting some off camera flashes, or constant light sources. but i was wondering what i should be looking for, primarily for car shoots, and also, how are they powered?

something that could double up for portraits as well, as this is what the wife shoots.

thanks for any help and advice

 

[Garry Edwards]

If you're photographing cars in daylight then you need plenty of power, constant light has nowhere near enough power.

It's a long read, but work your way through this thread. You'll see that the various options are discussed pretty fully. You'll also see that pretty much all car photography is now shot as composites, which involves photographing sections of the car, putting those sections together on computer and an enormous amount of skilled retouching work.

If you want to go down that route then you don't need an enormous amount of lighting power (because many of the shots will be of just small sections, but more power makes life easier. The OP in that thread ended up with the Safari Li-on, which is by far the most powerful location flash available at an affordable price. It will also be fine for portraits etc.

 

[moodye]

thanks, havent read through the link yet, so i dont know if this is answered there; can hot shoe flashes be remote? i.e could you have 2 set up at either end of a car, and be 10m away? :?

 

[Byker28i]

Yup using wireless remotes. Depends on cost as to what features you want. Rf602/603's are just wireless triggers but easily work over 50m, so you have to use and set the flashes manually. There are expensive triggers that will transmitt ettl info.
Canon have the wireless flashes and some new bodies have the wireless triggers built in, or for short range the st-e2 will transmitt ettl info.

 

[Finste]

thanks, havent read through the link yet, so i dont know if this is answered there; can hot shoe flashes be remote? i.e could you have 2 set up at either end of a car, and be 10m away? :?

Yes, you would need some radio triggers. There are a myriad of options from cheap and cheerful Yongnuo right up to expensive Pocketwizard.

Regards

 

[moodye]

ok mate, thanks for that. something else to add to the list!! haha!

 

[hairboy]

If you are shooting cars with flash, be careful of placement and angles to avoid reflections. nothing like a big reflection of your softbox on the side panel

 

[moodye]

thanks for that hairboy

another question...can you get hot-shoe flashes that have slave triggers? cos i'm a way off being allowed to shell out for a dslr! have to make do with ma bridge for now :/

 

[hairboy]

You can get some flashes with slaves. From what I have and know, Nikon SB26, SB800, SB900. Haven't used others, so can't comment (if you are short on budget, SB26 is great for the money). But if you are shooting outdoors on a bright day, it might not register the change in brightness enough to trigger reliably. Get cheap Yongnuo RF603 or similar radio triggers. They will cost peanuts, and work very reliably.