What’s Your Preference?

#1 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 05:03 PM

Car photography has never really interested me much, but I do like to take cool photos. The local car club has asked the local photography club to come out and take photos (I might have instigated that), and I want to make it look good.

I love the car photos where there is tons of background blur but the car is sharp. These photos are usually taken very close to the car with a wide angle lens.

I found this blog post:
Take Cool Car Photos With A DIY Specialized Car Rig | DIYPhotography.net

and am thinking about taking the plunge into buying the equipment. My big fear is that the suction cups will damage the paint, and I'll have some pissed off car owners. I could probably suction cup to the back window for some of the cars, but not all (like the Tesla Roadster).

Anyone have this type of setup and can give any feedback?

(I'm looking at you Max)

#2 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 06:17 PM

*looks around*

Me?

*waits for punchline*.... *... wait, this is a serious question?*

*licks fingers, slicks back eyebrows*

Well, then, lets dive in.

#1, this type of thing takes a lot of practice to get it right. A LOT of practice. I'm dead serious.
#2. This usually takes 30-60 minutes to set up per car and to shoot.
#3. The equipment is fairly pricey if you don't get paid for it.
#4. Paint won't flake off, be more worried about denting the car.

Did I mention practice, patience and a lot of people getting mad at you having to do it over and over again?

It's not easy.

Here's a few examples of stuff I've done.

Just a few examples. It's a high-risk, medium reward venture.

zona5101 · #3 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 06:25 PM

besides Max, reach out to RCubed here on DPS, he is doing some nice work with car shots....even a "how i took it" thread with a rigged camera...

Rolling Rig shot.

#4 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 06:28 PM

Very nice. That's exactly what I'm looking to do.

Setup time usually isn't an issue for me. I've spent days/hours preparing for some shots. And as an engineer, I usually have just as much fun preparing for the shot as I do taking it

And I know it's not easy...that's why I want to do it.

And this is just for fun. If I make any money on it, it'll be just enough to cover the cost of my gear. I'm not looking to do this professionally (I'll leave that up to you

)

So do you have similar equipment? From the website I posted:
Three Aluminum Piping Sections, 1.5" Diameter Approximately, 4-5' in length
Two Compression Couplers
Three Manfrotto Super Clamps (B&H)
Two Avenger F1000 Suction Cups (B&H)
One Manfrotto Magic Arm (B&H)

Any better recommendations?

#5 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Photoboothguy

Very nice. That's exactly what I'm looking to do.

Setup time usually isn't an issue for me. I've spent days/hours preparing for some shots. And as an engineer, I usually have just as much fun preparing for the shot as I do taking it

And I know it's not easy...that's why I want to do it.

And this is just for fun. If I make any money on it, it'll be just enough to cover the cost of my gear. I'm not looking to do this professionally (I'll leave that up to you

)

So do you have similar equipment? From the website I posted:
Three Aluminum Piping Sections, 1.5" Diameter Approximately, 4-5' in length
Two Compression Couplers
Three Manfrotto Super Clamps (B&H)
Two Avenger F1000 Suction Cups (B&H)
One Manfrotto Magic Arm (B&H)

Any better recommendations?

Not in hell. I dented a car once... that was enough for me to never use that again.

#6 (**permalink**) 06-16-2011, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zona5101

besides Max, reach out to RCubed here on DPS, he is doing some nice work with car shots....even a "how i took it" thread with a rigged camera...

Rolling Rig shot.

Thanks! Looks like he's using the same gear that I've been looking at.