Police Lights?

[Kasifornia]

What would be the best way to capture the lights on an officers car?

I'm new to all of this and really want to capture a great shot of the lights.

Thanks!

[JerInTheBox]

Well it depends what you're trying to capture. Got anything in mind? Right off the bat I'd suggest shooting them at night because that's when lights look the nicest. If you do that you'll want to do it somewhere the car can be pretty well-lit as well. The cherries and berries (word, yo) will be pretty bright so the car will need to be lit kinda bright so that it's not just black. You could also go for a slightly longer exposure and let the lights paint the car and the surrounding area in blue and red.

Check out some of this guy's work, he does great night stuff with cars and purty lights (and it doesn't hurt to throw some hot girls into the mix):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fodder/...7594211710985/

Should be a pretty interesting shot, look forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Kasifornia]

I've got an idea in mind but I'm not sure how to properly word it. I've looked at flickr and they don't have anything like it. I know I want to be very close up. I want to be able to see the cover of the light as well as the bulb and I want the glare of the light surrounding it.

It will be at night. We've got pretty good lighting in our work parking lot, I can get one of the officers to set up there tomorrow.

I don't want the vehicle in view. I'll post my results tomorrow, I just don't know what mode to use or aperture or shutter spead. I've been experimenting and reading the last two nights. I'm getting it down, some.

lol at 'cherries and berries'

[kirbinster]

You will need a long exposure, otherwise you will freeze the light and not get the movement and color change effect.

[Kasifornia]

Okay, so my attempt at this totally blew. I'll have to try again another time. The officer I used didn't have the rotating lights anymore.. That didn't help. So I have to find a whole new officer to beg.

But I couldn't even get STREAKS. I just couldn't get it. I tried with long and short exposures.. I tried with fast and slow shutter speeds. I tried with high and low ISO and aperture...

Couldn't get it. So I'll be reading for the next few days

Thanks for all the help!