Tips for car show pic's

You started it by challenging the advice, so I'm returning your challenge by saying that you're wrong. Manual metering, or the use of exposure compensation, has been a necessity since my first dSLR experience at a car show. Manual focusing, or at least rapid attempts to focus and recompose, has also been a necessity. You asked for complaints, and when you get one, you call them "subjective" and dismiss them.

What's important is if I were to use the underexposed photos for a slideshow presentation, for example, they would appear to be washed out. They're not exposed correctly, and if you did that with me, I would not be happy because you didn't meet the requirements. I expect to use mine for presentations online and in rooms of various brightnesses, and I can't use photos with heavy shadow areas or surfaces of interest that are underexposed. That would make your photos "bad" because they're not usable, and even on my screen here, you're about half a stop to a whole stop of exposure off where you would need to be. You're preserving highlights in shiny surfaces at the expense of the overall composition, and that's bad when it goes on a projector screen and the audience starts wondering what they're supposed to be looking at.

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http://www.alexanderrogge.net/arshutterbug

The example you've cited is exposed for the people in and around the car, not the car itself. To have done otherwise, which was the unedited exposure, would have resulted in unacceptably dark shadow areas.

I do not want to compare my photos with yours, and I have no intention of playing this game of showing the "best" photos to you. I do not want the car to pop out of anything, nor do I always want to underexpose the background. I want the image to show up as intended on the screen, and that means the car and everything else around it. What you're doing by guessing and sometimes underexposing would not meet the requirements because your underexposed photos wouldn't display well. Manual metering, and the use of manual focusing where necessary, especially for car interiors, is a solution to the inconsistencies of automatic metering and focusing.

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http://www.alexanderrogge.net/arshutterbug

I will stop this here

This looks to me like i am pro tennis player and some "bad/average recreational from Sunday to Sunday player" is saying to me that my backhend is bad

My photos were published on places that you can just imagine so nothing is wrong with them. Belive me.

It is enough to check my website and yours, compare my work with yours to see wich oppinion weight more. Sorry, maybe i am not modest or polite, call me rude but we are not in same league.

And what is most important thing. You just ignoring that OP said " I am new in photography".

So you want that someone who is new in photography to try his first autoshow with manual exposure and manual focus? Yep, that is good way for disapointment and another what is wrong with my camera question here on forum.

Thx you, best regards and Mirko over and out here.
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http://www.mirkobeovic.com

Like you I'm also new to automotive photography. I attended the LA Auto show last year. It was indoors at the convention center.

I used the 7D & 17-55, Av mode, usually set between f4.0 - f5.6 to get the whole car in sharp focus. No flash. Most shots were taken at 30mm or less.

I got more consistant exposures using center-weighted , rather than evaluative.

I posted a question about this, and got good advice. Here's the link (photos are gone)

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=39905856

Here's a few shots from the show...

http://flightlinephotos.smugmug.com/Other/LA-Auto-Show-11-21-211/20208860_3MGgQv# !i=1601365952&k=vWTKLqJ

BAK said:

and unable to figure out that pointing an auto focus camera at expanses of sheet metal means ghe camera will not focus

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I used AF at auto shows and it works great.

@ARS...where does the OP say he is WORKING at the car show... I've re-read his post over and over .. the person asked for some tips .. and you answer by being an 'almightier than thou know it all'... not nice...
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Ray

my Canon 60d sure beats using that ol' Petri 7s

Learn the camera inside out and backwards. I shot at outdoor car shows at least once a week just about every week last summer. You have to just look at the car and pick what you want to show.

Let the camera tell you when you've got the correct exposure. Don't worry about shooting at a low ISO or a high ISO, get the shot you want to show. Worry about the post processing when it's over with.

I typically shot with a 28-70mm lens, but eventually moved to a 70-300 so I could get away from the car and still get the shot (but when it's busy, and people are around, expect trouble).

I advocate shooting cars around f8, but it depends on the shot, it's not easy to say "this will work for them all."

Check the meter in the viewfinder, and if you don't wear glasses, shoot with manual focus. If you wear glasses, make sure your autofocus is set up, and trust it. Shoot with it a lot before you go, so you know when it's not going to give the shot you want. I'm lucky to have 20/20 vision, but after a long day of looking through the view finder, my eyes stop cooperating with me, and I have to really trust the AF...Car shows indoors typically have a lot of fluorescent lighting, set your white balance accordingly.

Make a little list of things to do before you leave, like setting white balance, checking focus, lighting, etc etc, so that when you start shooting, you can go through that list and make sure that the only thing you have to worry about is getting the shot.

Even if you spend a couple hours taking pictures of your back fence to get used to the settings, do it, it will help you in the long run when you're getting used to a new camera.

Like you I was at a classic car show this weekend. I'd like some feedback on these photos.

http://s1265.photobucket.com/...albums/jj517/ruairispain/?albumview=slideshow

I've not tweaked them in PP because I'd like more feedback on the RAW output from the camera. I was using a Canon 60D, 24-105 f4 lens and spot metering and AWB. I was not using a flash and mainly adjusting the ISO and aperture.

My feeling is they are a under-exposed and would have benefited from reduced DOF.

When I click on the link, it says Page Not Found.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/readflat.asp?forum=1032&message=34976255

I did once in 2010 NYC Autoshow and plan to go again this year. Will bring 100mm/2.8 macro for some close-up shots on finer details of cars this time.

Yes absolutely beautiful auto models. 70-200L/4.0 IS is an awesome lens









15mm Fisheye lens is very useful too





Flash is also useful in a few scenarios such as these antique cars that exhibited in underground show room with very dim light.





Also it's helpful with two cameras, one for close subject such as cars and another one for a bit remote one such as models. Many times you don't have sufficient time to swap lenses.

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http://qianp2k.zenfolio.com/

shaner72 said:

Hello everyone. I'm new to photography I just got a new Canon 7D and love playing around with it. I'm going to the Auto Rama in Detroit. This is a car show for some of the finnest custom cars in the U.S.A I was wondering if there are any trick's or tip's I can use to get those great one of a kind photo's. It's indoors so it's artificial lighting. My lens are Canon EF 70-200 1:4 L IS USM 67mm and a Canon EFS 18-135 IS 67mm Thank's

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I've shot at Autorama since befoer I've even had a DSLR. It's one of my favorite shows to go to.

First - I'd probably mount your 18-135, that will give you the best flexibility as sometimes things are kind of tight. You don't want to be changing lenses all day. 70 is too far if you intend to get ANY full car shots

Second - Go early. I'll be there at 830 for when the doors open at 9. Thats your best chance to get uncrowded shots

Third - Be selective at first. do a round and search for things that excite you, shoot those when there is the least traffic. Snapshot everything else in between. YOu have about 1 hour till things get crazy crowded in there.

Fourth - Bring your tripod. Use an ND filter. Leave that shutter open to allow the people to blur, leaving only the car in the shot.

Fifth - Don't use your flash. Your 7D with it's high iso capibilities and the 18-135 with the IS will allow you to get the shot you want without using a flash. Higher ISO with NR will look better than a flash will.

I didn't read any other the other posts before posting this so sorry if some of these are duplicates. I'll be there with my 60D when the doors open. Maybe I'll see ya!

here's my shots from the previous 2 years. Both were mid afternoon visits. You can see how crowded it gets in some of the shots.
http://photos.danfrei.com/Automotive/Autorama

I dont have a ND filter. I have a polarized filter and forgot it. Not sure what diff that would make. I never thought to leave the shutter open to blur the people that would have been cool. Lots to learn yet and will keep that inmind next time I go to a show.

That first model is so beutiful. Didn't see much of that on the friday. Plus I had the girl friend with me so that might not go over well if I take pic's of the girls.

Re> Not sure what diff that would make.

Look at your shots, and try to find glare.

On cr bodies, glare will reduce the impact of the car's colors. On windshields, glare will block the ability to see inside.

Polarizers will reduce this.

BAK

Yap, she is beautiful. Hope will see some beautiful models again this year. My wife is not jealous when I take photos of pretty girls

http://www.autoshowny.com/

Here is another photo. Doesn't smooth skin. 1D3 is excellent in portrait with its well known creamy rendition even at high ISO. I set in AI-Servo AF with center and surrounding points, slow move sensitivity, single shot mode.

shaner72 said:

That first model is so beutiful. Didn't see much of that on the friday. Plus I had the girl friend with me so that might not go over well if I take pic's of the girls.

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http://qianp2k.zenfolio.com/

You were arguing with BAK, and I agreed with BAK because my recent experience suggested that he was correct. There is something wrong with some of your photos that I don't like, and it doesn't matter where you sold them. I see printed photos all the time that could have been better, and sometimes it's just because the editor didn't edit them or place them appropriately, but just because you sold stuff doesn't mean it's always the best and can't be improved. I've met established pros who couldn't take a photo to specification to save their careers, because they only knew the textbook methods and they're not adaptable. They don't like those amateurs in the crowd who can actually do the work that I and others demand, and especially when that work is better than expected and sometimes for less money.

Your statement that BAK's list of tips "was even confusing to me and i have some expirience" suggests that you don't know what you're doing. For example, the stress at a car show happens when the photographer is being pressured to finish in a certain amount of time. When the person has no need for rushed results, because it's all just for fun, he can stand in front of cars for ten minutes at a time if he so chooses, playing with filters and exposure techniques. I do that, too, and I still finish the show before closing. It's supposed to be an enjoyable day looking at cars and talking to people, and photography is a side thing.

Your apparent suggestion to ignore the learning of photographic techniques and instead rely on guesswork is bad advice for a beginner, because that doesn't teach the necessary methods that will become important later on. A car show is a good place to start learning, and it's best to start learning how to develop artistic styles there and working around potential difficulties instead of ignoring the eventual problem and hoping that it goes away. What's learned at the car show can eventually become useful when doing something more important, and that's why I support doing what BAK recommended.

I am satisfied that I can beat you because I'm better than you, and the most obvious reason for this is because I listen to my critics, even when I think they're wrong. You asked me to find problems related to the issues being discussed, and when I did that, you tried to discredit my support of BAK's advice by targeting my work. You had no intention of having a discussion. You only wanted to push your work as "best" and anyone else's work as "less than best" so you could push your argument that guesswork and lack of learning is better than making an early effort to learn. When that doesn't work, you try to put yourself above me and others by saying that you're in "another league" and basically tell me to shut up. That's a typical arrogant attitude, usually used by headstrong idiots when they're losing the argument. You are wrong, as your advice can lead to people who never learn to become better and grow frustrated with their cameras because guesswork doesn't always work. Those become the people who come up to me, desperately wanting to know which setting takes photos of cars so that they're in-focus and the exposure isn't off. They have no clue, and they're not beginners. They only know what they've been doing for years, but suddenly it doesn't work anymore.

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http://www.alexanderrogge.net/arshutterbug

You just do not want to understand that your type of work will bring problems with exposure and focus? You do not belive to me? Look this examples?

http://www.alexanderrogge.net/constellation/main.php?g2_itemId=377683

Yeah, i can see that manual exposure works great for you. LOL

http://www.alexanderrogge.net/constellation/main.php?g2_itemId=378200

http://www.alexanderrogge.net/constellation/main.php?g2_itemId=378218

And i can find them manny more in your galleries. You are just not right person to give advices about photography. Cos you do not know basic things about exposure and other photorelated terms. You just think that manual exposure and focus will make your photos to look better cos only highly experted pros doing manual things. Yep, maybe but they will do that right way. Not like this what you are serving here like good photo examples.

Still want to discuss about photo tehniques and tehnicaly correct photos?
Cmn man, be serious.

Best regards and please start to learn instead of thinking that you allways must be right. Cos, you are not.
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http://www.mirkobeovic.com

Some pic's I took from Detroit Auto Rama 2012 I wish I had not forgot my Polarized filter but still nice pics in my opinion. First car show for me so next time I will try some differant things.

Nice work. Did you have problems with AF and auto exposure or you did it manualy?

Anyway your photos are much better than photos of some advice givers here. Bravo.
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http://www.mirkobeovic.com

Look for a message in "Cut the crap" posted by the original poster.

You'll see some pictures.

Most of the shots are full cars, some are misfocussed but most are OK, and the image stabilization appears to have worked well because the shutter speeds are slow.

BAK