car photography question

rhall54 · Nov 3, 2008

those pictures do look pretty cool!

well the soonest I can try out all this stuff is this weekend. So after I do that, i'll post up some pics and you can tell me what you guys think!

Thanks for all the advice!!

benhasajeep · Nov 3, 2008

Another trick in the book is to use a circular polarizer - CP filter.

They do quite a bit, but for car specific they allow you to control reflections in glass and highly polished reflective surfaces. Sometimes you want the reflections but sometimes you don't, or a mix inbetween.

I can't find any sample pics with cars in them to be topic specific. I am sure someone here has pics they could put up though.

rein · Nov 4, 2008

here are a couple more of tips for you

this is for still photoshoot(s)

TOP 8 "Don't"

- Don't shoot your car on grass or sand.
- Don't allow telegraph poles or trees to be in the background as it will look like they are sticking out of your cars roof.
- Don't leave windows half open.
- Don't shoot dark cars in the middle of the day.
- Don't have shadows cast under or over the car.
- Don't forget to wash your car, dirt really shows up in pictures.
- Don't just take one shot.

Top 8 "DO's"

- Do shoot your car on concrete or asphalt; it looks natural
- Do shoot dark cars in soft ambient late-afternoon light. (Sunset is awsome)
- Do examine the paint all the paintwork for clean, simple reflections
- Do point the wheels AWAY from the camera (so everyone can see your nice wheels)
- Do keep the background clean and simple (remember it's about your ride not the scenery)
- Do try to find a low angle that will make your car look phat (not TOO low).
- Do detail everything, such as windows, tires and inner guards.
- Do practice, practice and more PRACTICE (best way to learn).

and few extra...

- Shoot dark cars at sunset or sunrise, shoot bright cars in sunshine. Pearl, candy and metallic need sun and lots of it.
- Use tire shine to shine them tires.
- Make sure no other cars are NOT reflecting on the car that your shooting and / or yourself (people, animal and so on) get the clean shots
- Study your subject first. Walk around the car and view it at different view points, to see which angle looks best.
- Don't be afraid to move the car around, this will make your collection more diverse.

this is for motion shot(s)

there are total of 3 different types of motion shots,

1. rig shot (used in cover mag) - i don't have my own

2. rolling shot aka tracing shot

3. panning shot

i hope these help you getting nice photos of your car or friends cars.

and some of mine

MBasile · Nov 4, 2008

angles play an important role. Here are some things I've realized

1) When shooting the car from an angle (as in not straight on towards front/back/sides) tilting the camera a bit in relation to the horizon hels you fill the frame with the ENTIRE car, creating a better picture

2) Perspective is key. shooting from on the ground or up above usually leads to better pictures.

3) Be careful of the sun reflecting off of windows

4) Silver cars (maybe white ones too) tend to pick up the color of their surroundings. When I photograph my silver car in the dirt, it has a goldish/brownish hint, when I photograph it next to the ocean, it has a blueish hint

5) Remove things like parking permits from the dash and rear view mirror. Also retract the radio antenna if possible.

6) If you want to get great photos, put together a photoshoot, don't try to turn a car meet into a photoshoot...the conditions usually aren't that great and its too hard to organize on the spot

Feel free to browse my photos to get an idea of what looks good and what looks bad. Yes, I'm saying some of mine aren't that good looking (such as some of the Cherry's Jubilee and Russo and Steele photos in terms of exposure and composition, as the situation just did not lend itself to photographs well).

flickr.mattbasile.net

rein · Nov 4, 2008

MBasile said:
6) If you want to get great photos, put together a photoshoot, don't try to turn a car meet into a photoshoot...the conditions usually aren't that great and its too hard to organize on the spot

so very very true!

here is why

as with any car meet, its very common to take shots in the parking lot lol,though it is ok, when u start setting up for then shoot(they would want one no matter the condition) then u have the problem

and when u have too many cars, its a pain

as u can see, its wet and ugly, i wanted to take a shot in the middle but there was a POLE!! so yea, but hey, they were happy!

rhall54 · Nov 4, 2008

rein said:
here are a couple more of tips for you

i hope these help you getting nice photos of your car or friends cars.

and some of mine

I loooove these! The third is my fave and the s2k looks good

Thank you so much for all the advice!

I love the si. I want a white four door.

rhall54 · Nov 4, 2008

Mbasile- Thanks so much.

Great photos. I like the mini.

and the suby. we just went and looked at the new sti last night. very cool.

you guys have me really excited to go out and try this! thanks!!!

manaheim · Nov 4, 2008

oooo your BF has an S2K. A red one no less. I used to have the same car. I miss that crazy little thing.

rhall54 · Nov 4, 2008

manaheim said:
oooo your BF has an S2K. A red one no less. I used to have the same car. I miss that crazy little thing.

oh yes. he loves it. he's all about cars. lol. It's very small. and it feels even smaller cuz he has Bride seats in it.

rein · Nov 4, 2008

ur very welcome, also check car forums for more tips

MBasile · Nov 5, 2008

rhall54 said:
Mbasile- Thanks so much.

Great photos. I like the mini.

and the suby. we just went and looked at the new sti last night. very cool.

you guys have me really excited to go out and try this! thanks!!!

The mini was fun to shoot. We tried to get it through the big doors, but even despite its size there wasn't enough room to maneuver it.

ev1lmagic · Apr 2, 2009

hey budskiphotography, in your first post i see that's the mfq evo 9 and probably ams or robispec evo x in the background? are you just a photographer or are you involved in the evo scene in anyway? socalevo member here haha xD

Sharpe · Apr 2, 2009

rein said:
ur very welcome, also check car forums for more tips

agreed. Check out this forum, great place for car lovers, and especially car lovers who love photography... Dieselstation Car Forums

Patrice · Apr 2, 2009

rhall54 said:
... some sort of bmw ...

I like this bit of her post. Some guys will spend inordinate amounts of time and money to get just the right M3, or the perfect 7 series, and then this hot girl says "... some sort of bmw.." in lower case no less. Just goes to show what's important, or not.