Pics of my friend's car - C&C Please

[spngr311]

Here are some pictures of my friend's 5-series. I just picked up a flash that will trigger off camera and used my friend's umbrella. My friends and I experimented with different positions on the flash, and trying different shutter speeds. I also broadened my horizons by tightening up the aperture. I normally shoot between 2.8 and 4 with my 50mm, but tried out a bulb shot with f16. I never shoot with that, but now realize there are times when it can be very useful in car photography.

With flash, f2.8, forget the shutter speed:



No flash, f2.8, forget the shutter speed:



No flash, f2.8, longer shutter than previous shots:



No flash, f16, 1 min 30 sec exposure:

[jiro]

Rob, a friendly comment if I may - You have the talent and the idea to pull this one off, change the venue and look for a more exciting but less busy background. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[spngr311]

Thank you for the compliment, but I'm totally lost now! LOL! What do you mean by a more exciting but less busy background? I'm not sure what to even look for with that.

[jeeperman]

If I am seeing things similar to Jiro, I would say there are to many items lit by to many lights in the background. It is excessively busy. Maybe a few large city buildings or even a city skyline would work as long as it does not pull your eye from the subject.

On a positive note, you have captured a certain sex appeal of the car.

[jiro]

Thank you for the compliment, but I'm totally lost now! LOL! What do you mean by a more exciting but less busy background? I'm not sure what to even look for with that.

Something that will not rob me of my attention to the car itself. This shot was taken from www.bmwblog.com:


Though this is not a night photography, the idea is less clutter and more emphasis on the car. Hope this makes my idea clear. Thanks.

[spngr311]

Got ya. I have a few other locales to try out. It is funny that you said that about my friend's 5-series. He was down on his wheels, but after the pics he was surprised how good they really look on it!

[jiro]

Got ya. I have a few other locales to try out. It is funny that you said that about my friend's 5-series. He was down on his wheels, but after the pics he was surprised how good they really look on it!

Your shots are actually good. Unfortunately, the background does not seem to complement the car. I know another guy from another forum who is a car buff, too. This guy used a wide angle lens to shoot his Honda S2000 and with a very low POV the shot was really spectacular! He shot it at sunset using the broad red-orange color of the sun to create the right drama he needed for the reflections. Sometimes it takes some luck and imagination to come up with really awesome images of our own.

[BJ Denning]

I really like the last shot. However, I agree that my attention is on the starburst/cityscape and not the car.

[spngr311]

Thanks for the comments guys. I do agree with everything that has been said. Photographing cars is more like portraiture than I thought when I first started! I know exactly the spot that will work for this.

Jiro, the sunset shot you are talking about, I have been after that for a while! I hope that the flashes I have will work for it.

[speedneeder]

To me the background is just OK, not necessarily bad. The top of the car seems to be blending into the background, which is a distraction for me.

[jiro]

Jiro, the sunset shot you are talking about, I have been after that for a while! I hope that the flashes I have will work for it.

You can cheat a little bit, use a warming filter on the front of your strobe then fire away.

[Geoff F]

I think the first shot works reasonably well. It is the others which are way too cluttered in the background.

[spngr311]

I think I may try a shorter exposure with the flash shots. I think most of the clutter is coming from the intensity of the multiple light sources. I will also have to try moving the car a little more so I don't lose the passenger side A-pillar as bad. Thanks for helping me think about this more guys, it has been very helpful.