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Anyone Shooting Cars with a D60

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mhossey

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I just started a new job photographing new and used cars that come into the cadillac-saab-Honda dealership. The pictures they have up on their site are typical, not very good but they get the job done. Just to clarify, I'm not shooting mega HDR shots that are being photoshopped for hours on end. I'm merely taking 35 quick pictures of each as I pull each one into a small showroom to photograph.

My work gave me a D60 to shoot with, and they seem to be happy with the pictures already on their site (my job is to keep updating) I want to give them atleast something decent, any suggestions on what settings etc I should be considering. Right now I'm just using the auto focus. I have about 20 min with each car to get 25 ish shots. So I'm just curious what are some things I could do to bump up the overall eyecatchiness of each photo.

The room I use is pretty full of light coming from the ceiling, I pull a huge curtian to create a wall on the other side, where natural sunlight floods through the cracks that the curtian doesnt catch.

Any advice would be awesome! Thanks!

Michael

Posted 1 year ago #
bernard

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Welcome aboard mhossey ! :)

Any chance to see some of your shots ?

I guess the lens that came with the D60 is the usual 18-55 zoom ? IMHO you could do with a wider angle lens and an external flash like the simple (and cheap) SB-400 whose head can be rotated through 90° vertically.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bland

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Welcome mhossey and like bernard asked, if you could post one of your shots people on here could tell you what you'll need to do.

Posted 1 year ago #
sevencrossing

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mhossey said:
. So I'm just curious what are some things I could do to bump up the overall eyecatchiness of each photo.

.......

Michael

If the lightlighing and the background is identical in all the shots, you have a challenging assignment

an SB 400 is going to get lost in a big car show room

No need to spend hours in photoshop but if you shoot RAW, a few minutes in Lightroom could make your shots stand out

Posted 1 year ago #
casperwb

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spend some time looking at car mags to see what catches your eyes.

Isolate the details for something different, that is look at a car and see what about it that you like, walk around and look at it closely, then capture that detail, instead of just taking another picture of the whole car.

Try different viewpoints, walk with a mat and lie on the ground and shoot the car, from all different sides, give your viewers a new viewing angle.

Borrow or rent a very wide angle lens and get very close to the car for something different.

get dashboard details, light on lights off, hopefully you are a car person, cover the music, little details that make one car stand out from the others, try to think about what would catch the readers intrest.

try to tell a story with your pictures.

experiment with your flash, harsh direct flash for light reflections off the shiny parts/chrome of the car, diffused flash for a softer/show up the paint effect.

As mentioned, look at the car mags, examine each picture, see what you like and dislike about each picture, and then go out and pratice that.

Shoot 200 pictures and plan to use 10.

Posted 1 year ago #
NSXType-R

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I haven't tried it myself, but perhaps getting a circular polarizer will cut down on reflections on the car's finish, giving you deeper looking paint.

Welcome to the forums and post your photos too!

Posted 1 year ago #
NikoDoby

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I think you are over thinking the job. You are going to have to photograph LOTS of cars. There is a reason why they go for quantity versus quality. Just use a circular-polarizer for the reasons NSX mentioned. Use a tripod and use a small aperture like f11 to get all of the car infocus. Worry more about your white balance and focus then in making each shot look like a "Top Gear" cover. When you come across a limited edition or rare model like a V-Series Coupe or a used ZR1 Corvette, then you can go for the magazine cover look.

Posted 1 year ago #
VelocityStop

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Good ideas that I see on this page - good lighting, detail shots, RAW + Lightroom, and a circle polarizer.

Bad ideas that I see on this page - wide angle lenses (at least on the exterior).

The 18-55mm lens that you have should work just fine for what you are doing. If you want to upgrade, a 35mm f/1.8 for the exterior and a 10.5mm f/2.8 Fisheye for the interior are my recommendations (as opposed to a wide angle). For a DX camera, you should try to shoot at around 30-35mm on the exterior shots of the full car to create as little distortion as possible. Most people will not like a wide angle lens on the exterior of a car due to the distortion (I'm speaking from experience - wide angle seemed like a good idea to me and I tried it for a little while, but I got a good bit of negative feedback especially from other car guys on the distortion and it really tends to distract from the subject). For parts such as the engine bay and interior, however, you can shoot as wide as possible (usually, the more of the inside that you can get in a shot, the better). The 18mm end of your 18-55 should work decent on those inside shots and you can even go wide angle or even a fisheye (my favorite) to get an even fuller interior shot or really make the engine stand out in the engine bay. An external flash or two definitely helps with getting more even lighting and getting rid of harsh or ugly shadows and reflections. Circle polarizers are also great for getting rid of ugly reflections in the paint and windows. You want to shoot at about headlight level for most of the normal exterior shots of the full car, wheel level for the wheels, and obviously high up to get a luggage rack or sunroof if present. Detail shots of the instrument cluster with mileage showing and any options that the car has such as a sunroof, power features, emblems, wheels, exhaust, shifter, etc. are usually good ideas (obviously, you wouldn't want a close up of the wheels if there are hubcaps falling off or the muffler if it is beat up or has has a hole, but anything extremely clean, shiny, or unique is usually a good idea).

I found just searching "car photography tips" on Google helped point me in the right direction to getting some of the shots that I wanted. Just the top result that I came up with was a dedicated site with all sorts of tips and tutorials both on taking the shots and editing. It is nice to look at a few different sites for lists of dos and don'ts to keep in the back of your head when shooting (there are always exceptions to everyone's lists of rules, but they will at least give you more ideas of things to try out so that you can see what works best for you).

Posted 1 year ago #
Bland

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I agree completely with VelocityStop. Here's a link to an awesome magazine I use for ideas when shooting cars......... Fuelzine

Posted 1 year ago #
NikoDoby

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The dealer wants to sell cars not photos of cars. Time will be wasted making every shot look like a cover photo. More than like they will also prefer each photo be taken from a consistent position or angle which greatly limits creativity.

Posted 1 year ago #
tcole1983

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NikoDoby said:
The dealer wants to sell cars not photos of cars. Time will be wasted making every shot look like a cover photo. More than like they will also prefer each photo be taken from a consistent position or angle which greatly limits creativity.

+1...they aren't going to want fish eye photos or anything. Just nice clean shots of the cars so they can make money. I agree good pictures might help, but as Niko is saying...they want pictures to sell cars and not pictures for a car magazine.

Posted 1 year ago #
Bland

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NikoDoby said:
The dealer wants to sell cars not photos of cars. Time will be wasted making every shot look like a cover photo. More than like they will also prefer each photo be taken from a consistent position or angle which greatly limits creativity.

Got to disagree with you on this one, Niko. Doesn't take any longer to take a good shot than it does a cheap shot. The better quality of picture reflects on the quality of the car dealer.

I will agree fisheye shots aren't appropriate but quality wide angle shots done at the right angle would be effective in sales of vehicles.

Posted 1 year ago #
mhossey

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first off let me say this:
DANG! Never had this much helf from a forum, this is awesome!! Thankyou all so much for your information, very helpful thankyou all

@NikoDoby your pretty much right on. The company I work for is "sonicautomotive" a fortune 500. Their definitely into quanity over quality when I't comes down to it. And they want to show the cosmetic flaws on the used cars, if not the salesmen get an ear full about how they "are trying to mislead/cover up mistakes" etc... so I'm not trying to cover up and wheel dents, scuffs, scrapes etc... I'm trying to give the customer a full view of everything on the car. I'm basically in and out with these cars, never see them or hear of them again because they will be sold in a week or less. They move cars fast.

@Bland. Your right also, they probably dont care about the quality right now, because they havnt really been shown anything better, and what they have right now works...but I'm sure when you bring a better picture to light they'll love it. Just have to get it down to a solid art form, and make sure I dont lose time getting these pictures.

My biggest problem is that glare on the hood of the cars, along with me being in the "wide shots" of the cars. Someone was mentioning reducing glare by getting a circular polarizer I'll def have to check those out. Here is a link to a car I shot today.

http://pictures.dealer.com/s/soniccresthonda/0742/9bbb3a740a0a006401ed00d17a692867.jpg

Notice the first pic is meant for headroom at the top, they like to put banners at the top of their pics. And I obviously need to get some sort of skinny tripod for the wide angle shots and set the self timer. The lens I have is the 18-55, and it seems to do a pretty good job for what I'm needing, so fish eye shots, and more creative lens probably arent going to satisfy their taste. Changing lenses, and playing around with settings will eat too much time, and they have a specific set of shots I have to take, for continuity purposes.

@sevencrossing I also need to check out the SB 400, its a smaller room I'm shooting in

**ALSO** Check this pic out, they just layed new flooring in the other day, because some joker told someone that this flooring would be perfect for photography... It makes a black car look like its "Chocolate Brown" plus....its orange. And nobody likes that, many complaints.

http://pictures.dealer.com/s/soniccresthonda/1547/94545c380a0a006401a93ff1edb638b8.jpg

Posted 1 year ago #
NikoDoby

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A simple shot does not equal "cheap". It sounds like the dealership already has a "proper" set up and wants a consistent "look" (dealer supplied camera, specific showroom area,, natural lighting, curtain backdrop, etc.) So the OP needs to "just" get the WB, exposure, and focus right. A car dealership can have hundreds, if not thousands, of vehicles. When you get paid per vehicle photographed you aren't going to have time to make every photo "the shot".

Posted 1 year ago #
NikoDoby

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Mhossey your shots are slightly underexposed. Have the dealer buy you a tripod. Don't use on camera flash because it will throw the vehicle colors off. Use longer exposures (1/60th or 1/30th for example) with a tripod, small apertures, and a low ISO. A circular polarizer will help with reflections and make the colors richer. Like I said before you are overly complicating this. You need to take good photos of lots of cars. Not lots of good photos. I'm sure the dealer has a big turn over on photographers too so they want a consistent and "real" representation of each car. They aren't interested in you creating a "style" for them because once you leave them they are back to the same "boring" photos with the next "photographer".

Posted 1 year ago #
mhossey

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Yea, I tried the flash and decided to go with natural lighting, the flash looks bad in this setting. I have my ISO on auto, but took several pics with different ISOs didnt see a huge difference. Your right, I am over complicating a bit, but at the same time its in my nature to produce something better than whats already existing...hence me doing research on forums on how to better myself! I'm not a photographer at all, on the contrary I'm a designer..but by nature me being the only media guy their, I got the job. And it pays better...so you better believe I said yes lol.

They actually outsource a 3rd party to come in and take pics at the moment, but just now decided to do it in-house. Pretty big switch up, but i'm diggin, thanks everyone for your input!

michael

Posted 1 year ago #
JJump

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In the shot in your link, the front end of the car looks too bulbous. This is from going too wide on your zoom, and/or taking the picture too close to the vehicle. You are better off on the longer end, as to not distort the vehicle. With the 18-55, I would shoot it at 30-40mm instead of 18-30mm. A tripod will help if you can't get a small aperture handheld with available light. If you don't have a tripod, you could also find a nearby table to rest the camera on and use the self timer.

Posted 1 year ago #
sevencrossing

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Mhossey
The advantage of something like an SB 400, is, it is small, portable and will freeze the action. You do not need any of these attributes. The disadvantage of a small flash is, it does not have a modelling light, so you cannot see what you are doing, until after you have take the shot. I would suggest you supplement the overhead lights, with one or two florescent workshop or studio lights. I don’t think a polarizing fitter will help you much. As other have said a tripod should help

Posted 1 year ago #
NSXType-R

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Maybe an Expodisk would help if you're worried about white balance. If you're working inside with fluorescent lights and natural light at the same time, it might get a bit tricky, you'd be better off setting a custom white balance using an expodisk.

Of course, if you're using RAW then all that goes out the window.

Posted 1 year ago #
ultrataco

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I agree with NikoDoby here. Proper color, exposure and focus will make your photos better than 90% of the dealership photos I've seen. I like good photos of course, but when I'm shopping for a car online I just want to see the car, preferably interior and exterior shots from multiple angles, and I personally like to see an engine bay shot (though that's not very common). like this: http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail/photos/multiPhotoPopup.jsp?paId=399338326&tracktype=usedcc&aff=national#0

Also, I like the room you're shooting in. You may want to back away from the car a bit if possible so you don't have to shoot wide angle, like others have said already.

Posted 1 year ago #
DaveyJ

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I've shot a lot of cars on a pro and enthusiast basis including large and medium format. I found that longer lens give a better look so the room you are shooting in and the lens you are using gives you a wide angle effect. This looks like a volume gig and many of the suggestions will help some. I have found that accurate color is difficult to achieve but necessary. I've even used great big light boxes over the car and if it is magazine work it can pay off. I myself always preferred outdoor settings and have shot cars on the Atlantic, Pacific, and on race tracks, and in nice looking scenes. Here you are just shooting the cars to depict them as best you can. I would get the lens problem fixed. Cars should not be distorted. I'd also pay some attention to getting them cleaned and positioned to best show them off. The very last thing a potential customer wants is to be surprised what the real car looks like!

Posted 1 year ago #
Sturgdw

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NikoDoby said:
The dealer wants to sell cars not photos of cars. Time will be wasted making every shot look like a cover photo. More than like they will also prefer each photo be taken from a consistent position or angle which greatly limits creativity.

I do car work for an advertising agency that is trying to drag their clients standard of work upmarket.

These clients tend to be quite dumb as to what works, frankly. The mindset is that the salesman and his skills is the only thing that matters. They are clueless how important the role of the internet and ads are in getting prospective customers onto their yard is.

The improvement in sales to date, has validated their overall approach of which the standard of shots is just one element.

We use a consistent shooting setup: cars always in the same position and the camera on a tripod in the same position and at the same height. I am shooting in Australia, outdoors in variable light. I use a 35mm f1.8 at f10 with a polarizer fitted. Cars are situated to minmise distracting roof, bonnet and door reflections.

I have found that manual shooting in essential. Otherwise the camera meters off different parts of different cars and the light levels are all over the shop. We started shooting a bracketed set to provide more scope at post, but have settled on just a few images with the polariser at different angles to get the best out of different panels.

I always shoot RAW, and shoot approximately 4.5 meters back from the front of the car and about 3.5m out off the side.

These shots are primarily for colour press use. The advantage of the consistent setup is that cars in the finished ad, all share a similar orientation. I shoot more spectacular models at a wider angle, and they are then used as the feature car in the centre of the ad.

I use white fabric to blank out all reverse side windows, so that no distracting detail can be seen through the car windows.

Posted 1 year ago #