Automotive Photography

[26th-Z]

Thought you all would get a kick out of this article from "Studio Photography" magazine. This publication targets the business aspect of photography and professional photographers. Although I am neither a pro nor in business as such. This might help your fun with cars this summer.

Chris

[LanceM]

Funny you should post this. I've been watching ebay and what Z's are going for. Some that I think should do well don't and others that shouldn't do. The main differance between the cars in most cases is the "ads", lots of pics even of things that don't matter and a Hi-Po ad bring high prices, a few general pics and a poor ad bring low prices even if the car could be a real jem.

Goes to show what people look for, pretty pics of what you see, not what is important, and high power selling ad telling you how great it is without telling you much about what is really there.

I have friends that do a lot of shopping for old muscle cars and have looked at "featured" photo cars only to find that what you see in the pic isn't what you are really getting!

[Alfadog]

Great article. Thanks for sharing!! What a job.

[rdefabri]

Double funny you should post this...after the "Best Pose" contest, I convinced my wife to do another round on the Z...I am thinking of creating a poster or something. This should come in handy!

[Fun_in_my_z]

Ill buy one!

[rdefabri]

Cool - that's the kind of feedback I want to hear!

[Gav240z]

Great Article I've always wanted a job like that. I might try and find his book I'm sure it would be an interesting read. :)

[toecutter]

Great artical and yes it does sound like a great job. Makes me want to go out and spend some cash on a new digital SLR.

[Lisa-Adam]

The automobile industry is barely a century old. But in that brief period, a wonderful sense of style, proportion and purpose has developed. Regardless of age, automotive designs remain pure and alluring. It has been my pleasure to capture these great machines and reveal their personality to you.

[26th-Z]

How to Photograph Your Car

I was just doing some web surfing and found this article. Haven't read all of it yet, but it looks very good.


http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/howto/11678_photograph_your_car/index.htmlood.

[toecutter]

more great pics here...

http://www.eastonchang.com/

[Carl Beck]

The automobile industry is barely a century old. But in that brief period, a wonderful sense of style, proportion and purpose has developed. Regardless of age, automotive designs remain pure and alluring. It has been my pleasure to capture these great machines and reveal their personality to you.

Am I the only one that fails to understand this Post? Who's pleasure has it been?

FWIW,
Carl B.

[Jackhammer]

Am I the only one that fails to understand this Post? Who's pleasure has it been?

FWIW,
Carl B.

Michael Furman's.....it's a quote from his web sight.

http://www.michaelfurman.com/

Strange post though....I agree.

[sblake01]

Who is Lisa-Adam and why did she quote someone without noting that it was a quote? Strange indeed.

[TomoHawk]

I photographed airplanes in high school & college. Peoplethought I was weird, standing on top of a 12-foot stepladder to get the higher-angle shots. But after taking a couple dozen shots of one airplane, I picked the one that makes people stop and look.

Sometimes I'd sit or lay on the ground to get a low-angle shot (especially lowered cars) and you can make the car look 90 feet long that way! That's why I can appreciate some of the pictures that people used to use for their avatars here; like one of a headlight.

Don't you just hate it when people buy those $400 nikon SLR digital cameras with 99 Megapixels to just take basic shots on the front quarter, then they show you and say "isn't that a great shot :rolleyes: You could probably do better with a a from the camera from the closeout store. :ermm:

Thanks, Chris for bringing this up.

thxZ

[26th-Z]

The trouble is that those $400 insta-shots turn out great pictures, and for most of us, pictures we are very happy with!

Did you guys line up a photographer for Cleveland, Tomo?

[TomoHawk]

If you are referring to the International convention, then there is a photographer(s).

BTW, when you say 'great shots' on a digital camera, you mean ones that are properly fucussed and exposed. The content may not be great. Some people have no idea about things like composition, movement, colour (or lack of) contrast, shadows, and all the other stuff.

thxZ

[Arne]

Don't you just hate it when people buy those $400 nikon SLR digital cameras with 99 Megapixels to just take basic shots on the front quarter, then they show you and say "isn't that a great shot :rolleyes: You could probably do better with a a from the camera from the closeout store. :ermm:Maybe. I recently sold my 7 MP Sony point-n-shoot and bought one of those entry-level Nikon DSLRs. (Only 6 MP, BTW.) I did it strictly for action shots. A good point-n-shoot is fine for pictures of things that are still, or moving slowly. But for things that move, a DSLR is MUCH better. Instant on, instant manual zoom control, and lightning auto-focus. I'm much happier with my DSLR, and get candid shots with it that I could never count on getting with my Sony.

But in general, I agree. It's not the camera, or the megapixels or whatever that makes a good picture. It's the subject and composition. If you're taking pictures of cars at a show, any camera will do as long as you know what you are doing.

[TomoHawk]

I did sports photography for the school paper in high school. There is no way any digital camera could focus fast enough to get a shot of something in a softball game or a track meet. In fact, I usually pre-focused my lens to a spot I picked and waited for the right shot to happen. I've tried some of the SLRs and they didn't focus fast enough for me. Since the 35mm always on, I don't have to wait for anything but the right shot, and the battery doesn't run down. About the biggest reason I have a digital camera is because I can put 400 photos on it without loading in film.

BTW,the link in #10 has expired, so you might want to trty this: http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/howto/11678_photograph_your_car/index.html

[TomoHawk]

After reading the introductory article in the link above, click on the "Related photos" near the top for some more lessons, especially stuff like not having a pole stuck in your roof or a bush growing out of your hood! ROFL

There's more to photography than a fancy camera or clicking off photos.

[Arne]

I did sports photography for the school paper in high school. There is no way any digital camera could focus fast enough to get a shot of something in a softball game or a track meet. In fact, I usually pre-focused my lens to a spot I picked and waited for the right shot to happen. I've tried some of the SLRs and they didn't focus fast enough for me. Since the 35mm always on, I don't have to wait for anything but the right shot, and the battery doesn't run down. About the biggest reason I have a digital camera is because I can put 400 photos on it without loading in film.All true. At least with my DSLR I again have the option to pre-focus. Can't do that with your average digi-cam.

But I don't get your battery comment. My 35mm SLRs all had batteries, and they were always dead at an inconvenient time. Battery life on my D40 is outstanding, and the start-up delay is non-existent.

[TomoHawk]

The batteries on my 35mm cameras would last for weeks. It's only needed to power the exposure meter, so they last a really long time.

The worsat thing about the chespr digitals is the wait to focus, and the lag after you press the picture button. If you'retrying to do movement, you either have to be lucky with the timing or pan the shot and hope it's not too blurred.

[Arne]

The worsat thing about the chespr digitals is the wait to focus, and the lag after you press the picture button. If you'retrying to do movement, you either have to be lucky with the timing or pan the shot and hope it's not too blurred.Ummm, isn't that what I said? :stupid:

Maybe. I recently sold my 7 MP Sony point-n-shoot and bought one of those entry-level Nikon DSLRs. (Only 6 MP, BTW.) I did it strictly for action shots. A good point-n-shoot is fine for pictures of things that are still, or moving slowly. But for things that move, a DSLR is MUCH better. Instant on, instant manual zoom control, and lightning auto-focus. I'm much happier with my DSLR, and get candid shots with it that I could never count on getting with my Sony.

[hls30.com]

...

The worsat thing about the chespr digitals is the wait to focus, and the lag after you press the picture button. If you'retrying to do movement, you either have to be lucky with the timing or pan the shot and hope it's not too blurred.

TomoHawk,
I have experienced the lag, but not the blur-this shot was taken several years ago with an inexpensive digital camera with the lathe spinning the wheel at 370rpm-as you can see, no blur at all- if fact, if I hadn't been the one monitoring the lathe and taking the picture, I would swear it was taken with the wheel motionless-you can see the green "fwd" button is depressed(I sent it to therapy to get help shortly thereafter) on the lower row of switches to the left in the picture(the top row is identical, but obviously none of those switches are depressed-they seem much more stable to me....
Will

[Carl Beck]

There's more to photography than a fancy camera or clicking off photos.

True

I had the pleasure of spending many hours with Mike Muller and Peter Brock as they photographed my cars for various publications. Mr. Brock spent about 5 hours shooting, restaging, reshooting and waiting for exactly the right angle of sunlight etc. Likewise Mr. Muller.

I would have to say that both of them are "Professional Photographers". So both of these men seem to have the talent, skill and experience necessary to compose photographs that someone else will pay for.

One thing they both have in common - very fancy camera's, clicking off photos. Hundreds of them per photo session. Both are using digital cameras as well.

I don't care how good you are at composition - if the camera doesn't support and indeed enhance your skill - you won't get the results you should. There is a reason professional photographers pay big bucks for the equipment they use.

The best thing about the new digi-cams and DSLR's vs film cameras - is that you don't pay a penalty for taking hundreds of pictures. You can afford to try many different things to enhance your learning curve.

Bottom line today - buy the best DSLR you can afford. It will support the growth and development of your personal skills - rather than hold you back. There are some amazingly good DSLR's in the $650.00 to $850.00 range today - - and they will be useful for anyone for several years to come.


8 to 10 meg pixel digi-cams, that you can carry in a shirt pocket - also deliver amazingly good photo's for still images etc... They are now down in the $200.00 to $300.00 range...

"Damn it Jim, I'm an Engineer not a Photographer!"



FWIW,
Carl B.
D40x
SureShot 1000
CoolPix 950 (now 6 or 7 years old)

[hls30.com]

True...

"Damn it Jim, I'm an Engineer not a Photographer!"



FWIW,
Carl B.
D40x
SureShot 1000
CoolPix 950 (now 6 or 7 years old)


hahahhahaha!
Will

[TomoHawk]

Good points, Carl,

It's just that (some people) think that their $1200 fancy digital camera (DSLR or otherwise) will have some kind of psychic ability to fix the photo for them, when all they need to do is to take a step to the side (to hide a tree, pole or shadow) or to step back, or maybe even get a ladder or get closer to the ground to get a really good photo. Fancy cameras only allow you to make better use of what you already can do.

.... And then there's the guy or girl ( I see this constantly) at the car show who's taking photos with a camera phone... ROFL :ermm: :finger: I really hope that these people don't go home to show off their 'photographs.' :rolleyes:

Again, thanks to Chris (26th) for bringing up this topic at the perfect time.

[TomoHawk]

Will,

I haven't had much trouble with digitals being able to stop the action, like on your spinning wheel, but it's the other moving things that were oroblems, like trying to catch the finish line action at a Pinewood car derby. After many tries, I noticed that you can't stop the action exactly at the finish line, so panning the camera with the cars helped, and then you get a blurred background with still cars.

[hls30.com]

Will,

I haven't had much trouble with digitals being able to stop the action, like on your spinning wheel, but it's the other moving things that were oroblems, like trying to catch the finish line action at a Pinewood car derby. After many tries, I noticed that you can't stop the action exactly at the finish line, so panning the camera with the cars helped, and then you get a blurred background with still cars.

Yep,
I had that exact problem taking pictures of the Zs crossing the finish line at Daytona!
Will

[mgood]

Stopping action is all a mater of shutter speed. You can use a slower shutter speed if the action is approaching more direct on to your camera position. If the action is vertical to camera position the faster the speed the faster the shutter has to fire. So, a high asa or iso and a wider open f-stop to achieve the higher shutter speed (some cameras as high as 1/8000). Or, you could also use a flash (fire duration is around 1/5000) to help stop fast action, but then your are stuck at a flash sink of max on most cameras of 1/200 sec. with a 35mm type camera (film or digital).

Now if your are using a medium format film or digital camera you can sink the shutter up to 1/500 sec.

All 35mm type cameras film or digital react the same. The only difference with some is that they have a 1.X multiplier for the lenses, depending on the brand. I have a Canon 20D and it has a 1.6 multiplier and also a 5D and it is full frame, no multiplier. With the cameras that have the multiplier you need to remember that you need to multiply your lens mm by the multiplier to get the minimum shutter speed for a given focal length.

Like this: lens of say 100mm with a multiplier of 1.6 would = a working lens of 160mm, this would result in a minimum of a 1/160 shutter speed to eliminate most all camera shake. This shutter speed might not stop the action though.

[Arne]

...but then your are stuck at a flash sink of max on most cameras of 1/200 sec. with a 35mm type camera (film or digital).That's one of the reasons I bought a Nikon D40 over the D40x/D60. The D40x/D60 have a flash sync speed of 1/200, but the D40 is 1/500.

[26th-Z]

Michael,

How do you think my 550EX flash will work on a 5D?

[26th-Z]

Here are som tips from photgrapher Kerry Drager in his article: "How to Photograph Car Shows".

Go early and stay late. In fact, visitors often can get into an event before the "official" start time – while car owners are setting up shop.
This allows you to take advantage of the early-morning light and the casual, pre-show atmosphere. Likewise, day's end may even yield some last-minute, warm-light images.

The soft-and-even light of an overcast day is ideal for recording bright colors and fine details – just be sure to minimize the amount of overpowering white sky in your picture.
In midday sunlight, shooting success hinges on flexibility: For instance, in the morning, a subject may be engulfed in shadows, but in the afternoon, the same vehicle may be shining in sunlight.

At car shows, I put all of my lenses to work: from wide-angle to telephoto to macro. Other items:
• A polarizing filter boosts colors by reducing glare. But preview the effects first to determine how much polarization – or how little! – you want.
• Pack a small notebook in order to jot down the car's make and year, and any other interesting tidbits.
• A tripod lets you use a low ISO for the best color and image quality. When operating in tight corners and in big crowds, however, a tripod can get in the way.

[mgood]

26th-Z the flash is made for a Canon camera then it should work. I don't use TTL flashes because of the subject failure. That means that the flash will try to make dark colors middle gray and light colors middle gray, so you get over exposure on dark and under on light colors. I use a flash with a thirister for the exposure and shoot on manual.

[TomoHawk]

Don't forget the many of us ( AFAICT) are using digital cameras. I still use 35mm and 120 film sometimes tho.

[sblake01]

I just point and shoot. Haven't seen a roll of film in years.

[TomoHawk]

I used to buy 35mm film in 100 foot rolls, in different ASAs, and reload the cans self. You save a lot that way. But the thing that makes me feel like film is going out is the photo printers you can get cheaply. You just stick the memory card from your digital camera in there, and it runs off the prints. How's tha for "One Hour Photo" service?

thxZ

[TomoHawk]

Micheal (mgood) -

I was looking at the photos on your website, and I noticed that some of the special ones on the front quarter shots were done with a wide lens? The article on the musclemagazine website tells you that those kinds of photos are undesireable. Did you do that on purpose?

[mgood]

TomoHawk,
Yes, I wanted to over emphasize the shape, I have always liked the wide angle lens.

I read someplace many years ago the the car industry in its early days use to have photographers use special lenses that elongated the cars for their advertising. This was to make them look sleeker.

[TomoHawk]

Try one from ground level!