A few tips for shooting Cars..

[:: Jon ::]

A few tips I've used over the last few shoots

:: Point the wheels AWAY from the camera (no one wants to see your tyres)
:: shoot your car on concrete or tarmac, it looks natural
:: examine the paint all the paintwork for clean, simple reflections
:: shoot dark cars in soft ambient late-afternoon light. (Sunset always looks good)
:: keep the background clean and simple
:: Duct tape is a useful on carpet if a vacuum cleaner is not at the ready.
:: Black the tires.
:: Check the off-camera objects and make sure nothing is reflecting in the paintwork.
:: Ensure your shots are clean.
:: Use the reflection of the landscape horizon to emphasize body lines.
:: Get low down - cars look great from a low angle.
:: Try taking shots of your car on the move action shots always look great.
:: When taking interior shots park the whole car in a shaded area.
:: 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 your car around, this will make your collection more diverse.
:: Don't be afraid of using B&W to shoot in.
:: experiment and practice.

Try not to if possible

:: shoot your car on grass or sand
:: leave windows half open.
:: shoot dark cars in the middle of the day.
:: have shadows cast under or over the car.
:: forget to wash your car, dirt really shows up in pictures.
:: just take the one shot.
:: allow telegraph poles or trees to be in the background as it will look like they are sticking out of your cars roof.



If anyone else has any tips post them up.

NO BANTER

[Paul]

• Try, try, try again. If you have a digital camera then you've got nothing to lose by taking 100 photos in a single shoot and only getting 15 usable or really nice photos.
  
  Like everything, some people have "an eye" or gift for it, but it is, as the old saying goes "10% inspiration and 90% perspiration". I've been on a lot of press events, and seen a lot of top car photographers at work. They don't "spare the exposures" and use very few of the shots they take.
  
  
• Wear clothes you don't care too much about (and don't worry about looking an idiot)...
  
  Because you'll want to be crawling and creeping around the car, looking up at it, across it and along it from all sorts of weird angles.
  
  
• Location, location, location...
  
  This is a hard one, but try to find places that suit the car you're shooting (if possible). If you have a racy looking MINI with decals and such, find some good tarmac that could be passed off as a race track maybe, if it's a 4X4 you're shooting, find a field. Big, open car parks and places with interesting but uncluttered backdrops seem to work pretty well for most MINIs.
  
  
• By the best camera you can afford...
  
  Megapixels are not everything either, seek advice from those in the know. You can get very good cameras for a few hundred pounds, and the difference that could make, the restrictions it lifts, can really improve your results.
  
  
• Invest in a tripod, maybe a remote release...
  
  Sunset and sunrise photos are often among the best, the colours add depth and drama to your shots. But you need a steady camera to deal with the longer exposures. This also opens up more night photography options. Oh, if you don't have a remote release, the self timer can be just as good if it's a static shot.
  
  
• Don't be afraid to share bad photos, and ask if people can advise what went wrong.
  
  I've never had anyone be condescending when seeking advice on photography on here, so ask away, someone always has an answer (or a link to one!).
  
  
• Tilt the camera, frame the subject.
  
  For some reason cars can appear to "come alive" if you angle your shots, especially ground shots. It can make a big difference, try several of each angle.
  
  Attachment 137031 Attachment 137032
• Break the rules, ignore the advice...
  
  As much as every guide, or bunch of tips you'll read can be, always break the rules if you can. Remember, you're taking 100 photos to get a few good ones, so there's no harm in taking some really stupid photos and see what you get! Get the tyres pointing at you, get the sun behind your subject, muck about, and have fun. If you're shooting on digital and they look rubbish, who cares?! If they look good, then they're more original for being a little off the wall.
  
  
• Have fun.
  
  If you don't, what's the point?!

This guide is fairly useful, and sums up what a lot of others also say, although I don't feel they use the best examples: Car Photography Guide

[DerekH]

Great guy's just what i wanted for going to the show any tips on flash use would be good Canon 350D Sigme DG500 St flash, don't rate this camera as good as my EOS 10 Canon 35 mm, but as you say Paul take a lot, just what i do

[rec]

[quote=Paul Mullett;3152068]
Tilt the camera, frame the subject.[

/quote]
also known as "Dutch" :]

[wibbly]

Use the largest gun available for maximum destruction & carnage

Some good tips here

[oRb]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jonmorgan (original)

A few tips I've used over the last few shoots

:: Don't be afraid of using B&W to shoot in.

I'd say don't shoot in B&W if you have photoshop or the like as you can do so much more if you convert to B&W in photoshop using (eg) channels. But do try getting your pics into B&W one way or another.

Everything else is very good advice. I'd add shoot in RAW mode if your camera supports it.

Rob

[snid]

I'm not a fan of the tilted shots. But they are "in" right now.

Another good tip is to get a circular polarizing filter. It can be used to remove glare from the windows. It can also be used to "move" the bright spots that the sun's reflection causes to enhance curves. Very, very handy tool for photographing cars.

This is all assuming you are using an SLR, not a point and shoot.

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by snid (original)

I'm not a fan of the tilted shots. But they are "in" right now.

It can be over done, and I think with camera and post-production tilting the background is often forgotten, and looks just plain wrong.

The polarizing filter is a good thing to get too. Not sure on which brands are supposed to do the best/best value for money though.

[:: Jon ::]

Quote: Originally Posted by DerekH (original)

Great guy's just what i wanted for going to the show any tips on flash use would be good Canon 350D Sigme DG500 St flash, don't rate this camera as good as my EOS 10 Canon 35 mm, but as you say Paul take a lot, just what i do

The 350D is a good camera, I've used it in the past with some great emaples being taken which have graced the pages of a few magazines.

Speed-lite flash is what you need for day time use.. so you can bounce the light off the subject.

other than this like most people, use the settings within the camera, lower the shutter speed, raise the ISO and play around with the f-stop untill your happy.

Quote: Originally Posted by oRb (original)

I'd say don't shoot in B&W if you have photoshop or the like as you can do so much more if you convert to B&W in photoshop using (eg) channels. But do try getting your pics into B&W one way or another.

Everything else is very good advice. I'd add shoot in RAW mode if your camera supports it.

Rob

Unless youre planning on printing magazine quality images, shooting at raw wont benefit you anymore than high jpg

RAW is often called the "Digital Negative." RAW offers more to you than just an uncompressed picture. It allows you to capture an image and store it exactly how the image sensor captured it. It does not have any image processing done to it. Camera settings such as white balance, contrast, saturation, sharpening level, tone, etc., are tagged to the file but does not affect the image. Unlike JPEG, RAW has more brightness levels, almost double.

RAW allows a powerful computer to process the image with dedicated high end software, not the software our camera's are equipped with.

The downsides are: the file is large, you can't send a RAW file format to your family as an email attachment unless they have the software to convert it, and it's much more time consuming adjusting all the levels.

If you have the time to adjust everything yourself, then by all means, do it. JPEG is sufficient for what most of us though.

Quote: Originally Posted by snid (original)

I'm not a fan of the tilted shots. But they are "in" right now.

Another good tip is to get a circular polarizing filter. It can be used to remove glare from the windows. It can also be used to "move" the bright spots that the sun's reflection causes to enhance curves. Very, very handy tool for photographing cars.

This is all assuming you are using an SLR, not a point and shoot.

Circular polarizers are a great little tool for creating some very nice images

heres a link for one

Filters LINK

[monkeynuts]

Quote: Originally Posted by wibbly (original)

Some good tips here

Better tips at TRAX this year ol wibbers wudda made ur slippers curl!

[laura f]

Be aware of the colour temperature of light, particularly of artificial lights sources and around sunset/sunrise. Previous PW mini's react in a different way to a CR, obvious but easy to forget

[minisoopercooper]

If you have a Chilli red MINI be aware that it can either look pink or not zing as it should - night shoots are virtually impossible to look right for instance.

The best time of day to get the real red effect is the "golden hour" - the hour before sunset like this - no levels have been touched for this pic

[Pobsey]

Quote: Originally Posted by Jonmorgan (original)

:: Get low down - cars look great from a low angle.

Like this Jon?

[:: Jon ::]

Quote: Originally Posted by minisoopercooper (original)

If you have a Chilli red MINI be aware that it can either look pink or not zing as it should - night shoots are virtually impossible to look right for instance.

The best time of day to get the real red effect is the "golden hour" - the hour before sunset like this - no levels have been touched for this pic

Remove the colour with chilli red to make it alone stand out..

[minisoopercooper]

I really like that Jon