Carter N's Photography Advice Thread.

[Jay Ace]

Why not just do a long exposure? I can understand if there is absolutely no artificial lighting around but otherwise a long exposure (30s+) will give you much better results and it image will apear more natural, if you ask me.

[DubLuv]

just got an old generator running and i have one of these from my dad's construction company

(its about 6ft tall)
wondering how you guys would approach taking a night shot of a car with that kind of lighting

[Carter N]

Gah, I check this thread sometimes and nothing has happened, and then I come back and it blows up lol... I will look over and write responses to everyone over the next couple of days, thanks for posting!

[Kielan]

just got an old generator running and i have one of these from my dad's construction company

(its about 6ft tall)
wondering how you guys would approach taking a night shot of a car with that kind of lighting

Because of the temperature of those lights you will be messing with your white balance for quite a while, I personally wouldn't use them. They are also pretty harsh lights, and the light won't be very even. But I'm also not a huge advocate for artificial lighting so I may be biased.

[Carter N]

Jovany's Mazada Speed 3 by Carter N, on Flickr

[runningpanda]

^Juicy.

[Doc]

2 things

1) when taking rolling shots like the one below, do you take a larger shot and crop it down after in the post processing stage??

when a car is driving to you (or away from you) it will need a smaller area to see the surroundings and such of the car compared to when the car is in front of you

do you just set the camera up in one spot/angle knowing where/size in relation to the car and background
(I'm thinking about this for using continuous shots to get more options to find the best result, you would have to move the camera as the car drives by)

2) I bought a tripod and was looking for some advice on what head to get
i have a Manfrotto 190CXProB for reference

Canon T1i
heaviest lens is 70-200 F4
in total less then 3 Lbs so any head should be able to work

[Uberwagen]

just got an old generator running and i have one of these from my dad's construction company

(its about 6ft tall)
wondering how you guys would approach taking a night shot of a car with that kind of lighting

I know with these types of lights you can get hyper white bulbs that give off more usable light.

[Carter N]

By the bay by Carter N, on Flickr

[DubLuv]

I know with these types of lights you can get hyper white bulbs that give off more usable light.

I'll look into buying the bulbs. I was also recently given this lens http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._1_2_Lens.html
wondering if anyone knows what type of camera this fits or if there is an adapter for it?

[Kielan]

Different bulbs won't solve how harsh the light is, I bet the ultra white bulbs will be even more harsh than the normal bulbs in there.

That lens won't fit a DSLR its designed for Canon video cameras. I don't know if there are any adapters out there, but eBay would probably be your best place to check.

[DubLuv]

not that hard to figure out it wouldnt fit lol. but im having no luck finding an adapter

[Kielan]

Doesn't really surprise me. Video lenses are pretty different lol.

[vdubkid]

please tear me apart. i think i've got a major issue with exposure, plus i've been having trouble with back focusing on my canon 350d. but yeah, what would you guys do differently? how can i make these better?

here's a few of what i think are my best

[Kielan]

George, I've watched your photography for a while, and you have seriously come a long way, that roller of Matt's 7 and the panning shot of that 240 are very solid photos. I honestly can't say more than get out there and keep shooting, you're seriously getting better, and better.

I know about back focusing issues as well, as my 50mm is doing the same to me, (which is a real shame because its my favorite lens and I use it almost exclusively), but I learned that a slightly missed focus really won't kill the image, and most people won't notice it at all. The only solution I have come up with, is to take 2 shots instead of one, chances are one of them will be more in focus than the other.