# Looking for advice.



## NPostalwait (Apr 10, 2012)

I work at a local dealership and do all of our automotive photography here. I have been doing this for close to two years now and really want to step my game up.

First off I am in the market for a new camera. Not looking for anything extravagant, just a middle of the line camera. I am using a Nikon coolpix L120 right now and it has lasted about a year before having issues. I am wanting to go to a Cannon, but am not familiar with the different camera brands. Any advice here would be much appreciated.

Secondly I want to improve my photos, want them to look a little more professional. As I said I have been doing this for 2 years and am just now trying to step things up a little bit. I have a full photo booth with close to par lighting. I will upload a few photos to show how my lighting is. Any comments or advice here would be of great help as well.


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## jowensphoto (Apr 10, 2012)

Automotive photography is by far "so not my thing," so I can't give much help with that.

In terms of general photography, the first thing that jumps out at me is the tightness of the framing. Don't be afraid to zoom out (or back up if using a prime). You can always crop in post, but it's a lot more difficult to add something that's not already there!


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## WesternGuy (Apr 10, 2012)

I am sure that if you Google "automotive photography techniques", you will find a wealth of information. I did and got over 3 million hits - some free sites, some you have to pay for.  As far as a camera goes I can only talk about the Canon lines and I suggest that you might want to look at the 60D, the 7D or even the Rebel T3i, although you didn't specify that you were looking at a DSLR - I am assuming that is what you are thinking about.  These models all fit the bill of being a middle of the line with the 7D probably more towards the upper part of the line, but well below something like the 5D Mk. III.  As far as Nikon goes, I have no experience there.

My only general comment is that you might want to think about a polarizer for what ever lens you decide on.  It will cut down on a lot of the reflection that you get off the cars body, not all, but a lot of it. I would also agree with jowensphoto, don't frame your subjects so closely, give them room to move a bit or "breathe" so to speak.  Tight framing can give the viewer a sense of frustration, or busy-ness, with the image - not sure why, but it has to do with the psychology of how people perceive images. A slightly wider frame is more relaxing and gives the viewer a better look at the vehicle - again psychology of image viewing.  HTH.

________________
WesternGuy


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## Derrel (Apr 10, 2012)

The new Camaros look a LOT like the Kevin Levine (aka *Kevin-Eleven*) car from the kids cartoon series Ben 10!!!! Kind of like a 1968  Camaro, refined, and on steroids. The green paint scheme with the two super-wide racing stripes looks EXACTLY like the car from the cartoon series!!!

As far as car photography...yes, the framing on these is too tight. My suggestion would be to work from a tripod, so that you are forced to "think" about the exact placement of the camera. Using a tripod allows you to shoot a shot, then review the shot, and then make minor changes that will improve the photo, or give a different point of view.


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## KmH (Apr 10, 2012)

First, I moved this thread out of the Beginner's forum, to the Lighting and Hardware forum. Also it seems you've posted here at TPF before.

I think your photo booth lighting is closer to a triple bogey, than close to par. Here is a good book (in it's 4th edition) that covers the fundamentals of photographic lighting - Light Science and Magic, Fourth Edition: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting 

The light is way to harsh, and it is lighting the wrong thing, namely the car, which is why you have such bad reflections.

The walls and ceiling of your photo booth should be diffusion panels. The diffusion panels should be between your lights and the car.


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## 12sndsgood (Apr 10, 2012)

I am assuming the poster was just taking a shot of the car in the dealership floor. For me I like a clean background. but this is just so bland. the car just blends into the background and it's not really appealing. i'd get the car out of there and try and come up with something a bit more pleasing to the eye.  I probalby would have closed the sunroof to keep the line of the roof flowing and smooth. and the lighting is not helping you in this at all.


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## Village Idiot (Apr 11, 2012)

What kind of lighting setup do you have? Any DSLR will do, even a nice used one if you don't want to spend the money on it.

Car photography is more about bouncing lights effectively to catch reflections and specular highlights in the reflective paint of the car. Basically if you're properly lighting a car, you're doing it by lighting it's surroundings and not by shooting a ton of light right at the car.


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## NPostalwait (Apr 11, 2012)

Thank you all for all the help, keep it coming. I am still a novice at photography, I pretty much picked the camera up and started shooting. The reason for me being on here is to bring a more professional look to my photos. My lighting setup right now is 6 lights (not for sure what kind of lights) shooting down through a parachute right at the car. As far as the floor and walls, these are the first issues I want to get taken care of. The lighting is there I just need to adjust so the reflection is taken care of. Any more advice is warmly welcomed.


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## NPostalwait (Apr 11, 2012)

Also I am using a digital non slr camera right now. Would I get a better life expectancy out of a DSLR camera? I take on average anywhere from 200-300 photos a day and sometimes that number can jump up to 500-600 depending on how busy I am.


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## KmH (Apr 11, 2012)

Entry-level DSLR's have shutter life-expectancy's between 50,000 and 150,000 actuations. Pro DSLR's have shutter life-expectancy's between 300,000 and 400,000 actuations.

Many non-DSLR cameras don't have a shutter mechanism and instead just turn the image sensor on and off.

More pertinent considerations are the size of the image sensor and the optical quality of any lens used.

It sounds like you are using constant lights, rather than strobed lights?


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## Village Idiot (Apr 11, 2012)

Take a photo of your area with your setup. Are your lights strobes or constant?


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## trcapro (Apr 11, 2012)

One of the key things you want to avoid is excessive shine from the car's surface. A little bit here and there can help to make the photo more dynamic but too much is just distracting and unprofessional. I'd say you should either go with steady lights that will balance each other out and no additional flash or strobes set on low power and see where it takes things.


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## NPostalwait (Apr 12, 2012)

I am using constant lights. I will get a photo of it up today sometime. Again, this setup was just thrown together and is not a professional setup by any means.


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## NPostalwait (Apr 12, 2012)

Ok, I am also looking into buying the Nikon D-3100 SLR. This is the best price i have found on an SLR and I am trying to stay within budget, of course the budget is not set by me. I have never used a DSLR camera and am not familiar with the different lenses or which lens would benefit me the most. I do the automotive photography mainly, I also do our employee photos for our website as well. Is there a lense that will fit both these needs without having to buy another lense or having to switch out lenses all the time?


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## NPostalwait (Apr 12, 2012)

Also my lights are mounted on the rafters with a parachute between the vehicle and my lights.


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## NPostalwait (Apr 12, 2012)

Here is a link to a full shoot of a 2011 Camry. Would love some feedback of what you all think. I am not a professional by any means.

http://s1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii514/NpostalwaitJoeHolland/

Also here are a few photos of my booth and setup. Any suggestions or advice welcome.


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## KmH (Jun 19, 2012)

Paint the walls flat white. Light the walls so the light is bounced onto the cars..

Your overhead lighting needs more diffusion to make it more even. You have some serious hot spots.

Your overhead lights that have 2 distinct color temperatures and you are getting a slight color cast in every photo because of the mixed lighting temperatures.


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## tirediron (Jun 19, 2012)

It's a good start, and you've got a great space and the right ideas; as Keith said the wall colour needs to be changed, and your over-head lighting has issues.  Additionally, looking through the gallery, the general tone of the images seems to be on the flat side, and most are somewhat under-exposed.  It looks to me like you don't have enough lights; if I were doing this, in this setting, I would probably have 7-10 lights.  Four overhead, very diffused, two illuminating one wall as the key, one illuminating the far wall to provide shadow relief, and a couple of others to tweak the scene as necessary.  I would also make sure that you were using a CPOL to eliminate the windshield reflections, and don't back the car against the wall.


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