Automotive Rig Photos

[mikeschmeee]

Hello everyone!

I would like to share some rig photos that I have done. I've only done a couple cars so far and I'm in the process of doing my third I'm waiting for the right time at a certain underground location as I always get kicked out. The Prelude photo was done in late October/early November and the Civic was done a few days ago.
The first time I did it was on my Prelude and the second time I tried it on my nephews Civic.







What do you guys think? Yay or nay?
I'm working on another rig shot with some more interesting angles.

Thanks
Cheers
Mike

 

[Lunchbox]

does anyone sell these pre-made yet?...i love rig shots

 

[Chad Truss]

Yes, premade rigs are available, but they are VERY expensive for what they are in my opinion.

If you do some searching there are plenty of places that show you how to make them on the cheap.


Now the photos....

Nice work in general. The cars are very crisp and clear in the shots.

One thing I would suggest on those first to shots is finding a place without painted lines all over the pavement. In the second photo in particular the car looks like it's going fast, but then you see at the bottom the painted lines are not moving hardly because you are actually driving in circles.

The third shot is awesome. The colors in the sky are spectacular.

 

[Trever1t]

I say Yay!

Tell me more about the rig? You edit it out of the shots?

 

[Frequency]

Excellent; a small problem i felt is that the blurred red leaves look like the red has been splashed from the car

Last one is superb

Regards

 

[cm121886]

Excellent shots my favorite is the first prelude shot though I agree with Frequency about the red tree. The civic shot has wonderful colors but I feel the civic looks like it is not moving. The second shot I feel you don't get to see the nice lines on the Prelude.

 

[Chad Truss]

I say Yay!

Tell me more about the rig? You edit it out of the shots?

There are two common types of rigs. They both consist of an aluminum pole, the difference is how they are mounted to the car.

1. Suction cup mount - On this type of rig you use suction cups to attach it to a body panel on the top of the car, usually the hood, roof, or trunk. The aluminum pole is then clamped to the suction cups and the camera is mounted out on the end.

2. Magnet or clamp mounted - on this version you us magnets and/or clamps to attach a bracket to the underside of the car. This bracket then accepts the end of the aluminum pole and you mount the camera on the end.

Check out this site. This company sells the magnet mount style of rig.
Automotive Rigs

 

[mikeschmeee]

Thanks for the compliments fellas! I greatly appreciate it. I noticed the lines from the parking lot as well. It's kind of tough to go somewhere without having security kick you out. I don't even know why I'm not ruining property I'm just taking pictures. You guys should like the next rig photo I'm working on.

The Prelude was the very first time I ever done a rig shot so I Was so excited about getting it done I went to a near by parking lot and just got it done! I put a little more thought into the Civic though, shooting it while the sun goes down have me some neat colours to play with except my nephew didn't tell me he had to leave in an hour which only allowed me to take four photos, so I only got one angle.
I'm fairly happy how it turned out but I think I was a little too low and too much of a front view. I should have moved aimed the camera a little towards the side of the car to catch his OEM spoiler to give it more of a finished look to the body of the car but besides my complaints I had a great time and will be doing it more and more often. I just need to get my name out there. :er:

With editing... at times, that can be the hardest part. I struggled a little bit with the Civic as the hood of the car is pretty short comparing to my Prelude so getting the suction cups out of there was a little tricky as I had a few different colours to clone stamp in but I got it done! It's all about using the Polygonal and Clone Stamp Tool. Then add some light colour adjustments if you like and BLAM!! You got yourself a photo. I learned all of this from trail and error, looking at a lot of rig photos on flickr and some common sense. I'm still learning though and I bet I have a lot to learn.

My rig consists of the following:

20 feet of 1 3/4inch EMT Piping cut into 6 sections. I couldn't find 2 inch which is what most people use.
5 screw type compress couplings
2 x Manfrotto Avenger F1000 suction pumps
3 x Manfrotto Super Clamps
Manfrotto Magic arm with camera mount
D90 + Nikkor 18-200mm VR. I should be using a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X but I'm poor Saving towards a few new lenses so maybe one day when I'm like 70.
I also use HOYA ND4, ND8 or ND16 depending on how bright it is outside.
I usually stick with the ND8 as the ND16 would be good for a Summers day at high noon when its really bright outside.
You can also wrap some foam around the pipes just incase if you are paranoid like I am that the pipes might fall off but those suction cups are tough!

I set my rig up from a few different angles, ISO100, f22, and shutter speeds range from 4-8 seconds. The Civic was 8 seconds and I don't remember how long the Prelude was. I put the car in neutral, set my timer for 20 seconds as I do not own pocket wizards or any other type of wireless remote. I start to push slowly about 5 seconds before the shutter opens and keep pushing until I hear it close or I count down 10-15 Mississippi's until it I hear it close. I push from the front or behind, depending on the angle of the shot and usually behind a wheel so you can't see my feet. Less photoshop work

I've seen people drive their car while the rig is mounted but that causes too much vibration in my opinion. It's better and safer to push.

Yes, you can purchase pre-made rigs but I'd stay away from them. They are far more expensive and apparently not that sturdy. Some people stay with the camera as another person pushes the car from behind while in neutral.

I also keep a spray bottle of water and a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Detailer in my bag of goodies as I did those Prelude photos a month after I had my car painted the original colour and I was worried that the suction cups would leave a stain. It kind of did at a certain angle and you have to look really close in order to see it but I was prepared and I quickly rinsed it with some water, wiped it dry, spray some Meguiars detailer and I was golden! Perhaps I should have waited a little longer as the chemicals from new paint take a while to settle in but the stain/mark is gone and ever since then I mount the suction cups to glass unless the owner of the car doesn't care about the paint but I always come prepared as I do not want to be held responsible for any damage. It's strange though, when I mounted the suction cups to the Civic it didn't leave any stain at all. Maybe because its black so its harder to see? Not sure.

Glad you like the photos everyone and thank you for the suggestions on improving. I'll post a few more once very soon!