Shooting from a moving car, need some tips... Need some tips.

[tommy2]

Hey guys,
A couple of guys I work with are taking a couple of cool cars to a drag strip about an hour and a half away. I will be riding shotgun in one of the cars giving me an opportunity to shoot pics all along the way.

Any tips you guys have about shooting from a moving vehicle would be insanely appreciated.

[FLATOUT]

Hey guys,
A couple of guys I work with are taking a couple of cool cars to a drag strip about an hour and a half away. I will be riding shotgun in one of the cars giving me an opportunity to shoot pics all along the way.

Any tips you guys have about shooting from a moving vehicle would be insanely appreciated.

Well I usually do it from the bed of a truck or trunk but it sounds like you will be shooting out the window.

I would just say take a bunch of them. If these situation it always seems like I get a bunch that are almost good enough, and a very small few that I love.

Play around with different exposure lengths to get different back ground blur. you never really know which one will be that perfect balance of blur and sharpness.

Thats just my experience anyway, hope this helps you buddy!

Andy Wheeler

[PhotosGuy]

Any tips you guys have about shooting from a moving vehicle It's about the same as shooting a static car, but 10X more complicated.
Try for the late light. See my Sig.
Watch the background when you shoot since you can't MOVE YOUR FEET! (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=536323), so to speak.
Ask the driver of the target car to maintain a steady speed so you can adjust the speed of the camera car to get your shot.
I suggest that you shoot on manual, since the background will affect your exposure. This shows how the subject can affect the exposure & why manual keeps me worry free:
Post #47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)
Click the "Thread: Need an exposure crutch?" link at the top-right if you'd like more info on exposure.

Don't drop your camera!
Have fun doing it!

[rockets.]

keep the same speed as the other cars.

little bit higher fstops help... like f10/f13 depends. shutter I usually go 1/60...

haha I dunno just play with settings. You'll figure out pretty quick.

I would probly use your 18-55 IS for them.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3112/2838982236_ba83e49861.jpg?v=0

That was f/10 and 1/25 shutter.

In the pouring rain... haha

[tommy2]

Awsome... Thank you guys...
I will practice by going on a drive tomorrow while taking pictures of other cars( I won't be driving ;). Sunday will be the big day so hopefully I will have some moving pics to post up.

[rockets.]

make sure your neck strap is around your head as well!

Some of my pictures Ive put the camera on the ledge of the door and just tried to aim it at the car and had some luck.
Good luck though, I look forward to seeing the results.

If the cars look like they are parked then your doing it wrong!

[DonJuanMair]

i tried this the other day but didnt do what frank said, use manual, i wish i had of though. its true what you say frank about the background will affect exposure. i took about 50 i think and i just got one that i liked.

[tommy2]

Ok I've been messing with manual here in the house. It's pretty awsome and very consistent. Not to mention alot easier to figure out when you just read your manual and give it a whirl. Now I can only turn on one light to not wake my better half so I can't really experiment to find out but does the exposure compensation in manual take into consideration iso?? Seems kinda silly because it should and from the posts I have been reading from Frank it is implied but nothing comes right out and says it. Well If no one replies to this question I will find out tomorrow. I'm going to bed.

Thanks for all your help guys.
Tommy.

[PhotosGuy]

does the exposure compensation in manual take into consideration iso?? There is no EC in M mode. You decide the total exposure.

[tommy2]

There is no EC in M mode. You decide the total exposure.
Sorry I should've worded that better. I meant the exposure level indicated by the camera. I was going off of that and it put the exposure at a level I was happy with (for now).

[DonJuanMair]

i did this 2 days ago, this was f8, 1/15

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k21/DonJuanMair/_MG_0452.jpg

[tommy2]

Thanks DonJuanMair ... I hope I can get at least one pic like that.
Man the air in Vegas looks very unfriendly to the lungs.

Awsome looking pic though!

[DonJuanMair]

thanks, that was at dusk and that was seriously only one out of about 50 that was usable

[Merkin]

When shooting from a car is using a rig a good idea?

If so can you buy these or do you just have to make your own?

[FLATOUT]

When shooting from a car is using a rig a good idea?

If so can you buy these or do you just have to make your own?


Well you would have to get both cars moving at the exact same speed, and the vibrations from the road I would think would detroy the shot. Maybe not I don't know.

I just put it in M and shoot a ton, playing around with my exposure length. I usually need a shorter exposure length then I think I will need. Good luck.

Andy Wheeler

[Yellowmsp]

i shoot in Tv when i'm doing rolling shots for the most part. it seems easier for me to adjust just my shutter speed and let the camera do its thing for the aperture since at the slow shutter speeds id be using it would have to use a small aperture anyway. heres a couple examples
http://www.scottlam.com/img/v4/p713424345-4.jpg
http://www.scottlam.com/img/v4/p645040771-4.jpg
sorry for the watermark on these, they are linked from my zenfolio
http://www.scottlam.com/img/v1/p163554034-3.jpg
http://www.scottlam.com/img/v1/p357540887-3.jpg

[tommy2]

Well, thanks all of you for your input.......
I learned a good couple of things on Sunday.....

1. A beautiful sunny day is good for alot of things, taking photos is not one of them.
2. White cars are a pain to shoot on beautiful sunny days. See #1.
3. A wide angle lens would be a big plus if the road you are traveling on is mostly a 2 lane road.
4. Getting your camera out in the wind instantly makes a picture trash (at 70+ mph).
5. You get any number of fast cars on the road and they will speed fater than they should. Making photography that much more difficult.
6. Fog or smoke can make a long stretch of highway useless for phographing cars.
7. A transam with a driveshaft imbalance at 70mph should not be the vehicle you ride in if taking photos.
8. You will have to crop out alot of mirrors and body pieces of that transam out of your photos.
9. Several fast cars and a couple of motorcycles traveling at 90+mph WILL attract police attention.
10. Even though it was a pain in the @$$ and I got maybe 10 good photos out of 150 I still had fun doing it.


............
Here are a three picture from that day. Most the pics of the day were of this white 335i as he was a pic whore :p.... As for the rest..... well they need alot of work :oops:

http://jantom.biz/images/A_3/1/2/8/48213/IMG_4099_bea44.jpg

http://jantom.biz/images/A_3/1/2/8/48213/IMG_4126_00a41.jpg

http://jantom.biz/images/A_3/1/2/8/48213/IMG_4134_c1a66.jpg

[Yellowmsp]

not bad for the first try. watch those backgrounds on the last two since you have a pole growing out of the motorcycle guy and a tree out of the car.

[tommy2]

not bad for the first try. watch those backgrounds on the last two since you have a pole growing out of the motorcycle guy and a tree out of the car.

Thanks... next time will probably be dedicated to taking photos so we will probably be going much slower and probably doing it later in the day.

I'm just happy I got some semi-good shots....

Hopefully I can keep getting opportunities to practice.

[PhotosGuy]

7. A transam with a driveshaft imbalance at 70mph should not be the vehicle you ride in if taking photos. :D 10. Even though it was a pain in the @$$ and I got maybe 10 good photos out of 150 I still had fun doing it. That makes the day a success in my book!