It looks like there's an international auto show here in San Francisco and was thinking of going. Never shot photos indoors of cars so need tips on proper techniques and possible necessary equipments.

1. Any tips on technique would be greatly appreciated.
2. Equipment-wise, I have a d70s, sigma 10-20, kit lens 18-70, 50mm 1.8, circular polarizer. Do I need anything else? External flash?

Thanks again. I've received and read a lot of tips here and I've all put them to good use.

I'm not an expert here (or even close), but I guess it won't hurt to suggest.

Since the cars at autoshows are dressed up and have their "accents", you can opt to focus on the accents, and have it in reference with the car (so that the subject and background will have a connection).

i'm like raffy.. i am not an expert.. well, in any that, for now, that is.. but suggestions can't hurt anybody right?

here it goes.
1.) a friend of mine told me that he went to this car show in manila.. and his friend like the shot of his mustang.. most were detailed shots.. the logos.. the sides of the car.. the engine.. and what was most captivating was the photographer shot a screw from the car.. and the nice thing was this was the shot that his friend liked most because he restored the car from scratch.. you get what i mean.. =)
2.) i love taking shots of vintage cars.. i think car enthusiasts appreciates this more.. well, i do.. =)


well, these are just my small suggestions.. have fun!

I'm not a pro at all, but I've attended quite a few of them to have a little clue about them...

Vantage point will be key, since the lighting isn't the same as "car launch" shows, these cars are usually lit by floor mounted flood lights... You won't really get much quality lighting from the top.

I find a table-top tripod really helps since using flash kinda kills the paint work depth or gloss.

Interior wise, bounce flash works great on some interiors, but I usually prefer a longer shutter speed since most show cars have neons and car-audio equipment that are glowing inside.

It really depends if you're attending an indoor show, outdoor show, custom/tricked out show, or industry-related motorshows.

I'd use a telephoto for model shoots though (the human models), but for cars, I'd suggest 100mm or lower.

Might want to shoot RAW as well since lighting temp is so varied and the quality of light is usually poor in local shows.

Lastly, protruding emblems, large-chromed grilles... Always a great subject :D

Damn... After typing all this, I just re-read your post and you're attending a SFO show hehe. Most US shows have good metal halide type lights mounted high up on the ceiling... Gives the paint additional depth in photos.

As always, meter the paint well on darker cars... Meter the highlights to get a deeper, wetter paint. Meter the shadows to get a "mirror-like" finish.

HTH

As always, meter the paint well on darker cars... Meter the highlights to get a deeper, wetter paint. Meter the shadows to get a "mirror-like" finish.


Never knew this :) Pretty cool info.

Bring the wide and the kit. The fifty if you think that the light won't be sufficient or you'd need shallow DOF.

Go early or stay late so that there are less people when you shoot the cars when you get there or before you leave. :)

the most important don't forget to shoot the booty models

Here are some samples... (straight crop from the L6, no post processing)... Same car, same shot, just different area metered.

Metered on dark part of the car (like the tire or something).

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a69/theveed/th_DSCN0659_cr.jpg

Metered on the highlight (like the glass)

http://s9.photobucket.com/albums/a69/theveed/th_DSCN0658_cr.jpg

You can duplicate this using Levels and Curves in PS as well, but why bother if you can get the same result just by moving the camera during the shoot hehe.

Of course, this is a lot easier if the paint is in great shape to begin with...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a69/theveed/165153_113_full.jpg (Factory 94 Corolla Paint)

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a69/theveed/18081677-2.jpg

HTH

Thanks for all the tip, everyone. I'll see if I can put them to good use this weekend. Thanks again.

wow sir theeved! not only you're great in car detailing, but on how to bring the best out of your car in photography pa! galing.. :D

*sipsip *ubo *ubo *discount *ubo *ubo ;)

thanks for giving some insights in shooting cars. :)

hi giovanni,

i just came back from car show here in davao city and this was my first crack at it.

the things i noticed.

walk around first and observe
bring wide and tele
shoot low
shoot fast (people cross your field of view often)
shoot overall and detail as well
if they have models (which they didnt have here in davao), use the car as a backdrop it somehow makes the car more intersting
shoot crowd shots, those that examine the detail of the car

have fun!

cheers

http://static.flickr.com/108/307518217_2f0c857cce.jpg

Mini Cooper in SilverCity last weekend.

http://static.flickr.com/119/307659496_ce1595434b.jpg

Pagoda SL

http://static.flickr.com/117/308603277_40595e7f48.jpg

One more... Hachi-Roku

Well, tried my hand at it and felt like a fish out of water. The lighting at the exotic car section was terrible (except for the jaguar area but I wouldn't call jaguars exotics). Had to use iso 800 and I needed a bigger flash, I think. No models at the show. Overall, I found it enjoyable and made me realize I need a lot of practice in shooting indoors (pretty much 100% of my photos were shot outdoors).

Mustang 500GT Shelby Cobra....

http://static.flickr.com/105/309007494_c9bcb2c48e.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/114/309007533_9289a2de94.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/118/309007206_72439de656.jpg

I love mustangs and I wished there were old restored versions of classic mustangs there also.

I fell in love with this car. Small, fast, probably corners like it's on rails, agressive looks, and affordable with starting price of 57K U$. But the lighting in the area was terrible :Mad: .

Lotus Exige....

http://static.flickr.com/116/309007257_8bc62a87f2.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/113/309007309_9838113ed5.jpg

Here are some previous car shots that i took:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/410650989_5fcdde4378.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/410650982_81ee0f365c.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/153/410650980_759dc01804.jpg http://farm1.static.flickr.com/136/328595197_493f12b7b7.jpg

Nice shots Giovanni! The quarter angle shots are my favorites :)

When shooting car shows, I find it better to use manual metering to get my desired effect.

TFS.