hyethug015

alright so weve all seen the bad ass pics in car magazines, more in the tuner magazines but none the less the sexy pics under fluorescent lights and all. does anyone have any idea how to take these pics? im using my uncles Canon SLR. great camera but i guess its the settings i need to mess with and have no idea whats ideal? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

Richard in NC

That can't be answered in a single reply. Unfortunately there are no magic settings. But, here are some tips for better pictures:

1. Of course, wash and wax the car for the best shine.
2. Find a location with minimal clutter that compliments the car. Look over the whole scene, you don't want any light poles "growing" out the roof of the car. Plain buildings seem to work as do mountain back drops, or the woods for some colors of cars.
3. Shoot early morning or late evening. Make sure the sun is behind you but not directly.
4. Pay close attention to the reflections in the car. Don't let anything distract from the lines. Allow the ground versus sky reflection to accentuate the curves.
5. A polarizer filter can help cut the glare and sharpen the sky and contrasts.
6. Pros use large white or silver reflectors the throw the light onto the car.
7. Experiment with angles, take tons of shots. I prefer low 3/4 level shots but artsy angles work very well.

Here is one of my best. Most of the above tips played a role in the shot. The background is busy but the car "belongs" with that mansion.

audit5050

Great picture at the Biltmore. Too bad about the lion "growing" out of the rear window.

KnIgHtCoM

I was thinking the same thing.

Murray

It usually takes me about 2.5-3 hours to get setup for a car shoot depending on location. Setting up lights, scrims, softboxes, scaffolding, lights, more lights, and telling the art director why he can't have the shot he wants because of the ambient light being in the wrong place for the time of day take up most of the setup time.

Good looking photos however can be achieved by anyone with a basic knowledge of photography, patience and shooting lots and lots of photos to find out what works and what doesn't. I'd follow Richard's advice and add vary depth of field to his list and you will be off to a great start to get some good shots. The first thing you want to do is pick the location you want to take your shots to set the tone of the image - even if you are using a shallow depth of field (e.g. low F-Stop), then decide what you want to draw attention to in the image. Is it the whole car or just a part of the car ? From those two decisions, time of day, angles, filters, lighting etc., etc. choose themselves for me.

Take lots of pics, experiement and have fun - And don't forget to show us the results !

Cheers,
Murray.

MacSid

That lion seems to be pondering whether or not to take a chomp at the 8er's ass...

littlemouse

I think it was an early version of the shark fin ariel

boltoa

Nobody has mentioned the fairly basic tip of using a tripod or other kind of support, which I find helps a surprising amount. Even a tiny amount of camera shake can cause a photo to not look as sharp as it could.

Not that I'm a professional or even anywhere near it, but I always get better shots of anything off a tripod (or monopod, or brick wall, or whatever).

TexaZ3

Great list above. Don't forget the tripod, and never shoot when sunny outside. Overcast sky is hte best. Use natural light as much as possible.
My former 530i I did with my D40x:

Richard in NC

Unless you want the sun to highlight the colorshift in many BMW paints. Dawn or dusk are best. Mid day is not.