How to shoot cars in a studio?

[Baldy]

:scratch Yikes, some car collectors asked me to shoot their cars and the more thought I give it the harder it seems to get right.

The cars are incredibly big (think Deusenberg) and shiny. They reflect everything.

So I'm thinking of setting up a temporary studio that I can roll them into that's essentially 4-sided to suppress reflections. And I'm thinking of making a light source that's like a huge soft box that's bigger than the Deusenbergs are by using 4 flash heads through a huge sheet or collection of them.

I'm thinking black. Some of the cars are black.

Your thoughts.

[patch29]

This (http://www.chimeralighting.com/products/product_detail.cfm?product=f2) is what you are looking for. I am sure you can rent them in CA.

[patch29]

If you are not sure of a good rental location. Photosource (http://photosource.netsville.com/) is a great place to look. They list rental locations around the world.

[rutt]

Sounds hard. One possibility is to shoot them in a dramatic outdoor location on an overcast day or late in the afternoon. I'm thinking about ocean or canyons in the background. If the cars are black, what about a sandy background? Or you could use a famous San Francisco location (looking down at the Golden Gate from the park on the Marin side?)

I think my imagination has been posoned by car ads in magazines.

[rutt]

I dug around on the web a little and found lots of pictures of Duesenbergs. Many were not actually good photographs, but I liked this and it shows how an outdoor location can work.

http://www.speedygrl.com/Racer/wallpapers/1931_duesenberg_j_weymann_speedster.jpg

[rutt]

Notice the photrapher's trick. He shot at an angle so that no surface was perpendicular to the camera (so the photographer's refliction won't show.) There isn't else to reflect except sky, and I suppose that would be fine.

[fish]

Sounds hard. One possibility is to shoot them in a dramatic outdoor location on an overcast day or late in the afternoon. I'm thinking about ocean or canyons in the background. If the cars are black, what about a sandy background? Or you could use a famous San Francisco location (looking down at the Golden Gate from the park on the Marin side?)

I think my imagination has been posoned by car ads in magazines.
I know this guy who takes really good photos of cool cars outdoors. Perhaps you could ask him for some tips? :rofl

http://cmac.smugmug.com/photos/1004-M-1.jpg

http://cmac.smugmug.com/photos/1081-M-1.jpg

http://cmac.smugmug.com/photos/654033-M-1.jpg

[rutt]

These are great!

Notice this guy also avoids perpendicular angles and keeps himself out of the reflections.

[pathfinder]

These are great!

Notice this guy also avoids perpendicular angles and keeps himself out of the reflections.

Tilt&Shift lenses might be useful too
http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/images/lens_button_sm/ts_e-45-f28.gif in that they allow the photographer to keep themselves out of the reflections

More info is available here http://www.usa.canon.com/html/eflenses/images/lens_button_sm/ts_e-45-f28.gif

and here
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/movements.shtmlhttp://www.dgrin.com/images/icons/lickout.gif

[wxwax]

I know this guy who takes really good photos of cool cars outdoors. Perhaps you could ask him for some tips? :rofl


I dunno Fish, those are pretty weak... I think Baldy's looking for something that will raise the bar. Right Baldy? :D

[fish]

I dunno Fish, those are pretty weak... I think Baldy's looking for something that will raise the bar. Right Baldy? probably, but it's really hard to beat perfect ambient lighting on a perfectly manicured lawn.


are those reflections of clouds in the lower edge of the body? or damage?

[zero-zero]

Baldy,

as much as I admire your photography, you might be biting too much here - car photography is a real PITA in a studio, and a completely different sport than shooting outside. You'll need major lighting gear and either a light bank as that Chimera or a tiltable ceiling panel to use as a giant reflector. That means renting a specialized studio, and once you're there, the fun is probably gone from the whole exercise. I don't shoot cars in my studio, but I've shot motorcycles and that is a challenge in itself if you go for the "liquid" look.

I'd strongly advise location photography instead, with additional lighting. You'll feel more confident and will probably get better results.

Here's a website to get you all jittery: Chris Bayley's site (http://www.kitsuman.com/chrisbailey/) :bow. Pay special attention to the simple but effective outdoor shots.

If you get to photograph a Bugatti Atlantic, I want a copy of the pic! :D

[Baldy]

Wow, that Chris Bayley stuff is amazing. Fortunately, I don't need to do anything so artistic.

I shot a couple of Bugatti Atlantics at Concours last year, which is what led up to the current project:

http://cmac.smugmug.com/photos/640223-L-1.jpg

http://cmac.smugmug.com/photos/640489-L-1.jpg

What amazing cars they are.

The current project is for Jay Leno, who was showing a Bugatti at the show and whom I met while shooting his car. We'd like to create a really nice online display of his cars and motorcycles at smugmug.

The problem is he has over 100 cars and 83 motorcycles and taking each one to a good location with the right light would be a huge project. The good thing is he has them together in big hangars at the Burbank airport, so there is room for a temp studio to roll them into.

I have a friend with a car collection locally and a big building, where I can practice. Since Jay's in Burbank, I figure I can rent anything I want down there.

A lot of collectors use Ron Kimball (http://ronkimballstock.com) to shoot their cars. He's got a studio locally and I think you can tell a lot about his lighting by looking at the shots:

This one looks like he used small light sources:

http://www.ronkimballstock.com/pr/%7E390739406%7EAUT_18_RK0028_09.jpg

This one looks like a big source with a highlight for the model's hair:

http://www.ronkimballstock.com/pr/%7E390739406%7EWMN_03_RK0266_04.jpg

Big source, nothing fancy. This is kinda what I had in mind:

http://www.ronkimballstock.com/pr/%7E390739406%7EAUT_18_RK0010_05.jpg

I don't think Jay is into it being too artsy. He has a very fine eye for cars and wants to see the cars clearly and have them — not the setting — take center stage.

[rutt]

Wow, nothing wrong with those car pictures! So just get Jay Leno to have a festive parade of his cars and you'll be all set.

[wxwax]

The Ron Kimball pics don't show up in Baldy's post. Cut-n-paste time. Firebird/XP Pro.

EDIT: Odd, dead links when I cut and paste them. :scratch Y'all see the Kimball pics?

[hutchman]

Baldy,

A long time ago and in a land far away, I worked for Hogan Racing, which was a CART Team based in St. Louis. In '99 Helio Castro-Neves was driving for Carl (Hogan). We were a owner financed team, with a mid range budget of around 7 million dollars. Because we did not have a huge coporate sponser, we tried to get by on somewhat less money than other teams did. And because of this, we were one of only 2 teams (I think) that year to run Lolas. Helio as you know if you follow open wheel racing went on to win the last 2 out of 3 Indy 500s for Penske.

Because we were very successful with the Lola that year, we were invited to take the car to Rick Graves in Santa Monica for a full color 6 page shoot for the centerfold in Racer Magazine. We arrived early in the AM for the shoot and unloaded the car. It had been detailed following the last race at Laguna Seca, but still took about 5 hours to bring it up the Graves' standards. He spent several hours setting up the shoot and finally started around 3 pm. Alot of this time was spent getting rid of glare from shiny parts. The last shot was an overhead in the parking lot with natural light from the sunset.

Your point about shiny stuff was interesting. I was the team tire technician and took some pride in keeping our polished magnesium wheels as shiny as possible. They were so good that day, he had to put something on them (I can't remember what he used) to dull them up.

Getting to the point. His studio was all flat black and was freshly painted the morning we started. No one walked on the black paint - paper was put down any place we stepped. After the car was rolled into place the floor was painted again. The studio was as close to perfect as it could get.


Enough of this rambling, but the website is :

http://www.rickgraves.com/index.html

I you are interested, the car was the centerfold in the November 1999 issue of Racer Magazine.

Hutch

[ian408]

Go for the outdoors stuff. Looks better. At least more natural.

The question is where can you park on the grass that has a great
background.

[zero-zero]

The Ron Kimball pics don't show up in Baldy's post. Cut-n-paste time. Firebird/XP Pro.

EDIT: Odd, dead links when I cut and paste them. :scratch Y'all see the Kimball pics?
Nope. Same setup you're using. No joy using IE 6 either, gives me a 404.

[Baldy]

Nope. Same setup you're using. No joy using IE 6 either, gives me a 404.Ron must block external linking from his site.

Strangely, I saw him at the voting booth yesterday. He must live within 2 miles of me. I've been a big fan of his for awhile.

[cmr164]

Ron must block external linking from his site.

Strangely, I saw him at the voting booth yesterday. He must live within 2 miles of me. I've been a big fan of his for awhile.
We went through this on other threads already. It is illegal to display other folks images without their permission. Be satisfied to list links to Ron's site.

[DoctorIt]

We went through this on other threads already. It is illegal to display other folks images without their permission. Be satisfied to list links to Ron's site.he "referenced" him right at the beginning, AND he's the list owner, not an idiot.

[cmr164]

he "referenced" him right at the beginning, AND he's the list owner, not an idiot.
http://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/yelrotflmao.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/roflol.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/yelrotflmao.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/lol3.gif apples and oranges http://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/yelrotflmao.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/roflol.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/yelrotflmao.gifhttp://www.dgrin.com./images/smilies/lol3.gif

[zero-zero]

Just let go - it's not gonna happen, period. Hey, I am a pro and protect my work as much as any, but take this from me: you're fighting a lost battle.

Plus, I don't think that bluntly telling Baldy how he can be satisfied or not is gonna win you many friends... you should know what I'm talking about.

[DoctorIt]

The current project is for Jay Leno, who was showing a Bugatti at the show and whom I met while shooting his car. We'd like to create a really nice online display of his cars and motorcycles at smugmug.

The problem is he has over 100 cars and 83 motorcycles and taking each one to a good location with the right light would be a huge project. The good thing is he has them together in big hangars at the Burbank airport, so there is room for a temp studio to roll them into.

I just read that one more time - You are shooting Jay Leno's collection!!!!

:bow :bow :clap

need anyone to like hold flashes, get coffee, or somethin????

[cmr164]

Just let go - it's not gonna happen, period. Hey, I am a pro and protect my work as much as any, but take this from me: you're fighting a lost battle.

Plus, I don't think that bluntly telling Baldy how he can be satisfied or not is gonna win you many friends... you should know what I'm talking about.
I also run some sites and while I don't know Baldy personally, I really think he probably also got a chuckle out of "AND he's the list owner, not an idiot." Anyone who has run lists and sites and has interacted with others who do so, *knows* how funny that is.

[zero-zero]

Notice I never referenced Doc's post, I was talking about yours. His being the site owner has nothing to do with this.

[fish]

Notice I never referenced Doc's post, I was talking about yours. His being the site owner has nothing to do with this.
How come I can't see any of Charles' posts anymore? It's like they vanished!







:lol

[wxwax]

Baldy,
A long time ago and in a land far away, I worked for Hogan Racing, which was a CART Team based in St. Louis.
Hutch


Nice story, Hutch. I was in St. Louis at the time, I remember where Hogan is located, right near my GF's TV station. I can't believe the team budget was only $7 million. Unbelievable.

[zero-zero]

How come I can't see any of Charles' posts anymore? It's like they vanished!







:lol:rofl

[VespaFitz]

I'm late to the party here, and I'm a total crap photographer, but I can give a one of my editor's suggestions (read: demands) about shooting cars. This doesn't necessarily apply to Baldy's question, but I thought you might be interested.

Aside from the action shots from Pebble Beach and car shows in general, we never -- NEVER -- accept photography of cars on grass, and most of your good car mags won't either.

So much photography has been taken of cars on grass that it seems kind of natural now, but the fundamental question is, how often do you see a car driving across a golf course?

When location shooting, we use one of those gold reflector things to cast a bit of warm light into the interior, especially on black cars. The inside of a black car is like looking into a freakin' mineshaft.

We also use a white sheet to block direct sunlight when shooting under the hood. We might also use the gold reflector thing to put a bit of warm light on the engine parts.

Detail shots require that the steering wheel be absolutely straight, the wheels and center caps be completely straight, and that the keys be out of the ignition. Aftermarket floormats, hang tags, visor cards (all that crap that car collectors covet and pay a lot of money for) are all removed.

But what do I know? I'm a writer.

[fish]

Is it okay to have an Orlando Cepeda bobblehead on the dash?

[VespaFitz]

Is it okay to have an Orlando Cepeda bobblehead on the dash?
http://dukegirl.smugmug.com/photos/2532412-S.jpg

Oh, I forgot to mention the book "How to Photograph Cars" by James Mann. It's published by Motorbooks International and it's really good. There's a section on studio photography in there for Baldy.

FWIW, I just thumbed through it again, and there isn't a single picture of a car on a lawn.

[fish]

FWIW, I just thumbed through it again, and there isn't a single picture of a car on a lawn. http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0873497570.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

http://www.dropbears.com/b/broughsbooks/autos/images/mercmcla.gif

http://a1055.g.akamai.net/f/1055/1401/5h/images.barnesandnoble.com/images/1870000/1872380.gif

http://graphics.jsonline.com/graphics/sports/gen/img/feb03/ryan216.jpg

http://www.grass-car.com/grasscar%27.jpg

http://www.monstercable.com/caraudio1/stable_destoppics/Grass_F355_800x600.jpg

http://www.f1-pics.com/australia01/australia2001_100.jpg


snob.

[cletus]

snob.
:rofl

[DoctorIt]

http://www.f1-pics.com/australia01/australia2001_100.jpg


snob.So thats how schumacher wins all those races by minutes! After he pulls a little lead, the cameras stop showing him (then i usually fall asleep), and he increases his lead by cutting corners.

Sneaky bastard.
:D