Good Car Show Photography Lenses

SilliG · Apr 18, 2012

A little bit about myself I am an engineering student (which means I am opposite of artistic) and new to photography. I love cars and I just started to pick photography up as a hobby. I have a desire to do a lot better than I am currently doing now. I think my photos are o.k. but my biggest problem seems to be the more I back up from the car the less clear it becomes. Is this because of my lens? I use a Nikon 50mm 1.8 with my D90. Do I need a wide angle lens to capture a whole car clearly and still remain close to the vehicle? Not just one localized area on the car? Anyways here is my flickr for reference Flickr: SilliG25's Photostream to see how I am having trouble with capturing whole cars. Any good lens suggestions on what may help me out is great thanks

12sndsgood · Apr 18, 2012

should be able to get good shots with a 50 1.8 There really isn't one specific lens. the lens I use allot is my 70-200 f/2.8 but thats when i have the room. otherwise i'll use a smaller lens, and sometimes a fisheye. i'm wondering if your just having deapth of field issue. though generally if your backing up your dof should be getting deeper.

SilliG · Apr 18, 2012

Maybe it is a depth a field issue. Since I have to walk back to get the whole car in the frame i have to be pretty far away from the car with the 50mm 1.8 lens. Is there a way I can change my settings to make my shots more sharp. Should I adjust my F stop to a higher number then my shutter speed goes down n then nothing is in focus

12sndsgood · Apr 18, 2012

Using a tripod will remedy the slow shutterspeed issue. I shoot cars allot when the suns going down so over half of my shots are used on a tripod

Aloicious · Apr 18, 2012

I use my 24-70 a lot at shows. especially shows with less room. for longer shots like at the track, etc its my 70-200....a slightly wider lens would probably help out, something in the 24-35mm range if you're looking at primes, a good wide-normal zoom might be a good option too, but you'll want to get a decently fast one. what is your budget?

what settings are you using to shoot them with? what ISO are you using?

shooting cars with a tripod is a great idea and will give the best results, but it may not be very feasable to haul one around and setup at every car you want to get a shot of at a show, a monopod might be more realistic. but depending on the lighting and your settings, you should be able to shoot a car show with good technique.

bhop · Apr 19, 2012

Space can be at a premium at car shows with people everywhere. I think a 50mm is too limiting. When i'm at a car show, I tend to use wide focal lengths more than longer ones, although, I do use long too. I like to carry two bodies so I don't have to switch lenses all the time, but generally I have my 17-55 and 70-200. The longer lens doesn't really get much use, but I get a few shots with it. Sometimes I take my film cameras instead of digital if i'm shooting for myself. The 17-55 is a dx lens, so I use my 24mm f/2.8D on my Nikons, or my 28mm on my Leica. I guess I just prefer wides at cramped up shows.

Most of these photos aren't anything spectacular, but you can get an idea. I shot most of these with the Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8
importshowoff

SilliG · Apr 19, 2012

12sndsgood said:
Using a tripod will remedy the slow shutterspeed issue. I shoot cars allot when the suns going down so over half of my shots are used on a tripod

I gave this a shot yesterday at sunset maybe I need a remote control for my shutter because im still getting a little blur with my camera. Sry im very green to this. I just thought maybe I can do a shutter timer for like 5 sec to get still shots I gotta watch some more tutorials

SilliG · Apr 19, 2012

Aloicious said:
.a slightly wider lens would probably help out, something in the 24-35mm range if you're looking at primes, a good wide-normal zoom might be a good option too, but you'll want to get a decently fast one. what is your budget?

what settings are you using to shoot them with? what ISO are you using?

shooting cars with a tripod is a great idea and will give the best results, but it may not be very feasable to haul one around and setup at every car you want to get a shot of at a show, a monopod might be more realistic. but depending on the lighting and your settings, you should be able to shoot a car show with good technique.

what is your budget
About broke as sh1t im saving for the D800 body I want to go full frame should be placing my order in abt 2 weeks.

something in the 24-35mm range if you're looking at primes
Thank you, I fell in love with primes thats all I prefer shooting with now

12sndsgood · Apr 19, 2012

post up the photo with the exif data so we can take a look. with a tripod i dont see how your getting blur issues.

SilliG · Apr 19, 2012

12sndsgood said:
post up the photo with the exif data so we can take a look. with a tripod i dont see how your getting blur issues.

I am at work now but when I get home I sure will. Also is there any autofocus settings I may need to adjust? What autofocus setting should I have the camera in when shooting the whole car.

12sndsgood · Apr 19, 2012

well generally with cars i'll go with spot metering and single point focus. I use autofocus, other then that rest all varies on the light.

for car shows i'd say stick with a zoom. Ive used my 35mm at times because at the time it was better then my kit lenses. but at a show the amount you'd have to get back to get the car in the shot was a pain if you had to work around other people at the show as well. Generally if i'm shooting at a show i'll shoot first thing in the morning and then right before they close up. or even better during awards. Usually during the mid day i keep the camera off.

For working with single cars on location Primes are Great.

Aloicious · Apr 19, 2012

SilliG said:
what is your budget
About broke as sh1t im saving for the D800 body I want to go full frame should be placing my order in abt 2 weeks.

something in the 24-35mm range if you're looking at primes
Thank you, I fell in love with primes thats all I prefer shooting with now

okay, if you're going Fx, and with a D800 especially, you'll want to get a high quality piece of glass. the high resolution of the D800 tends to bring out flaws in technique and glass much easier. I've never tried it, but the new 28mm f1.8G looks interesting for not too terribly expensive (relatively that is) otherwise everything in the speed and quality you'd be looking at are kindof in the same general price range (looking at BH primes in the 24-35 range), like the 35mm 1.4G, 24mm 1.4G, Zeiss 35mm 1.4....but you'll likely have to save up to get any quality lens....don't forget to look in the used market too.

matthewo · Apr 20, 2012

im going to a show this weekend, i will probably be bringing the following

nikon 70-200 f2.8
tokina 11-16 f2.8
nikon 50mm 1.8d
18-200mm 3.5-5.6 vr ii

and my sb-600

just want to be ready, im sure i will use the 70-200 most of the time, the 11-16 to get a couple of cool wide angles, and the 50mm 1.8 if i want a really shallow DOF, and the 18-200 if i go walking around and dont want to carry a big lens.

djacobox372 · Apr 24, 2012

An ultrawide is great for shooting cars. Heck if it wasnt for cars and skateboarders there wouldnt be much need for an ultrawide.

SilliG · Apr 25, 2012

Here are sum shots I took from UMASS Car Show you can find over 100 more pixs of this meet on my flickr Flickr: SilliG25's Photostream. But all these were taken with my 50mm it wasn't so bad even with a bunch of people around there was plenty of space to shoot. Also when shooting from a distance I have learned to put a hand on the ground to steady the camera.

DSC_0164 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0162 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0257 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0002 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0218 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_1732 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_1677 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0264 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_1743 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_1653 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_1735 by SilliG25, on Flickr

DSC_0118 by SilliG25, on Flickr