Looking for tips on shooting a Mitsubishi 3000GT please!

[Glass Books]

Hello everyone,

I'm going to visit my parents in Norway for my holiday next week, and my dad has just bought this new car. He's asked if I could take some pictures of it, and of course I can't say no! Thing is, I've never photographed a car before so I have no idea where to start.

I have the following lenses: Sigma 10-20, Nifty Fifty, 18-55mm , and 55-200 mm. I also have some ND grads filters I could use. I have no lighting equipment.

I've done some reading and understand that a circular polariser is THE thing to use, however I just don't have the money to buy that now - and as I don't know which lens I'll be using I'd have to buy two to fit the 55mm and 77mm.

So, my current plan is to drive the car somewhere nice - being Norway the nature is fantastic, and I have a place in mind where there's a road at about sea level, with some islands in the background so hoping to place it there and get the car, the sea and then I've thought to take the pictures at sunset.

What I'm hoping you guys can help me with is - does car pictures at sunset work? Is there a type of location that works better than others? Will there be a lot of glare? Is there anything I can do to reduce glare, considering I won't have a polariser? Is a particular lens better than the others for this? Does the car lend itself to a particular angle, is there any angles I should NOT attempt, and what are the 'standard' angles you shoot when documenting a car? Is there anything else I need to keep in mind when taking these shots?

Any advice will be very welcome, and sorry for the million questions - I just really want to make sure I take the best pictures I can now that I have the opportunity, and would love it if one of them turned out good enough that my dad would want to print it to hang on the wall

Thank you in advance!

 

[Keith Fusco]

TBH, the CPL filter is not needed for car stuff. It's good to have it, but it won't end up bad without it. This shot was taken with a 450D and the kit lens with no filters, as I was awaiting my new lens, so I was using the wife's camera for the shoot.

Here's one with a CPL filter too.

Notice how there's some reflections on the 350Z on the bonnet and front window, where as there's hardly none on the R32.

What kind of shots were you after? I think if you're going for sunset shots, then you'll need some off-camera flash stuff to allow the car to be lit, while getting the sunset in the background.

My best advice I can give you, is to just browse through other car pictures for ideas on location style, angles etc. The main things though are make sure you have alloy wheel, as opposed to tyre and don't shoot the car out of it's natual location (IE - Shooting on grass, as they're designed to be driven on road/stones/track etc).

I'll try to answer your questions too.

Does car pictures at sunset work? - Yes they do. As stated, you might need some fill light, depending on available light and if you're doing long exposure.

Is there a type of location that works better than others? - Somewhere with lots of space is usually good, where you can use the most of the location and put the car in different angles etc. You can use just about anywhere, really.

Will there be a lot of glare? - Depends if you're shooting into the light. However, sometimes it adds a littls something extra to the image, if you do have lens flare/glare.

Is there anything I can do to reduce glare, considering I won't have a polariser? - To reduce glare, you'll need a lens cap over the front of the lens, so the light can't creep into the lens. If you don't have one, a bit of cardboard wrapped around the lens would be suffice, or a hand wrapped around the end when taking a shot.

Is a particular lens better than the others for this? - I'd say a good wide angle lens is good to fit all of the car in and a zoom lens for detail shots etc. I just use my usual 24-70mm lens for car shoots. Take a few steps back and you have a wide angle and take a few steps forward and it's a zoom.

Does the car lend itself to a particular angle, is there any angles I should NOT attempt, and what are the 'standard' angles you shoot when documenting a car? - Depends on the car itself and how it looks as to what angles are best. Some are good for a car and some aren't. The cliché one's are side on and parked at an angle, with the wheels turned, but as stated earlier, make sure if you turn the wheels that you have the wheel showing, as opposed to tyre and for side-on shots, make sure the wheels are straight.

Is there anything else I need to keep in mind when taking these shots? - Just have fun and don't worry too much about it. Look the car over, see what you think might be good and try it. I'd say move the car about a bit too, as opposed to having it in one spot and just walking around taking photo's.

Hope this helps!

 

[Glass Books]

Keith,

Thank you so much for that very detailed and informative response!

From what you've said I think I'll try to just get the sunset light landing on the car, rather than having the actual sunset as background in the picture.

And it's good to see you can get a nice picture without a CPL, so thanks for that!

I'll keep all you've said in mind for next week

Again, thank you so much for taking the time to put all that together for me, it's very much appreciated!

 

[Keith Fusco]

Hey,

You're very welcome!

Yeah, I think the sunset landing on the car would be nice.

You're welcome too. I actually have a few shots from cars without a CPL filter, if you want to look.

Hope it helps and would be good to see the results from the shoot. Love the Bishi's!