Automotive Photography Class

[INDY510]

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I know there is already a Photography thread ........ .. . I want to keep this strictly for automotive photography with a stong emphasis on DATSUNS

 

 

If you have any cool tricks for car photos post them up with examples ...... . .. or just post a couple of your favorite pics and describe how you got it

 

 

 

 

-1st Lesson ... (copied from another forum)

 

Light Painting

 

Light painting is by far the cheapest, simplest, all around most awesome way to light a car. Though it is minor, the only problems I have ever had with light painting are that sometimes if you do not move quick enough you can experience ghosting of yourself in the shot. Also you can not control the light and where it goes as easily as strobes; meaning that if you are in a small space (garage, alley, under a bridge, etc.) you are going to light much more of the scene than if you had strobes which may not be desired.

 

 

 

Shelby [explored] by Carter N, on Flickr

 

 

This shot was done by walking around the car with a simple shop light during a 30 second exposure. The only editing done was some minor saturation and contrast work. This is the perfect type of lighting to use if you don't have or aren't comfortable in photoshop

 

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[INDY510]

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I took this pic with a 20 second exposure ... .. . . 3200 ISO setting ..... . . and just a cheap flashlight (not even LED)

 

I walked around the car kinda fast and then slowly circled the intake manifold .... (using my hand to block the light from the camera... (you can still see one light trail)

 

 

 

 

 

Same thing.... with a 13 second exposure... ... and I circled the intake with the flashlight and a flashing blue LED mini-flash light (one in each hand)

 

[INDY510]

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Rolling shots

 

Rolling shots are achieved by moving along side a vehicle (in another car lol) and using a lower shutter speed to capture the motion. There are a variety of opinions on how to properly do a roller and several 'Rules of thumb' on shutter speed versus car speed. I have never followed these rules so I won't even begin to talk about them.

 

My general approach to rolling shots is a shutter speed range of 1/20-1/40, the slower the shutter speed the more motion blur created but also the high potential for blurry pictures. Your camera will also need to be in the auto focus mode for tracking. This allows your camera to focus on the car while still blurring the background. On a Canon this is call AI Servo, I am not positive about the name for Nikons, so anyone that knows that off the top of their head can chime in. I also put my camera in to High speed continuous; meaning the camera takes multiple pictures while the shutter release is held down. Depending on the speed of your camera (frames per second, buffering time, etc) will dictate how many photos the camera takes before stopping. Obviously the more shots the camera takes the better as there is a better chance at a sharp capture. This is, as far as I know, the most viable way of taking a rolling shot. It really is a matter of "spray and pray" but obviously a steady hand, smooth road surface, slower car speed, more advance camera come into play when dictating how many of your shots will come out good.

 

 

[INDY510]

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Rig shots

 

Rig shots refers to building a rig that is mounted to the car from which the camera is attached and then used to capture background motion. There are literally 1000 million ways to build a rig using a variety of materials. You can purchase kits (but they are usually very expensive) and there are plenty of DIY build threads out there on the internet so if you are interested do a quick google search. A rig shot really is the best way to create an intensely motioned filled image while preserving every detail of the car. The standard rig consists of a long pole (usually aluminum for it's light weight and strength) and suction cups mounted to the car. The camera can be attached the pole via DIY clamps, presold rig mounts, etc. A long shutter speed is used and usually the car is pushed (to reduce flexing of the rig) to create the shot. Obviously having a pole coming off the car will show up in the photo so Photoshop or an equivalent will be necessary to edit it out. The quality of that editing, again, comes through practice but usually with a rig built and attached correctly a simple clone stamp will easily remove the rig.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ratsun Way:

 

 

Duct tape your camera to a broom ..... park on a hill,,, , set a 10 second timer..... then stick the broom out the window and start rolling:

 

... . about 5mph: ... slower = less blurry

 

[INDY510]

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Using your Knee

 

 

I get some of my favorite pictures with one knee on the ground,,, and I use my other knee as a tripod,,, .. makes for a very clear "non-blurry" pic:

 

 

[metalmonkey47]

Nice indy.

 

What kind of camera/lens combo did you use in these?

[INDY510]

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Using the Ground

 

 

It's easy to get slightly blurry pics in the rain or fog .. .. . .. so i use the ground to keep the camera steady ... it just takes a few pics to get the car in the frame .. :lol:

 

 

 

 

 

[metalmonkey47]

Here's some of my favorites taken from my Nikon D3100. Not all automotive, but still great pics.

 

[INDY510]

Nice indy.

 

What kind of camera/lens combo did you use in these?

 

I stole some of the write ups from other forums....... .. . but all my swap meet pics were just a "point and shoot" Fuji-Film FinePix S2700HD

 

 

The light painting pics are with my new $475 Sony A330 DSLR with the stock "kit lens" 18-55mm .. . ... :D .... . . who needs a running Datsun anyways?? .. :lol:

[metalmonkey47]

I stole some of the write ups from other forums....... .. . but all my swap meet pics were just a "point and shoot" Fuji-Film FinePix S2700HD

 

 

The light painting pics are with my new $425 Sony A330 DSLR with the stock "kit lens" 18-55mm .. . ... :D .... . . who needs a running Datsun anyways?? .. :lol:

 

Yeah I was more curious about the ones you actually took They look super neat.

 

 

 

I kinda do.... lol it's my DD. Ya dig?

[INDY510]

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Ratsun External Flashes

 

I am a total noob to fancy light rigs and dual flash strobes or whatever..... .. .. so I used car headlights ....... :lol:

 

HID blue headlights will make the pics look better,,,, but normal headlights will work ..... ... either way you need the high-beams on (so don't drain your Mom's battery ... :lol: )

 

 

 

I parked my Mom's car 15ft away from the 510 at a ~45 degree angle ....... . . pointing the headlights right behind the front wheel:

 

 

 

The result: .......... .. no tripod (just a flipped over trash can) ..... :lol: ... . . and a $99 Nikon S1 point and shoot... .

 

 

 

 

[I'm BLUE]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Zeusimo]

+1 :D

[INDY510]

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MOAR Light Painting......

 

 

it doesn't need to be midnight,,,, it's a great way to get rid of dark shadows..... .. just keeep the light moving

 

 

 

 

This guy says he used a $15 rechargable LED shop light: ...... .. I've seen people use a 4ft fluorescent bulb ...... or a small 18" fluorescent shop light

 

 

 

like this rechargable LED shoplight: ............ some people even make soft boxes out of carboard boxes, tin foil, and a bright flashlight

 

 

 

 

30 second exposure..... Mag torch flashlight

 

 

 

 

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[INDY510]

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This is walking with a spot light in a soft box above the car:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[INDY510]

[INDY510]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[INDY510]

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5 second exposure .... .. and a dying crank up LED flashlight ....... . :lol:

 

 

[metalmonkey47]

Cool effect, but it doesn't seem focused properly.

 

Maybe the lens you're using? Hmmm..

[INDY510]

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That's with auto focus,,, ,, and the box is only a couple inches from the lens ......... .. if you click on the picture it looks better..... all the other pics were too bright/blurry from the light moving so close to the camera

 

 

...... ... that pic is with a really dim LED 5 inches away from the box..... started at the back then slowly rotated the light in front of the box

[Z-train]

The light painting pics are with my new $425 Sony A330 DSLR with the stock "kit lens" 18-55mm .. . ... :D .... . . who needs a running Datsun anyways?? .. :lol:

 

Minolta Maxxum lenses will fit your Sony.However,ther is no substitute for Zeiss glass.

[VintageRice]

Great thread ! !

 

In the garage with all the lights off, shop light in the frame. about .5 - 1sec exposure if I remember right.

 

 

Cars driving by at dusk, gotta get your subject(people) to STAND STILL. Set the camera on the ground and used a yo-yo to prop us the lense.(all i had with me) Used remote to controll shutter to eliminate shaky hands. (Actually in this shot ou can see the remote in my left hand. Took the shot myself)

 

 

This shot was from inside my buddys car at night on the freeway. Its a BMW next to us. Just held the shutter open on manual mode and moved the camera in a twirl motion. Kinda cool abstract auto art.

 

[INDY510]

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Microsoft Painting .......... like a BAWSE

 

 

I was struggling last night to get a good photo of atom's engine bay,,, ,, without over-exposing the pic... .. and light painting was not working ..... :(

 

 

So I used a tripod... .. .. and took alot of pics with a $20 LED cordless shop light illuminating different parts of the engine bay....

 

 

 

The camera was on auto-mode and mostly a ~0.8 second exposure .... .. . this pic was with the light 2 ft above the engine,,, pointing at the master cylinder:

 

 

 

 

Too dark... ... on the passenger side...... :unsure: .... . .. . . . and this next pic is too dark on the drivers side:

 

 

 

 

If only there was a way to combine the 2 pics... .. . . :D ... .. . so I opened up Microsoft paint..... .. . and.....

 

 

 

 

 

obviously this will only work because I was using a tripod... .. . but everything was done in Microsoft Paint: .... . (you can see pixels where I touched up and darkened the radiator cap):

 

[INDY510]

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another awesome example of Light Painting......... I didn't take this pic: ......... <_<

 

 

[DAT510]

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another awesome example of Light Painting......... I didn't take this pic: ......... <_<

 

 

 

you just inspired me..