Carter N's Photography Advice Thread.

[dav3design]

Hey is this thread still going? I recently shot a black car and I really found it hard to get the lighting how I wanted it. The result below is a blended image of about 4 different images to paint in highlights.



I really struggled with light placement and picking out the lines of the car! The light positions were;

1 Canon 430EX II camera left 2m high pointing down towards the headlight about 3-4 meters away from the car.
1 Yongnuo YN460-II camera right 1m high to the rear of the car and slightly towards us pointing down the side of the car.

Any help would be great.

[corivus]

Still new to the site but trying to break into doing more car photography then anything else. I have done event photography in the past mostly along with photos for an animal rescue. A few things I've really wanted tips on is for getting better low light photography. Currently I'm shooting with a Nikon D7000 using a Nikon SB700 for light when needed and a mixture of different lens which I listed below. The only Software I use is Adobe Lightroom 3 or Picassa, I have an older version of photoshop (ver. 6) which was the last time I used photo editing software.

I don't have any real schooling and have been doing this on my own overtime so any advice would be nice. I've done speed photos of moving objects before in regular light with success but mostly with wildlife or people's pets or of people in particular. I'm wondering if getting a nikkor 10-24 lens would be a good idea since I want to do more automotive photography? or is what I have alright? Would a 18-200 be better? Any thoughts on the Novatron 500 setup?


Nikon D7000
Nikkor 35mm f1.8
Nikkor 55-200 4-5.6
Sigma 18-50 f2.8-4.5
Nikkon SB700
Novatron 500 w/2 light strobes

Sigma 18-59 f2.8-4.5


Nikkor 35mm f1.8


Nikkor 35mm f1.8




Nikon D3000 w/ nikkor 35mm f1.8

[K.Stockdale]

I was wondering the best way to do rolling shots? Both slow and at speed. I've been trying to get one of those stunning rollers but I think my settings may be off.

This is how most of my rollers come out. There is one shot I have in particular that came out with the rolling blur, but my shot was out of focus...

[Jozi]

I've never done rolling shots but you want a slower shutter speed to get the background blur but you have more chance of camera shake then. Try a few different shutter speeds next time and see how you get on.

[JJ.]

Followed your thread for a while, but didn't have a camera till now!

Took this pic but I'm not happy with the how the sky is all white. There are no clouds visible on the picture but they definitely were there.

[Jozi]

Thats down to white (bright sky) and black (car) having 2 different exposure levels. To capture the sky you would need a short shutter speed but this would leave the car dark (under exposed), a longer shutter speed will be better for the car but then the sky gets blown out.

If you use lightroom or photoshop for processing you can bring down the highlights in the sky and get some of the cloud back.

To get the sky exposed correctly you meter on the sky and then re-compose on the car, but the car and everything else will be darker.

If your just starting out with photography I recommend getting the following book: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Exposure-3rd-Edition-Photographs/dp/0817439390"]"Understanding exposure"[/ame]

[JJ.]

Thanks for the advise! You're completely right of course, i tried correcting it with lightroom but it didn't help that much without ruining the rest of the picture :P

But I learned from it, so thank you!

This pic did turn out a lot better I think

[Jozi]

You could use a graded (I think thats what they are called) filter on the cam. Or in lightroom use the brush or filter tool to step down the exposure a little on the sky. But if the sky is over exposed to much you've lost some of the detail and cant get it back.

What I would do is meter for the sky and shoot like that if you want to keep the sky and in LR correct the subjects exposure while keeping the sky how you want it.

Your 2nd pic did turn out much better, good job!


I have a good few sets of images I want to re-process at some point and try and find some consistency that I'm happy with. The next few were from a classic BMW meet earlier this year, comments etc more than welcome!






I probably like the last two of the CSL the best.

[hondarida5]

You could use a graded (I think thats what they are called) filter on the cam. Or in lightroom use the brush or filter tool to step down the exposure a little on the sky. But if the sky is over exposed to much you've lost some of the detail and cant get it back.

What I would do is meter for the sky and shoot like that if you want to keep the sky and in LR correct the subjects exposure while keeping the sky how you want it.

Your 2nd pic did turn out much better, good job!


I have a good few sets of images I want to re-process at some point and try and find some consistency that I'm happy with. The next few were from a classic BMW meet earlier this year, comments etc more than welcome!






I probably like the last two of the CSL the best.

Good Shots and i really agree on the car's style.

[JJ.]

You could use a graded (I think thats what they are called) filter on the cam. Or in lightroom use the brush or filter tool to step down the exposure a little on the sky. But if the sky is over exposed to much you've lost some of the detail and cant get it back.

What I would do is meter for the sky and shoot like that if you want to keep the sky and in LR correct the subjects exposure while keeping the sky how you want it.

Your 2nd pic did turn out much better, good job!


I have a good few sets of images I want to re-process at some point and try and find some consistency that I'm happy with. The next few were from a classic BMW meet earlier this year, comments etc more than welcome!


I probably like the last two of the CSL the best.

Thanks, I tried the using grading filters in Lightroom but it was def over exposed
I'll try your method next time! Thanks.

Your pics look nice, love old BMW's

[EiNRiDE]

My first stab at light painting



30 sec exposure and the light I used was a fluorescent work light. Was´nt I moving fast enough or why did I get traces of the light?

[ShenStyles]

I just recently picked up a DSLR. Actually 3 weeks from today. Shooting with a Canon t3i and the kit lens (18-55mm). Been playing with the different settings a lot! Very very new to the game but always had a love for photography. And being a sketch artist, I view it as an art. So why not if I could afford it now! ha. Anyways, I love the vibe in this thread. Everyone is learning from one another and sharing some great information/techniques/etc. I would like some critique from some photos I've taken recently. And Carter, I have to say, you have some very nice work!

Thanks

At a monthly car meet in Leander, TX. Here are a couple of shots I took and edited in Photoshop CS5.

The McLaren


The 458


My next project, is to try light painting!!