Help Shooting A Car Show

[bdbolin]

Hey guys, I'm needing some advice for a shoot at a local car show... what sort of things should I expect... what kind of shots should I be looking for... ect?

[sk66]

Car SHOW? Expect a lot of shiny cars. A CPL might be handy...other than that, pretty much anything will do ok.

[OsmosisStudios]

Ideally? Wide or ultra-wide angle lens, tripod, lots of lighting equipment and a CPL.

Minimum? Wide angle lens, tripod, CPL. That'll allow you to control reflections, get the wide-angle look and use sharp apertures even indoors.

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Ideally? Wide or ultra-wide angle lens, tripod, lots of lighting equipment and a CPL.

Minimum? Wide angle lens, tripod, CPL. That'll allow you to control reflections, get the wide-angle look and use sharp apertures even indoors.

.... not really.

You tend to get a lot of other "junk" in the photo with a wide angle lens at a car show.

Cars shows are a nightmare to get a "good" shot without it looking like every other tourist shot out there. If I'm not out on a specific assignment for a car and I'm at a car show scoping for 'talent', I tend to focus on details of the cars rather than the car itself.

Honestly, bring a macro lens (love my 105) and a 70-200. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Truth. Do it. No lie.

Here's a few examples from car shows... not a single "bugger picking, nascar-t-shirt-wearing, fanny pack having, finger prints all over my car, slob" in the photos. (I've got a fancy car, those are the folks who tend to touch my car.... Never touch a mans ride without asking. Period.

Also, see my posts about photographing cars.

How to shoot automobiles - Part: Une

Suggestions for shooting car events

[OsmosisStudios]

Max: really depends on your shooting style and what kind of look/shot you want. Predominantly, car shoots are done wide.

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Max: really depends on your shooting style and what kind of look/shot you want. Predominantly, car shoots are done wide.

Oh really?

No, they just aren't. just plain, flat out, are not all WIDE.

Look at EVERY magazine out there with cars, (maybe a rigged shot will get you a wide angle, granted but that's ONE shot), but beyond that all shots are done with a longer lens.

Ask me how I know all this.

If you want a bunch of wide angled shots with a ton of junk and people in the background of all your shots, be my guest... but don't be irritated at me because all the shots look just like every other tourist out there.

Good luck with that.

~Eric

Addendum:

Using a wide angle at a car show is a major rookie mistake in my book.

The logic is: Because the cars are packed in tight, we need a wide angle to get it all in.

Right?

Wrong.

You will never get a good "wide angle" shot at a car show, if you do... well, you're better than I and I've never seen one frankly. And by wide, I mean 10-24mm wide. Not the 24-70 wide.

Every single shot I've seen at a car show with a wide lens ends up looking so pedestrian it's not worth mention.

But, I digress... if average and "garden variety" are what you're after, be my guest. It won't sell you a damn photo.

~Eric

[bdbolin]

Thanks a ton for the advice! I'll check out those links you posted too! This exactly the stuff I was wanting to hear!

[BCampbell]

Originally Posted by OsmosisStudios

Max: really depends on your shooting style and what kind of look/shot you want. Predominantly, car shoots are done wide.

I don't agree with Eric often but I agree with him on this one. And that has nothing to do with his experiences with the subject.

When critiquing we talk a lot about distracting elements. If you've ever seen a car show, there are LOTS of distracting elements piled into fairly tight spaces. Not only are there people all around you and whatever backgrounds behind your subjects (where is this being held, indoors, a mall parking lot, a field surrounded by trees?), but you have, surprise surprise, plenty of other cars around. You don't want the backend of a Bugatti in your shot of a nice, clean 2002. You're not going to have a single car parked on the corkscrew to give you a nice sweeping landscape.

So yeah, macro and zoom telephoto are good options. On a crop body, the popular and cheap 50mm primes are good, they focus fairly close and open ncie and wide for lots of DOF options. Extension tubes on those might be even nicer, for even closer focusing. If you want wide, you could try looking into a fisheye that focuses extremely close, to get some wildly distorted shots, this can help to minimize the impact of distractions around a car (or any subject in this kind of situation).

[sk66]

As I said, pretty much anything will do....
I agree a wide angle *can* get you an interesting/different image used properly (i.e. VERY CLOSE to the subject). A macro can get you a great close up detail. A zoom will get a variety of possibilites.

If I wanted the best I could do I'd probably use my 180mm macro and move around alot. If I wanted ease, I'd bring my 80-200mm f/2.8. I would consider using my 12-24 for that certain shot, but it might not ever leave the bag (it seldom does).

Regardless of the lens a CPL will be useful.