G5, trying to photography automobiles headlights.

[JonK]

Hello. I do a lot of automotive photography. In fact, that is what I primarily shoot. I am doing a shoot of my own car which has HID 6000k color headlamps but I cannot seem to get a decent picture without them being flared ridiculously.



i upped the ISO to 200 i think in order to get a higher shutter speed to test with. i know it's noisy. what gives?

Will a polarizer fix this?

[s00pcan]

A polarizer would lessen the glare off the ground and reflections off the cars. Go buy one right now, seriously. With a strait on shot like that it's pretty hard not to see anything but the headlights, I'd pick another angle. I have a crazy idea though, you could try a long shutter speed shot and only have the headlights on for part of the exposure.

[JonK]

Originally Posted by s00pcan

A polarizer would lessen the glare off the ground and reflections off the cars. Go buy one right now, seriously. With a strait on shot like that it's pretty hard not to see anything but the headlights, I'd pick another angle. I have a crazy idea though, you could try a long shutter speed shot and only have the headlights on for part of the exposure.

If I do that, the way the xenon headlights work is that they warm up, so they would appear EXTREMELY PURPLE.

[joeyjoeyjoey]

Meter off you headlights then under expose it a couple of stops. From your picture your headlights are overexposed.

Also you could do a variation of the last posters idea. Have someone hide in each car. Again underexpose the headlights. Set a longer shutter speed (tripod is needed here). With the headlights on press the shutter then yell, or 2way the ppl in the car to shut of the lights.

You'll need to play with the shutter speed/exposure/aperture. But this should work.

Its no the quick snap shot approach but it should work for what youre trying to do.

[JonK]

Originally Posted by joeyjoeyjoey

Meter off you headlights then under expose it a couple of stops. From your picture your headlights are overexposed.

Also you could do a variation of the last posters idea. Have someone hide in each car. Again underexpose the headlights. Set a longer shutter speed (tripod is needed here). With the headlights on press the shutter then yell, or 2way the ppl in the car to shut of the lights.

You'll need to play with the shutter speed/exposure/aperture. But this should work.

Its no the quick snap shot approach but it should work for what youre trying to do.

How do I compensate exposure on the G5?

[Biko]

You would probably be best taking 2 shots using a tripod, first without the lights, second with them on and then blending using layers. You can expose differently for the two light sources.

Scott (sdommin) did a shot of I think it was NY at night layering the two shots as one of the signs was too bright, he explained in the thread how he did it. You might want to do a search for it.

[Biko]

The threads here http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...amp;highlight=

It explains the issue of having a bright light in a darker photo and how to deal with it.

[twl845]

why not adjust the photo in PS

[45R]

You can always try experimenting with the ND filter setting. I've used that to cut down glare from lights.



Or soften the glare

[Basiltoo]

Originally Posted by 45R

You can always try experimenting with the ND filter setting. I've used that to cut down glare from lights.

The only effect the ND filter will have is to require increased exposure settings. It cannot reduce glare.

[kreego]

Originally Posted by JonK

If I do that, the way the xenon headlights work is that they warm up, so they would appear EXTREMELY PURPLE.

I just happened to play with the long exposure function in Tv mode, which gives you up to 15 seconds. Here's something to try:

Meter with the lights on, set the shutter speed for 8" for example, then have an assistant turn off the lights from inside the car, or leave the driver-side window open and do it yourself, on both cars. Don't open the door, because you'll get the interior lights on your picture! Wear dark clothing, and move fast . You'll probably need to turn the lights off rather quickly relative to your overall exposure time, because they're so much brighter than the rest of your scene. How much you underexpose will have the same effect...

Show us some results!

K

[Penguin_101_1]

Originally Posted by kreego

I just happened to play with the long exposure function in Tv mode, which gives you up to 15 seconds. Here's something to try:

Meter with the lights on, set the shutter speed for 8" for example, then have an assistant turn off the lights from inside the car, or leave the driver-side window open and do it yourself, on both cars. Don't open the door, because you'll get the interior lights on your picture! Wear dark clothing, and move fast . You'll probably need to turn the lights off rather quickly relative to your overall exposure time, because they're so much brighter than the rest of your scene. How much you underexpose will have the same effect...

Show us some results!

K

If they turn purple then you can reduce that in photpshop.