# Tips and advice for my car photography side job?



## CamCracker (Jul 23, 2011)

I would really like to start a side job in car photography, and I need some tips and advice for the whole thing, as I haven't started yet the business yet, but have certainly gotten some amazing car photos. I need to know what gear I should get - lenses, filters, flashes, etc. and the main thing I'm concerned about is how to sell them. I am not a professional, but I'm not an amateur, I would be between them - an advanced amateur. So how much should I charge and for what should I charge for? Also, what website should I use to show the photos and sell them (prints, products, and digital downloads) and I'm not rich, so I can't pay a lot of money per month, so cheap sites, but good ones too, would really help.

Any other tips and advice and suggestions?

Anyone do anything similar and have some advice to tell?

Thank you all.


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## Malone (Jul 23, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> I need to know what gear I should get - lenses, filters, flashes, etc. .... I am not a professional, but I'm not an amateur, I would be between them - an advanced amateur.



Sort of contradicting, no?


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## D-B-J (Jul 23, 2011)

How can you have taken amazing photo's, and yet need advice on what gear to get..?


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## tirediron (Jul 23, 2011)

I would submit thatif you don't know what sort of gear you need, you have a little way to go to become 'advanced'. Why not share some of these photos?

Really difficult to give you any equipment recommendations without knowing your budget.  You could spend $5000 or $50,000.  As for how/where/what to sell, whatever your clients want; this is NOT normally the sort of work done on spec.  

Take some business ed classes and get a better understanding of the business end of a photography business.


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## fokker (Jul 23, 2011)

The way I see it, you have two major problems:
1) You don't seem to know enough about photography to be starting up a photography business
2) You don't seem to know enough about business to be starting up a business

I don't mean to come across as rude, but it really sounds like you need to think this over a bit more. Starting a successful business out of the blue in a niche field like car photography when you have limited experience in photography and none (by the sounds of it) in business is going to be difficult to say the least.

Put it this way - if you don't know who you're trying to sell your work to, how to sell it or how much to sell it for, then you probably don't have a good base for a business.


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## Vtec44 (Jul 24, 2011)

I'm interested to see the amazing photos!


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## Malone (Jul 24, 2011)

Vtec44 said:


> I'm interested to see the amazing photos!



Good call!  Out with them OP! :razz:


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## KmH (Jul 24, 2011)

Are you still trying to sell that AWESOME D3000? http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...-nikon-d3000-has-problem-its-too-awesome.html

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...s-other-gear-get-least-750-a.html#post2272497


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## CBURKE (Jul 24, 2011)

Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS All you need to know!


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## o hey tyler (Jul 24, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> amazing car photos.



Pix or shenz.


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## Robin Usagani (Jul 24, 2011)

I take amazing nude photos.


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## o hey tyler (Jul 24, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> I take amazing nude photos.



Of yourself? I don't know if that qualifies brosef.


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## KmH (Jul 24, 2011)

CBURKE said:


> Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS All you need to know!


 OMG! That's _*way*_ to much to read. :er:


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## Robin Usagani (Jul 24, 2011)

KmH said:


> CBURKE said:
> 
> 
> > Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS All you need to know!
> ...



Ohhh Emmm Geee..  I thought I would never hear that from Keith.


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## Arkanjel Imaging (Jul 24, 2011)

o hey tyler said:


> CamCracker said:
> 
> 
> > amazing car photos.
> ...



If you want to see his flickr just click the link in his..... oh, wait, NVM.  :er:


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## KmH (Jul 24, 2011)

Tongue-in-cheek - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (note the :er

IIRC, he is a she.


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jul 24, 2011)

Arkanjel Imaging said:


> o hey tyler said:
> 
> 
> > CamCracker said:
> ...



Welcome to the land of centered subjects...Official Home Of Captivating Creations Photography


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## Village Idiot (Jul 25, 2011)

Buy lights. That's $1,750 for the cheapest lights and modifiers I'd purchase. You'll still need stands and triggers. You'll probably want several light panels. The ones big enough for a car, or almost big enough, cost about $300 - $500 each. Get three just in case. You should purchase a rig too, for rig shots of course. That's about $300 or so. A case for your lights and battery will run you about $300. That should be enough to get you started.


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## Jeatley (Jul 25, 2011)

Gonna be hard to help a person that post then never comes back and answers the questions to the post!  I shoot cars.  Car shows, Poker runs, and many other related automotive things. I would love to have this converstation but where is the OP at?


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## Jeatley (Jul 25, 2011)

CBURKE said:


> Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS All you need to know!



I have read everything on this site.   Some good stuff and some bad.  I would give the page a "B"     Good read.   I know of a book and blog that is better!


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## CamCracker (Jul 25, 2011)

Man! Seriously, give me a break! I ask a question to try and get help and I get nothing but crap. I'm gonna get crap from this message too, so go ahead.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150121776767473.282656.141384672472&type=1


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## CamCracker (Jul 25, 2011)

And that website someone posted doesn't have my latest work, in fact, it has a bunch of my bad work. My facebook has my latest. I don't care, if you don't like my pictures, say it! I don't care! Man! I can't even ask a question that I am excited about with all these people swarming on this thread to give me crap!

Captivating Creations Photography | Facebook


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## noodles (Jul 25, 2011)

Well, your question was contradicting... and in this world, it doesn't help for people to NOT give you the honest truth, especially if you are going to invest in a business. 

I would rather someone critique by work with honest feed back than say it's OK because they don't want to hurt my feelings.

You say you are not a pro, but not an amateur, yet you don't know what body, lenses, lights, filters etc to use for car photography - take some time to read the net as it's filled with that information.

You say you've taken some great pics, yet you don't know what equipment to get.

Those two points just killed it for you.

Also, if you're starting out in business for yourself, you should consider a business case, what's your target market, audience etc etc... figure that out for yourself, then you can search the net for current prices etc and figure it out. Also, simply sticking some pictures on the net isn't going to get you business.


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## Misfitsracing (Jul 25, 2011)

If you want to shoot cars, I would be less concerned about figuring how much to charge, and more concerned figuring out who's gonna buy the pictures. Most car guys I know don't want pictures of their cars since they have the real thing to look at at. They want pictures of what they were doing cars. Go out to a local track and start shooting. Network with the track owners, see if they have an official track photog, and if not, see if they want one.  Where I race, the track photographer is a guy that networks with the racers, and works hard to be well liked and shoot every car. Guys buy pictures from him, not to remind them of the car, but to commemorate the experience. I'm not trying to bash you, just throwing out my opinion.


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## Vtec44 (Jul 25, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> Man! Seriously, give me a break! I ask a question to try and get help and I get nothing but crap. I'm gonna get crap from this message too, so go ahead.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150121776767473.282656.141384672472&type=1



Well if you're saying that you've taken amazing car photographs in front of a bunch of photographers, you better back it up.

... I'm just saying...


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## 412 Burgh (Jul 25, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> Man! Seriously, give me a break! I ask a question to try and get help and I get nothing but crap. I'm gonna get crap from this message too, so go ahead.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150121776767473.282656.141384672472&type=1



i'll give you my input.. I did click on your link and all that.. so the DOF is not good in the photos that are shooting a logo, if your logo says 
"Chevrolet" you don't want everything else out of focus, except the C.. you want the WHOLE LOGO IN FOCUS, not yelling just making my point.


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## fokker (Jul 25, 2011)

Car photography business idea: Target market is guys with fancy cars. Get the car, and a model from Model Mayhem who will work for free, and then get the model to do sexy poses on the car. Then sell the photos to the guy who owns the car.


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## CamCracker (Jul 25, 2011)

When I asked what equipment and gear I should use, I wasn't asking as if I had no clue. I know the lenses I would mostly use would be the standard 18-55mm or a wide angle lens, or if I wanted to go on the cheap side, I'd get a screw on wide angle lens, and even occasionally a telephoto lens for different needs. And I know I need a tripod, and a floor tripod, which I have both of those. I was just asking for suggestions - a "What do you use" and "what works best" sort of thing. I know what I would use, but I was just asking for peoples opinions to give me a bigger idea. Man....


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## tirediron (Jul 25, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> ... I know the lenses I would mostly use would be the standard 18-55mm or a wide angle lens, *or if I wanted to go on the cheap side*....


  Ummm, sorry, but an 18-55 is "on the cheap side".  To do this on a professional level, you should be able to cover at a minimum ~15 - 200mm at f2.8.


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## Max713 (Jul 25, 2011)

The standard 18-55 is far from what you will need for quality automotive work, that is one of Nikons most inexpensive lenses, and quite a slow one at that.
Wide angles typically aren't a good choice either, as they often times bring with them quite a bit of distortion, and can be very difficult to get much subject isolation.
Sounds to me like you need to do some more research... Have you tried looking at other pro auto photographers equipment? Here's a link to one of my favorite pro auto guys equipment page:
Equipment | Armin Ausejo Photography
I would say the majority of truly breathtaking shots were taken with a pro level &#402;2.8 lens or similar, namely the 70-200 &#402;2.8 VR.


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## Bitter Jeweler (Jul 25, 2011)

A screw on wide angle lens...Good luck with your new business!


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## fokker (Jul 25, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> A screw on wide angle lens...Good luck with your new business!



Lol. Yeah, somehow I think paying clients would expect better quality than something that could be beaten for sharpness by an iPhone.


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## Max713 (Jul 25, 2011)

Bitter Jeweler said:


> A screw on wide angle lens...Good luck with your new business!



Wow, I missed that part...



You most definitely have a LOT more research to do (OP).


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## katerolla (Jul 25, 2011)

try this automotive website, his is realy good  Easton Chang - Automotive Photography


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## CBURKE (Jul 26, 2011)

Jeatley said:


> CBURKE said:
> 
> 
> > Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS All you need to know!
> ...



Please share! I would love to learn more.


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## Village Idiot (Jul 26, 2011)

CamCracker said:


> When I asked what equipment and gear I should use, I wasn't asking as if I had no clue. I know the lenses I would mostly use would be the standard 18-55mm or a wide angle lens, or if I wanted to go on the cheap side, I'd get a screw on wide angle lens, and even occasionally a telephoto lens for different needs. And I know I need a tripod, and a floor tripod, which I have both of those. I was just asking for suggestions - a "What do you use" and "what works best" sort of thing. I know what I would use, but I was just asking for peoples opinions to give me a bigger idea. Man....



Canon 5D MKII
17-40 f/4L
85 f/1.8

I also have the 70-200 f/2.8L IS and the 24-70 f/2.8L which I don't use very often for cars.

Lighting is provided by 5 Speedotron 202VF heads, a Speedotron 1205 pack and a Speedotron 405 pack which are going to be replaced with two 800w/s or one 800w/s and one 1600w/s Dynalite packs or two 1200w/s Profoto Acute packs and a number of heads for each. I use Innovatronix batteries for on location work and photoflex strip boxes. I'm in the process of looking to buy ot build a light panel. 

Any questions?



tirediron said:


> CamCracker said:
> 
> 
> > ... I know the lenses I would mostly use would be the standard 18-55mm or a wide angle lens, *or if I wanted to go on the cheap side*....
> ...



 I'll never be a professional. I refuse to buy a 16-35 f/2.8.

But I do have a 15 f/2.8 (even if it is a fish eye!)


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