Lighting for vehicle photo studio

entrefoto wrote in post #6670121
The problem is its a corporate environment where we have to move quickly to achieve certain objectives to sell cars. We cannot have the cars tied up in a studio very long so they can get on the lot and the photos can get online for our customers to see. Our objective is to get the cars in and out of photos asap so we need the best we can get. I would love to do a set up like i read about and have phenominal photos, but the fact of the matter is we are not shooting for the manufacturer. I would also love to be shooting with a 5D but the executives don't see it that way either. We have to try to keep costs low and still get good results.

A tripod won't slow you down, it'll give you better pictures, using cheaper constant lights with exposures of a few seconds instead of a fraction of a second. The difference of 5 seconds per car isn't really that important i'd have thought.

If it were me, I'd buy two or three white sheets, pin them together and hang them horizontally from the ceiling. I'd point my lights up at the sheets or hang them between the ceiling and sheets to create a light soft overhead light source.

For the interior shots I'd use two 4' x8' pieces of white foamcore just outside the car and bounce lights off of them. This will create a nice soft light for the interior.

Total expenditure for the sheets and foamcore should be under $100.

Ever heard of Zappos?

They are an online retailer best known for shoes. The largest internet shoe store in the world.

They have an automated "studio" where one shooter can literally shoot over 100 pairs a day without breaking a sweat.

You need something like that.

Tim has given you excellent advice. What you are talking about is basically shooting 15 cars a day, or one every half hour. If the space is appropriately prepared, that's not a problem.

You just need the right system.

I don't think you are going to get these things looking like they came out of a white box, so some creativity is in order.

Can you post some shots of the space that we can look at?

I'd have thought you could do a LOT more than one car every 30 minutes. Park it, a few snaps, gone again in 5-10 mins.

I think he needs the interiors and exteriors in that time. Once everything is set, I think you could do the exteriors in your time frame easily.

sounds like you're trying to get studio shots while trying to shoot all the cars on the lot in one day. on camera flash to fill in a car?

I cannot supply pictures of the space as I am in Indiana and the space is in Iowa. I will not be back out that way until the 20th. I do certainly appreciate everyone's help! I need 21 photos of each car for our normal website and around 70-100 for cars going on ebay. We will have a speedlite on the camera for fill inside the cars. we are trying to get the best possible photos while moving the cars fast so they can get on the lot and have a chance to be sold.

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Just to be sure I'm reading this right -- you need 70-100 photos of EACH car for ebay? Where do you host them? Outside of Ebay?

Yes 70-100 photos of each car for ebay. They are hosted on our own servers or through ebay depending on which method our sales associates use for ebay. Ebay will allow up to 100 photos themselves by using their dealer center listing tool.

It's an aside, but how could you possibly need 100 photos for each car?

entrefoto wrote in post #6676563
I cannot supply pictures of the space as I am in Indiana and the space is in Iowa. I will not be back out that way until the 20th. I do certainly appreciate everyone's help! I need 21 photos of each car for our normal website and around 70-100 for cars going on ebay. We will have a speedlite on the camera for fill inside the cars. we are trying to get the best possible photos while moving the cars fast so they can get on the lot and have a chance to be sold.

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This is a photo from an ebay dealer in Texas. They have their "studio" set up in an old hockey rink they operate out of. The space we have to work with looks similar to this and right now we are favoring this kind of light set up. Do you all think this is a good set up or how we can take this and improve it?

Thanks!

Sure, this works.

Can you show us pics of the space you have to work with?

tim wrote in post #6682043
It's an aside, but how could you possibly need 100 photos for each car?

One photo for each scratch and dent? LOL

entrefoto wrote in post #6669129
Here are some examples of what we do. The first link is one of our Indiana stores where we do the photos outside. The second link is to one of our Iowa stores who prefers inside and this is their old set up which is pretty worthless and we are working to correct.

http://www.lujack.com …s=true&include-media=true

Mark,

I live in the Quad Cities and we bought our Lexus at Lujack. Please be careful that whatever you do doesn't cost so much that they have to raise the price of their cars.

BTBeilke wrote in post #6686506
Mark,

I live in the Quad Cities and we bought our Lexus at Lujack. Please be careful that whatever you do doesn't cost so much that they have to raise the price of their cars.

Haha, I don't think we have to worry about that at all! I just started working with Lujack's and they are great people and we are going for a very cost effective way for this. Thanks for writing! I hope you are enjoying your Lexus!

tim wrote in post #6682043
It's an aside, but how could you possibly need 100 photos for each car?

For Ebay you literally have to show every flaw the car has so the buyer knows exactly what to expect when they purchase the vehicle since they can't see it in person before purchasing. Photos include every angle of outside, inside, close ups of all lights, mirrors, options, scratches, dents, seat wear, engine, trunk, all that stuff.