Volkswagen R32 Golf - Night shoot

[Benny2707]

Hi Guys,

Here's a shoot I did last night with a mate. Used the fading light and 3 x flashes to get the light just right.

This has not been through any PP at this stage, raw straight off the gun.

Look forward to comments or critiques.

Cheers

Benny

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22767657@N07/2199857269/

[Pa]

i would have choose a different background for it....

[Raskill]

Nice concept.

I would have maybe pumped up the ISO and had a smaller aperture with a bit more DOF, the front rim of the car looks slightly soft, as opposed to the back. Also, the image is a little under exposed.Using a few speedlights is a good idea, but you need to try and diffuse that light a little, to avoid the bright reflection on the back of the car. You can clone it out in PPing, but thats a pain. I would also have been tempted to take the shot from the front of the car. Given how dark it is, have the headlights on, (or even the parking lights or hazards), still use the speedlights for fill. Also, I wonder how a speedlight behind the car would go, to help seperate it from the background.

I dontmind the background, it's not to bad. Industrial backgrounds can really suit car images.

Like I said though, nice concept! Keep the images coming.

[big pix]

the background and DOF let this pix down....... the box's tend to take over, and the pole growing out of the roof does not help also, but you are heading in the right direction

[who]

I love the concept, and the photo is quite nice, and while it can be done differently, that may change the resulting feel of the photo as well.

Very much an area of personal taste and likes.

[xerubus]

I like the lighting in this shot, and the concept is okay. Couple of things I would change however.

I would change your aperture so that the boxes in the background are OOF, but still give the industrial feel. Let the shot really concentrate on the product.

I would like to see more of the side of the car also and would have the vehicle more to the left of the frame rather then the centre.

Sharpness and contrast is good. Revisit the shot, and have some fun trying different ideas.

[Benny2707]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Let me answer a few of the comments to give you can idea of where I'm at.

This was my first shoot with flashes. I've never done it before. It was a bit of a challenege even with a mate there who really knows what he's doing. I agree that some of the light would have been better with a soft box on it but I don't have one yet so maybe for next time.

DOF is something that I have been learning. I agree that it might have been better with a little more detail towards the front of the car. Again, I'll have a crack at that next time.

There are a few front on shots which I think look a whole lot better. If you guys would like a look I'll post them up.

Cheers

Benny

[bwhinnen]

I'll give Brett's first step to night time images of cars... Slower shutter speed 1/50th is too quick for this sort of thing, I usually shoot at roughly 25 - 30 seconds depending on the light and how much painting I want to do with the speedlight.

You then have full reign over the aperture you use to control the DoF (depending on the distance to focal point (taking the hyperfocal distance into consideration)).

This shot, more of an angle to the side, move the pole, bring the car out from the kerb as well this will help with separation, the crates will work better then I think.

Cheers
Brett

[Yi-P]

The R32 is much sexier from the front IMHO, and those rims are great. I'd try again with this shot with a frontal low angle, close up on the front and the rims. Just a thought...

[gstark]

Apart from what everyone else has said, I would also - in this image - crop out some of the roadway in the foreground. There's an area that's darker, and then the road surface lightens. Crop to remove most, but not all, of the darker area.

When reshooting - where was this shot, btw? - I'd probably be inclined to do that cropping in the camera - move in a bit closer. Keep the low angle of view, and use the wide angle end of your glass.

Keeping low and moving in closer will actually help address a couple of the other issues, one of which is a common error that I see - the pole.

The error is that we fail to take that extra second or two to scan the viewfinder for stuff like this. Often it's as simple as just a small change in our position that can help us address this sort of problem, but before we get to that point, we need to take those few seconds, pause, and scan the viewfinder with our eye.

[brasher]

You did well benny, keep at it.

[Benny2707]

You did well benny, keep at it.

Hey brash,

Thanks mate. Welcome to the board.

Read the FAQ's.

Trust me.

Benny

[who]

One suggestion as well, get in really close, and put on the widest lens you have or can get hold of.... (I was at 10mm on a Sigma 10-20)

Get down low, I have had some good results with my Red 3 MPS..... shame it was dirty and dusty at the time.

Need to do it again when it is clean.

[Benny2707]

One suggestion as well, get in really close, and put on the widest lens you have or can get hold of.... (I was at 10mm on a Sigma 10-20)

Get down low, I have had some good results with my Red 3 MPS..... shame it was dirty and dusty at the time.

Need to do it again when it is clean.

I'm going to try and get a 12-24 or 10-20 for the future but after a recent lens purchase at the moment the new stuff is a long way off. Regardless I take your point. The car was filthy when we shot it. Hence limited shots that have made it to the final cut. I'll give it a clean next time and get some better stuff especially the detail stuff. It's a great car to shoot, musclely (sp) arches and big wheels and brakes.

Thanks again everyone for your advice. I'l learning more and more everyday.