Cars with OCF and changing sky.

[Shutterbox]

I have been asked to take a friends suped up car in a certain way and have no idea where to start.

He knows of a high point in a scenic area which would give a level horizon behind the car which would mean if you could catch a great sky it would work well.

Another option but also something I know little about would be to take the photos but not worry about the sky and change it in PP. Obviously easier than trying to drop on a decent sky.

He wants the sort of pic where the flash highlights parts of the car and maybe one inside too.

Anyone have any tips or know of any online tutorials etc?

Hope this makes sense.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Byker28i]

Depends what time of day, what the skies doing etc. Sometimes it's really dark and cloudy and you need very little PP to pull in the sky.
Sometimes it's better to shoot the two separately and combine in PP.
Othertimes such as at dusk or sunset, you can expose for the sky then use a little fill in flash to highlight the car,

The best thing to do is to try and see how it looks, but go prepared.


So some examples.

Taken for a magazine shoot. It really was that dark and grotty on the day the pics just had a minor levels tweak on the sky and some PP to remove the reflections of people from the cars

Taken at dusk on the top of a carpark. Two flashes lighting the front and side of the car just to try to overide the yellow colour of the sodium lights

Not a car, but a good example of just a small amount of flash as fill in. Just enough to get the white letters to stand out but exposing for the sunset

 

[Shutterbox]

Thanks for that, very useful.

The location he wants to use is a gravel car park in a wooded area but at a high point. The car park is on the edge, so it looks as if you would fall off the edge if you walked a few feet behind the car (when in fact there is a steep bank).

With the camera at the right angle the horizon would be below the back of the car.

Ideally I would like to find the best way to be able to take the car without having to worry about the sky and add a decent sky in PP. So I guess a dawn/dusk shoot with a plain sky would be best.

Thanks again.

 

[Byker28i]

Oh yes, we have a location like that near us at Hackpen hill, close to a wiltshire white horse. You can park your car so it's on the edge looking down. Haven't got one of at the moment of those but there's a similar shot from the welsh hills

Again it depends on time of day, weather conditions. Just go prepared thinking about a couple of lighting scenarios and you'll be fine. Don't forget you can light parts of the car at atime with a flashgun (maybe walking about with a long exposure) or short exposure and add them together in post.

 

[Shutterbox]

Oh yes, we have a location like that near us at Hackpen hill, close to a wiltshire white horse. You can park your car so it's on the edge looking down. Haven't got one of at the moment of those but there's a similar shot from the welsh hills

Again it depends on time of day, weather conditions. Just go prepared thinking about a couple of lighting scenarios and you'll be fine. Don't forget you can light parts of the car at atime with a flashgun (maybe walking about with a long exposure) or short exposure and add them together in post.

Thanks again, great shots.