Car Show - Proposed Shoot

[Snooks]

There is a car show on in 10 days and it is based in a local shopping centre in a very big carpark.

I have no experience at all, so hopefully someone can either guide me to some links that can assist or perhaps just answer a few basic questions:


The show starts at 6pm and runs until 10pm, so it is towards sunset and then into nightime. The carpark is apparently just finishing an upgrade with fully new lighting. What should I know or anticipate regarding the lighting, settings on the camera etc?
Would I be better using the 24mm lens or taking the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II, or take both. I just don't like changing lens walking around, I'm scared of dropping one.
Obviously I will shoot in RAW and Jpeg, try different settings etc and have fun.
I have never really used a flash before ( Not counting the old 110 cameras) and only have the inbuilt flash on the D2200. So i need a simple approach or plan because this could be an issue even under carpark lighting.


Is there anything simple and vital that I should know because I would hate to miss out on taking photos of some great cars because of something simple that I missed or did not know about.

Any input would be greatly appreciated and like I said, any specific links or articles that you know of would be a huge help.

Cheers.

[ameerat42]

...

The show starts at 6pm and runs until 10pm, so it is towards sunset and then into nightime. The carpark is apparently just finishing an upgrade with fully new lighting. What should I know or anticipate regarding the lighting, settings on the camera etc?

Would I be better using the 24mm lens or taking the AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II, or take both. I just don't like changing lens walking around, I'm scared of dropping one.

Obviously I will shoot in RAW and Jpeg, try different settings etc and have fun.

I have never really used a flash before ( Not counting the old 110 cameras) and only have the inbuilt flash on the D2200. So i need a simple approach or plan because this could be an issue even under carpark lighting.
...

Snooks, a few thoughts...
1) Make use of the ambient lighting as far as practical - like, try to avoid horrible hues such as from orange lights, but otherwise...
Change the WB setting when you process the RAW files.

2) Take only the 18-55. It covers the 24mm length anyway. It affords a wider view, and it gives you the chance to zoom if you need.

3) If you have the memory space to shoot both, otherwise I don't see the need to shoot jpeg as well. You won't lose ANYthing in RAW that
jpeg will retain, but the other way around. As for trying different settings, that may mean try a bit of manual bracketing, but you would have
to be on full Manual mode. By manual bracketing I mean make the odd 1-stop adjustment to your exposure if you are unsure of a shot. If the
shot looks good in the playback, don't bother changing the settings. Again, remember that you'd do that only in Manual mode.

4) Using flash is a long topic in itself, but quickly...
- If you use the usual shortest exposure time - the Flash Sync Speed - of 1/250sec on that camera you will cut out much of the ambient light.
That will make you flash the main light source.
- If you want to mix ambient and flash illumination this is where you will have to adjust your settings - mainly exposure time.
- Mixing light sources may give you odd color balance results (Flash usually has its own, then Daylight, Incandescent, etc). It should
not affect your raw files much as they can usually be corrected by changing the setting during conversion.

5) ** I suggest between now and then to go and do some practice, at about the same time and of the same subject and with the flash, on your
own car and some of the neighbours' cars :nod: - if they don't :eek: - for the variety of colour and shape.

6) Don't expect superb results for all your shots. Any mistakes can also be valuable for subsequent like events.

[Snooks]

Thanks for the tips mate and I will try and read up a heap more before going. It should be fun..... looking at the cars is always fun but taking some photos should introduce a new way of enjoying the even.

Meanwhile I will read up as much as i can and look through the auto forum threads again :)

[John King]

Snooks, you might or might not get some ideas from some of my car show shots, here:

https://canopuscomputing.com.au/zen2/CarsandSuch/

[Snooks]

Snooks, you might or might not get some ideas from some of my car show shots, here:

https://canopuscomputing.com.au/zen2/CarsandSuch/


Thank you John I will certainly check them right out :)

[Snooks]

Well, the car show was on and I must say, I had one helluva hard time and I have so much admiration for anyone that can get a really good photo at those events.

There was like 500 cars all squashed in, like a giant car park in a shopping centre (which it is) except it's open air. I got there just after 6pm and just wandered around looking at what interested me. I ended up shooting about 90 images and there was some really cool cars, together with some bikes and even a couple of pro racing boats. Anyway, I have learnt the following:


My reading up and preparing for the shoot helped me. I read lots of articles on shooting autos, together with shooting late afternoon towards dusk. I picked up some great tips and they helped.
Refer to #1 then scream "But it's not that easy!" :(
The cars were parked so close together it's totally impossible to take an image without another car in the background. If not a car, then people standing around looking and causing "distractions" in the background.
Shooting....mmm, my plan of shooting in brackets was good. I took some with different bias exposures etc. I did most shooting on AP, though I also did some on S and full auto. I even did a couple on full manual for fun and would you believe that a couple were actually not too bad.
Lighting. I made sure I capped the ISO at 400. The sun was quite good in that half the cars were in the shade which helped. Got some great photos but I need to be able to edit out reflections, people walking by and the paintwork showing them. Dark shadows as people walked by. As much as I checked and tried to avoid such issues, even my ugly mug shines back in a couple.
Framing - Really hard to frame without backgrounds being spoilt by other cars and people.
It is obvious that I need to really improve my post editing skills. I have kept a bunch of photos (RAW) aside for future editing because they have real potential, once i learn how to do it. Most is way too advanced for me at this stage.
Don't have a hard day cutting 2 big lawns and then walk around because it hurts like hell. I bent over, i knelt etc to get different angles and such and boy it was hard work going up and down. It was also 31.5C so quite hot at the time. I felt old when I came home :( lol
For some reason I felt very self concious, taking photos and people watching and then i got at the entrance and when the cars were lining up I would walk out and take a photo. LOL, I felt like a press reporter, what a buzz. But I was self conscious which quite surprised me, given I spent many years playing snooker in front of crowds and audiences.


I spent about 90 minutes there and then I had been there long enough. Got some images i love and will be happy to work on when i can, because they have potential. I took about 80 home, probably deleting 20-30 during the shoot and in all honesty, only 10 or so would have what i term as good potential.

But i had fun, i learnt a lot, I think I did quite well for my first "shoot" considering the hurdles that you encounter at these type of events. What I can say is that if I was taking a photo of one car at home, I am more than confident that I could take a really great image because there is room to work, no people walking around, you don't have time constraints and you can turn cars, move cars or alter positions so as to suit the sun. I'm gradually getting the images better, now I need to get the editing skills better. Even though I have used GIMP for ages, many of the skills I need now are not something I have ever used before in GIMP.

Just wanted to update you and let you know what happened and how I got on.

Time to crawl into bed, it's been a long and very hard day. Fun.....but hard.

Thanks :)

[Ross M]

Hi Snooks. Somehow I missed you original post. This is strange because I have some experience in this area and would have replied. No harm done because there are so many members here with incredible knowledge and you were given good tips. I live in Western Sydney and may have gone to this event, but did not know about it.

Tackling a night show was arguably trial by fire, as I consider these more difficult than daytime due to the lighting challenges. The results can be better in terms of a point of difference and interesting mood, however.

You were on the right track to research beforehand. I have found that most advice on the web is relevant to shooting one car in circumstances where there is significant control. As you discovered, a car show is very different. In my experience the cars are almost always packed in tightly. The best non-technical tip is to arrive at shows early to beat the crowds, but this is not always practical. It can result in you obstructing arriving vehicles, frustrating officials and compromising safety.

I take a number of close up detail shots to eliminate background issues, but I like to come away with mostly whole car shots. Getting down low and pointing up will avoid people and cars in the background of course. I carry a very small tripod and sometimes get the camera down near the ground. There are only so many of these shots that work. My Nikon D750 has a tilting LCD screen that allows me to avoid lying on the ground in these circumstances. Obviously in a crowded venue that is not very practical!

Editing out reflections is achievable. I choose the shots with the least number of reflections to work with. Mainly I just remove my own reflection. It can be tedious to get a good result and retain realism because of the compound curves in car bodywork. There are very limited opportunities for this when working with night photos I think.

I use a website called "Pinkys" to discover where car shows are taking place. There is an annual show at Camden that I like because it is held in a large showground and some cars at the edges are well spaced. This year, however, the large area was unavailable and the cars were closely spaced. Also, auto photo purists don't like cars on grass.

I'm glad you had fun.

[Snooks]

Hi Ross.

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate your comments and I am sorry I overlooked it. I forgot to subscribe and did not see the icon was lit up.

We had a ball and actually a very similar event is on at the same time in the Penrith Trotting Track this Saturday, 6pm - 10.30pm. It won't be quite as big I believe and it should be more open, they have cars of all vintages and makes and numerous Rods etc. Also bikes and any other form of transportation you care to bring.

It is a sanctioned event and entry is only $3 per person to look around all night. It will be awesome and really looking forward to it and hopefully I can get some better photos, especially ones that don't need as much editing. I've spent probably 30+ hours this week editing, trying, failing but learning and watching video on youtube one after each other and doing the same steps as they do, step by step. learning.....remembering is the hard part.

I found the first shoot was hard because of being self concious but thats fine now. The constant bending, kneeling and getting down low is hard due to back issues, but one at a time and i get there. I should hopefully be more aware now. The amount I took that when i looked back, i missed the roof line, left out a headlight or cut a corner off that was essential.... this time should be better.

Hopefully we get to meet one day at an event, it would be awesome to say hello and also see how an experienced person attacks the shoot.

Thanks again for your post, cheers for now :)

PS. I believe next March is the really big National Event and it's being held at Menagngle Racing Track or Greyhounds, I believe. It's out Camden way just past Campbelltown and should be huge :) Keep it in mind :)

[Ross M]

Hi Ross.

Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate your comments and I am sorry I overlooked it. I forgot to subscribe and did not see the icon was lit up.

We had a ball and actually a very similar event is on at the same time in the Penrith Trotting Track this Saturday, 6pm - 10.30pm. It won't be quite as big I believe and it should be more open, they have cars of all vintages and makes and numerous Rods etc. Also bikes and any other form of transportation you care to bring.

It is a sanctioned event and entry is only $3 per person to look around all night. It will be awesome and really looking forward to it and hopefully I can get some better photos, especially ones that don't need as much editing. I've spent probably 30+ hours this week editing, trying, failing but learning and watching video on youtube one after each other and doing the same steps as they do, step by step. learning.....remembering is the hard part.

I found the first shoot was hard because of being self concious but thats fine now. The constant bending, kneeling and getting down low is hard due to back issues, but one at a time and i get there. I should hopefully be more aware now. The amount I took that when i looked back, i missed the roof line, left out a headlight or cut a corner off that was essential.... this time should be better.

Hopefully we get to meet one day at an event, it would be awesome to say hello and also see how an experienced person attacks the shoot.

Thanks again for your post, cheers for now :)

PS. I believe next March is the really big National Event and it's being held at Menagngle Racing Track or Greyhounds, I believe. It's out Camden way just past Campbelltown and should be huge :) Keep it in mind :)

Hi Snooks,

I only noticed your reply tonight. Actually I wouldn't mind going to the car show tomorrow night at Penrith Paceway you mentioned in your post. The dusk light would be good. Their Facebook page says the event starts at 5pm. I haven't tackled a night car shoot for ages. You didn't say that you were planning to go but if so, I would like to meet up.

I was thinking about attending a small show this Sunday, partly because it is held at the Carousel Hotel, Rooty Hill, a few minutes drive from my home,. It's a lot of car photography all at once if I go to both, but could be done.