Automotive photography tips!

[Remix]

Location:

1. Shooting on Sand, Gravel or Grass - Don't do it, Shoot on Concrete, Hot mix or Bitumen because it looks natural.

2. Location Context - 7-second Drag cars look really out of place in a suburban street *hint*, Also, a red car against a blue background doesn’t really work either.

3. Avoid shooting a dark car in full sunlight, shoot late in the afternoon instead. Bright colours are for full sunlight.

4. Don't let dark shadows fall onto the bodywork.

5. Try not to have trees or power poles sticking out of the roof!

6. Check to see if the ground texture is consistent.

Car:

1. Clean car, black tires, and spotless windows - dirt shows up very easily in photos.

2. Windows and Doors closed, no questions asked.

3. Aim the front wheels of the car away from the camera - unless it's an advert for tires.

Hints and Tips:

1. Shoot a dark car in soft ambient light, late afternoon is good.

2. Mind that shadow you're casting! *wink*

3. Dark cars (black ones for that matter) are a giant mirror on wheels so be mindful you don’t get your reflection in the shot!

4. Get down on your knees or stomach for the low angles. (Watch for Ant nests)

5. Use a Tripod for a more stable shot.

6. Walk around the car and look for the best angles.

7. Try standing back from the car and zooming in to blur the background for more Depth of Field (Tripod Mandatory).

8. If your camera has manual overrides, experiment with Shutter Speeds and Apertures...might surprise yourself!

Information Source: http://thephotoforum.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-13831.html

[TJ]

2. Angles can be hot, but dont be like me and way overuse them :D

Nice tips Lyndon, hopefully Uncle Rick , Sir Franz and Phreaky Fil can get some more up !

[ReaperSS]

Some nice tips there ...Thanks ;)

[Brockas]

Don't forget you're photographing the car, not showing off your skills.
Angled/crop shots are all well and good, but if you can't see the car properly they are pointless.

[[2_FLY]]

All of those tips were in SPEED magazine a few years ago

[vy--ss]

And dont forget to take the lens cap off. haha

[Ja50n]

Don't shoot at night with a slow shutterspeed and rank appature because pics are blurry and very pixilated and look so so so ****.

[wadragracing]

Unless you have a tripod :)
One of my fave shots, nitrous drag bike.

http://www.wadragracing.com/purge640.jpg

[ELUSIV]

id recommend investing in a circular polarizer as well or an ND filter or both. For slr users its a great way to cut down glare and reflection of lights at car shows without effecting the overall amount of light you are letting in.

[Remix]

id recommend investing in a circular polarizer as well or an ND filter or both. For slr users its a great way to cut down glare and reflection of lights at car shows without effecting the overall amount of light you are letting in.

I will have to look into this, cheers fella :)

[V70R]

All outdoor shots I use a polarizing filter. Its a must have !

[TJ]

Ive found it makes little to no difference ...

The lens is focusing way past the filter anyhow.

[V70R]

Tom it does make a difference mate. The filter stops all the chrome glare and in most cases amplifies the colours in the shot.

[Brett_J]

How about some settings for us budding photographers to use, I have no idea what half the settings or numbers mean on my cameras, and Auto looks like ass most the time.
You know for different lighting conditions and stuff


Brett

[Remix]

What model camera do you have Brett?

If the camera allows you to use manual settings you can start by playing around with the f-stops (f2.9, f3 - f16 for example). The smaller numbers mean that more light is let in (a larger aperture) as opposed to the larger f-stop numbers which let's in less light (a smaller aperture). A larger aperture (smaller numbers) will give you a shallow depth of field (ie: An object will be sharp however the background will be out of focus).

Try varying the shutter speed to either stop action or emphasize motion. Shutter speeds with larger numbers on the bottom, such as 1/1000 are called "faster" and they freeze action; speeds with smaller numbers, such as 1/15 are called "slower" and they lend a sense of action or movement to moving subjects.

There is no real 'settings' to give out as each scene requires adjustments relative to the current lighting conditions of the photo you intend to capture. Just play around and you will get familiar with what works and what doesn't.

[DRKWRX]

It would help to know what camera you are using but also make sure to have your whitebalance on the right setting otherwise you wont get a true representation of colour and the photos will look like ass.

[Remix]

I'd suggest leaving white balance on auto.

[DRKWRX]

yeh auto usually does a pretty good job but I shoot in Raw anyways :)

[Brodsta]

this thread died in the ass.

hrmm.. ummm.. oh here we go, never zoom fully in with a lens. It says 75 - 300mm but never shoot with it stretched right out to 300. bring it back a tad.

[iluv2moan]

point number 1 regaurding location - im not a photographer but pics of cars on grass can look pretty hot

[ELUSIV]

following on what brodie said about using the lens range a good rule of thumb is to not max out a zoom lens' end unless you have pro glass.
For wide angle zooms try to not use them on their very maximum setting (the wide end) as this is where sharpness and distortion will be at their worst, also use a lens hood to stop lens flare, depending on the quality of the lens will obviously effect things like this.
For longer zooms dont use their maximum reach, if you have no choice but to, stop the lens down to an acceptable level to retain sharpness, again unless you have pro glass you wont be able to have the lens wide open @ its maximum zoom range.
A good bit of advice for people wanting to get into photography is to buy a prime lens and learn with that, will give you invaluable experience when it comes to composition and DOF.

[FranZ]

If possible try and always use the lowest ISO that is practical. The higher the ISO, the grainier the image.

[DRKWRX]

^^ to add a bit to that, If you have been shooting the time before at high iso make sure you remember to lower it right down, also watch what angle you have the wheels at, Make sure the ariels are down not much more to add hah take good photos!

[BN01]

Bumping this one up.

For those just starting out, have a look at this thread:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1263892

Awesome guide from Armin Ausejo.

The thread dribbles on a bit, so first page or 2 is all you need, but if youve got time to kill give the whole thread a read.

[R3N]

General tip for slow shutter photography (on a tripod), set the shutter release on a 2-sec timer or a remote so you don't get that shake from where you press and release the shutter button

[GA70TT]

this maybe a noob question.....but if i shoot in NEF (RAW), how can i upload them on photobucket / imageshack etc ?

because its a different file type, if i save it as a jpeg from the raw pic, would that lose the quality ? effectively meaning taking a photo is RAW useless if i want to put it on the net ?

[BN01]

this maybe a noob question.....but if i shoot in NEF (RAW), how can i upload them on photobucket / imageshack etc ?

because its a different file type, if i save it as a jpeg from the raw pic, would that lose the quality ? effectively meaning taking a photo is RAW useless if i want to put it on the net ?

No, your not losing quality saving as jpeg (well, would be feck all if anything). RAW just allows you adjustability in post processing. So do your touch-ups to the RAW files, save as jpeg, then upload.

Really the only time ive noticed quality loss is once you actually throw them onto photobucket (or similar). The change from RAW to Jpeg on your PC is fine.

[ELUSIV]

General tip for slow shutter photography (on a tripod), set the shutter release on a 2-sec timer or a remote so you don't get that shake from where you press and release the shutter button

Just to extend this. Invest in a decent tripod head and legs that has a fair bit of weight, last thing you want is doing a long exposure and the wind moving the camera around or at worst knocking the tripod over. With heavy lenses it can and has happened to people.

[DRKWRX]

I agree dont get a cheap shit tripod, I had a cheap 100 buck velbon it did last me year or so but one day i picked it up by the head with my 5d and 16-35mm L on it and the head came off it was cracked :eek2: , lucky the camera didnt fall off!

[R3N]

manfrotto ftw

[YOUR MATE]

manfrotto ftw

Yup. I've had 2 cheapies when I had my old Finepix point and shoot and they moved around in the slightest wind, and almost toppled quite a few times. Head's cracked everywhere you could tighten them too, $50 specials from good guys etc. Got my 400D and a Manfrotto Modo 785B and the difference in stability is huge, aswell as the joystick grip makes life alot easier. highly reccomend it.

http://modo.manfrotto.com/

[DRKWRX]

Manfrotto are nice but my next set of legs will be Gitzo.

[V70R]

I bought myself a battery grip with IR remote so i can remotely and freely take photos from any reasonable distance. This eliminates the need for Timers - which generally only allow you to take one exposure each time.
Having said that, a tripod is usually your best companion.

[HANS YOLO]

got my first SLR today and very interested in taking a begginers course...anyone know of one i could do?

*or anyone keen for cash? ;)

[R3N]

the internets and a lot of practice

[R34gtr]

and use a good camera not a iphone 4 ?

[dstyle]

import car related photo into photoshop, delete system 32. finished

[vanamond]

I read a lot of cool and interesting stuff here. Thank you guys for sharing your knowledge. This is really great and useful forum!