Underhood photo question 'lighting'

[izthistaken]

Ok, I took this shot a few weeks back. I've been shooting in Manual mode so I can learn my camera. This has been bugging me since I took the picture. How do I get a good shot? It's dull, too dark and just terrible. My buddies p&s picture looks great...*grumble* Anyways. Here is the picture and my settings, it was a bright and beautiful day out. WHAT am I doing wrong and what can I do next time? Thanks a ton!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30705352@N04/3613509239/in/set-72157619467550041/

Exposure:
0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture:f/8.0
Focal Length:24 mm
Exposure:0.00
ISO Speed:200
Exposure Bias:0 EV
Flash:Off

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3613509239_7ba2997f47_b.jpg

[FlyingPhotog]

One issue is a very broad dynamic range...

- White stickers and caps (and very light resevoir at camera left)
- Very, very deep shadows and black hoses, etc...

You'd benefit here from a cloudy day to kill the direct sunlight and reulting harsh shadows. Or, face the car directly down sun so the entire engine compartment is in shadow and then shoot with fill flash.

[izthistaken]

Yeah, I tried fill flash (on camera) didn't fare well. Was at a car show so I kind of was at a loss. :sigh:

[PhotosGuy]

Exposure:
0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture:f/8.0
Focal Length:24 mm
Exposure:0.00
ISO Speed:200 You could have tried ISO 800 & framed so that the sunlit areas weren't in the shot.

[northpointphoto]

Well there are a couple ways to approach this. The easiest way is to either shoot with the engine bay completely out of the sun or the engine bay completely in the sun. You dont want to have the car parked so half the bay is lit and half the bay is dark. Once you get the bay totally lit or totally dark then set your exposure and shoot away.

The second way would be to use off camera lighting. You could set up a light with a softbox or umbrella for fill light and dial up your shutter speed and aperture (I would start at 1/250 f10) so natural light isn't going to effect the photo. Then you can adjust the light output and position of the light to get the exposure and shadowing you want.

[izthistaken]

Ok thanks. At least I know that I was at a car show and helpless now. :lol:

[DC Fan]

Indoor car show. Had the camera at a high ISO for available light images of cars.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/online/carshow2009-05-16a-1620.jpg

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Exposure time: 1/60
F-stop: 5.0
ISO speed: 800
Focal length: 20.0000
Flash: Not fired
Exposure mode: Auto
White balance: Manual
Metering mode: Pattern


Fill flash. Onboard Digital Rebel XTi flash. Popped the flash up for the engine image, popped it back down for more car shots.

http://www.fansview.com/racing/20090516a1625.jpg

Camera Make: Canon
Camera Model: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Flash Used: Yes (Manual)
Focal Length: 24.0mm
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
Aperture: f/4.0
ISO equiv: 800
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: program (Auto)

[izthistaken]

Good deal.