City at Night car pictures

[10megapixel]

Hello everyone, I'm going out with a friend of mine this weekend to shoot some pics of his car. He's wanting some night pics of his car in Indianapolis with the city lit up behind it, maybe upper level of a parking garage or something. Anyway, I was wondering if anyone could give me some good advice to get some nice pictures in this setting.

[Ook]

Well, for a start, keep an eye out for interesting lighting. Pay attention to how the light looks bouncing off the car (which is a big mirror). There is a tendency for wheels/rims to be darker than the body due to the lighting angles, so pay attention to that. If you aren't bringing your own lights, you'll have to keep your eyes open or improvise (large reflective surfaces, such as white or foil-coated bristol board).

Also, tripod will be your friend. Don't be afraid of really long exposures; it is night after all. Keep the ISO down, and start around f/5.6 or f/8 (in Av mode) to keep the background city lights discernable.

[10megapixel]

Thank you

[PhotosGuy]

Some of the best "night shots" I've seen were taken before it's totally dark while there's still some light left in the sky. You don't need much, but you need some to light the car. Meter the sky & underexpose 1 stop. See how it looks to you. Try some at minus 1-1/2, 2, 3 stops. Film is cheap?
You can even try it at home & run some tests.
A few Car Lighting Tips - Updated (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

Almost night: Vegasboy's Corvette shots:
Red C6 Z06 rolling black wheels (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=463193)

Warship at sundown (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=516721)

Lets See Your 30 sec. exposures (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=419451)

m.s Balmoral (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=585034)

Night Train (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=497318)

[rigshots]

Definitely bring a tripod and I suggest you use manual exposure settings and use your histogram to set your exposure. Auto exposure settings are easily fooled by bright lights in the scene and often lead to underexposure.

This was lit by walking around the car during a long exposure and firing a flash at the car from several different place. There are more details about how to do this kind of shot here (http://www.rigshots.com.au/cl_092.htm) and here (http://www.rigshots.com.au/howto4.htm).
http://www.rigshots.com.au/images/light101/l_140_400.jpg

Check this (http://www.rigshots.com.au/howto3.htm) out, it probably has most of the info you might need. There's info about shooting at night (http://www.rigshots.com.au/howto3.htm#Shooting_at_night) and quite a bit more.

JJ

[10megapixel]

Very helpful information from all... thanks guys;)

[Eaton Photos]

Do you have any locations in mind. How well do you know downtown Indpls? Randomly driving around trying to find locations, does not exactly work to well with Indy's layout. Create a list of places to shoot, and stick with them.

[10megapixel]

Do you have any locations in mind. How well do you know downtown Indpls? Randomly driving around trying to find locations, does not exactly work to well with Indy's layout. Create a list of places to shoot, and stick with them.

I'm very familiar with downtown Indy, I live about 1 hour away, and go there quite a bit for shopping , Colts games and the 500 . I have never went there to take pictures other than at the Colts games or the race...lol, but I do have some locations I want to try near the new stadium for the car shots. I have a friend that lives in Greenwood that is meeting us up there as well to help out, so we will see how it goes. If the pictures turn out ok I'll post them;)

[kodak_jack]

I'm actually posting this looking for help for my son. He does accident investigation/reconstruction north of Atlanta. The accidents sometimes occur on or around I-85, so, time is of the essence to get traffic moving again. They were recently given new Canon outfits with separate flashes. They went from using quick, cheap cameras with built-in flashes and getting great shots to an expensive Rebel system and getting dark shots. Obviously, the shutter speed is in synch, but the light levels are too low. There's no going back afterwards and what shots they take are considered evidence, so, they're important. They have had NO training whatsoever, so, any help you can give would be appreciated. They are using tripods and have work/spot lights too. Thanks.

[PhotosGuy]

This question is a lot like saying, "My car doesn't run"? expensive Rebel system What system?
Does it have an external flash? If so, which?
What settings is he using?
It would also be helpful to post one of the dark images with the EXIF information intact.

Gather that info & repost your question here: Small Flash and Studio Lighting (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=35)

It wouldn't hurt to look at this "Sticky" there: ** IMPORTANT LINKS: EOS Flash ** (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138907)

Good luck!

[kodak_jack]

This question is a lot like saying, "My car doesn't run"? What system?
Does it have an external flash? If so, which?
What settings is he using?
It would also be helpful to post one of the dark images with the EXIF information intact.

Gather that info & repost your question here: Small Flash and Studio Lighting (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=35)

It wouldn't hurt to look at this "Sticky" there: ** IMPORTANT LINKS: EOS Flash ** (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=138907)

Good luck!

Thanks. That's a very informative tutorial series. I'll have to get the particulars from him, but I was led to believe it wasn't some nickle/dime flash, but a dedicated flash of decent power (not the built-in flash). He seemed to indicate that the flash alone was ~$500. I'll pass on the link you gave and see what he says. Photography isn't his thing, but is a necessity for his job. It seems moronic for the department to give them this kind of equipment without any training!:rolleyes:

[kodak_jack]

I finally got an answer from my son including some examples. I posted them the small flash section as you suggested. Thanks.