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Hello Gang,

I have an assignement coming up, and I was wondering if anyone can offer advise? THis is my first shoot of a car, and what a car it is!!! Its a brand new Porsche Convertible 911, metalic black, and I am hoping to get most of it done outdoors, say by the palm trees on Beach road melbourne.

http://www.worldcarfans.com/photos.cfm/ ... -cabriolet

*Looking for Tips on Lens use? ( I have a 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 18-70, 80-200, but nothing wide and fast...)
*DOF recommnedaitons (shoot all day at f8, or deeper, f22?)
*Lighting - I have a pair of Bowens 500s, 60x60 softbax, and umbrellas. a 110mm 5-in1 reflector, a SB 600 and various stands.
*Tips on backgrounds?
*Sunset versus sunrise?
*tips on how to take interior shots, while "blacking out" the image through the glass (perhaps lay a black fabris on the outside of the glass)?
* I may also have the opportunity to drape a model over the car, but want to focus on the car images first.
* Polorising filter?

THanks for helping me to learn!

Oz_Beachside wrote:*Looking for Tips on Lens use? ( I have a 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 18-70, 80-200, but nothing wide and fast...)

Take them all. The 80-200 would be good. Take some portraits at 200. Quite a different look to the same shot at 18.

Oz_Beachside wrote:*DOF recommnedaitons (shoot all day at f8, or deeper, f22?)

Vary it.

Oz_Beachside wrote:*Lighting - I have a pair of Bowens 500s, 60x60 softbax, and umbrellas. a 110mm 5-in1 reflector, a SB 600 and various stands.

I don't know if you'll end up using much of that if it's outdoors. Possibly something to shine light onto alloy rims, or to help with the interior shots.

Oz_Beachside wrote:*Tips on backgrounds?
*Sunset versus sunrise?

Non-intrusive backgrounds. Top of a hill is good. So is water. Fields of crop. Rolling hills. Both sunrise and sunset.

Oz_Beachside wrote:*tips on how to take interior shots, while "blacking out" the image through the glass (perhaps lay a black fabris on the outside of the glass)?

Use a tripod. Avoid flash. Bracket. Ensure there are no distracting objects inside the vehicle, or visible through the windows.

Oz_Beachside wrote:* I may also have the opportunity to drape a model over the car, but want to focus on the car images first.
* Polorising filter?

Good move re model. Yes, take a filter. It'll cut down on reflections which are a problem with highly-polished vehicles.

thanks for your tips, I appreciate your help. ANyone else can offer some suggestions, perhaps siting specific examples?

Anyother car buffs in here? Perhaps on lighting?

Love to see some work of other members.

Thanks

Oz Redline has some great shots and try a search on Ferrari, a member in Queensland had some of the Ferrari club I remember. Also search motor+show as many members have taken good images there.

only thing i can think of is to shoot in the golden hours (like around sunrise and sunset) not in the middle of the day to avoid harsh reflections. most def use a polarizer. if you had time and money try and make a rig.

check out easton's site. amazing aussie car photog. http://www.eastonchang.com/

Have you done the shoot yet? Would love to see the results!

not yet, was scheduled for late July, but did not get permit for site, so looking for another site.

I will most certainly be posting for critique, and the results will be in my pbase gallery.

I'm really looking forward to it.

only advice i can give is to stay low, spend most of the day on one knee or maybe even lying on the ground.. but this is personal preference

Wow, do you own all that gear! If you do i'm a little taken aback that you bought all that and you don't know what to do with it ...

Car photography is a discipline in itself but the principles are the same as with any other type of photography. There are a few things which are specific to cars though:

Lighting is a major bitch. If you use natural lighting, you need to get very lucky or work very fast to capture the light. If you use artificial lighting (which I assume you will be) then you need to know how to set them up. Cars are a mixture of reflective surfaces and dull surfaces, and a lot of complex curves.

To start with, bring along a screwdriver and remove the number plate. Number plates scatter light in all directions. You will find that no matter where you put the flash, the number plate will scatter it back at the camera. So it has to go.

Next, pose your car in front of your background and look very carefully at it. Most photographers fail to spot the reflections. A well composed picture will look lousy if you can see a reflection of a garbage truck on the car. I don't like using circular polarizers on cars (because it gets rid of reflections which help model the 3D shape of the car) but use one if you have to! Of course, you should also look out for all the usual things that ruin pictures - street furniture (mailboxes, power lines, bus stops), trees, and so on.

Now, set up your lighting. How you do this will depend on what kind of look you are going after. All the usual principles of studio lighting apply with the added proviso that you have to avoid / minimize reflections. Not easy when it comes to a shiny new car.

On a final note, the car you have been asked to shoot (black Porsche 911) is not the easiest subject. The problem is the colour: black. Shoot at night and you have to throw enough light around the contours of the car to seperate it from the background. Shoot in the day and there is the risk that more colourful things around it will dominate the image.

Good luck with your project.

Amfibius wrote:Wow, do you own all that gear! If you do i'm a little taken aback that you bought all that and you don't know what to do with it ...

Car photography is a discipline in itself but the principles are the same as with any other type of photography. There are a few things which are specific to cars though:

Lighting is a major bitch. If you use natural lighting, you need to get very lucky or work very fast to capture the light. If you use artificial lighting (which I assume you will be) then you need to know how to set them up. Cars are a mixture of reflective surfaces and dull surfaces, and a lot of complex curves.

To start with, bring along a screwdriver and remove the number plate. Number plates scatter light in all directions. You will find that no matter where you put the flash, the number plate will scatter it back at the camera. So it has to go.

Next, pose your car in front of your background and look very carefully at it. Most photographers fail to spot the reflections. A well composed picture will look lousy if you can see a reflection of a garbage truck on the car. I don't like using circular polarizers on cars (because it gets rid of reflections which help model the 3D shape of the car) but use one if you have to! Of course, you should also look out for all the usual things that ruin pictures - street furniture (mailboxes, power lines, bus stops), trees, and so on.

Now, set up your lighting. How you do this will depend on what kind of look you are going after. All the usual principles of studio lighting apply with the added proviso that you have to avoid / minimize reflections. Not easy when it comes to a shiny new car.

On a final note, the car you have been asked to shoot (black Porsche 911) is not the easiest subject. The problem is the colour: black. Shoot at night and you have to throw enough light around the contours of the car to seperate it from the background. Shoot in the day and there is the risk that more colourful things around it will dominate the image.

Good luck with your project.

Thank for the tips, is this the way you did to your red Porsche before.

spada wrote:Thank for the tips, is this the way you did to your red Porsche before.

How do you know that? What other forums do you visit?

And no, it's not how I did my Porsche ... I don't have studio lighting. I know how to use it though, thanks to a few courses I have attended.

Hi Amfibius
I looked at them at OCAU forum , they are excelent pictures.

Amfibius wrote:Wow, do you own all that gear! If you do i'm a little taken aback that you bought all that and you don't know what to do with it ...

I'm learning, and I have not shot a car before. Mainly been travel, architecture. Hence my posting, I appreciate your words.

Car photography is a discipline in itself but the principles are the same as with any other type of photography. There are a few things which are specific to cars though:

Lighting is a major bitch. If you use natural lighting, you need to get very lucky or work very fast to capture the light. If you use artificial lighting (which I assume you will be) then you need to know how to set them up. Cars are a mixture of reflective surfaces and dull surfaces, and a lot of complex curves.

To start with, bring along a screwdriver and remove the number plate. Number plates scatter light in all directions. You will find that no matter where you put the flash, the number plate will scatter it back at the camera. So it has to go.

Thanks for the tip, had not considered the imact of the reflected light (an annonymity)

Next, pose your car in front of your background and look very carefully at it. Most photographers fail to spot the reflections. A well composed picture will look lousy if you can see a reflection of a garbage truck on the car. I don't like using circular polarizers on cars (because it gets rid of reflections which help model the 3D shape of the car) but use one if you have to! Of course, you should also look out for all the usual things that ruin pictures - street furniture (mailboxes, power lines, bus stops), trees, and so on.

This has been on my mind for weeks, I look at the car daily, and see so many images in its reflection, that I know I would hate to have in my pics. Typical exmaple, a trash can in the parking lot by the beach I intned to use.


Now, set up your lighting. How you do this will depend on what kind of look you are going after. All the usual principles of studio lighting apply with the added proviso that you have to avoid / minimize reflections. Not easy when it comes to a shiny new car.

On a final note, the car you have been asked to shoot (black Porsche 911) is not the easiest subject. The problem is the colour: black. Shoot at night and you have to throw enough light around the contours of the car to seperate it from the background. Shoot in the day and there is the risk that more colourful things around it will dominate the image.

thanks heaps for your input, I am learning lots, and will share my initial images in here.

pick up a street machine mag or a hot 4's for some tips, better still just go read a few car mags in the newsagent, just not wheels or motor.

not to sure if SM still do a smoty award, but the car ends up in a studio and the shots are always first class.

Sometimes the number plate cannot be removed, or if it is a personalised plate it adds to the car's appeal. An alternative is to cover the plate with something that looks factory. Or get it dirty, or just work around it. There are anti-reflection sprays but I've not tried them (well, not unless you count a covering of mud!) Set the flash to -1 to -3 and it should be ok.