Car Photoshoot - Multiple exposures from Strobes?

This Weekend I am going to try to take some images of my friends car.

I'm thinking of using my 580EXII and merging multiple exposures in Photoshop.


But uncertain of what light modifier to use?

I have both shoot through and reflective umbrellas, a "smaller" softbox (I think it is a 60x60cm).
I also have the Fstoppers Flashdisc
Or should I use the flash without any modifier at all?


Your ideas for this please?


/Jocce

I try not to have to use flash for cars. If you haven't read the "Tips" thread in my Sig, now would be a good time to do that. And good luck!

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18600816
I try not to have to use flash for cars. If you haven't read the "Tips" thread in my Sig, now would be a good time to do that. And good luck!

Well, if I am going for that look then I need the strobes

I'll read your thread


/Jocce

The key to shooting cars is often the use of veerrry large white reflective panels or veerrry large 'softboxes', whose reflections are visible at key positions in the car to allow the viewer to see a body panel or a design edge sculpted into the body by the designer. For example, photo 2 in this post...

https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18437614

ive used one 580exii to light up a car before. i did each panel then also exposed for background and foreground and put them all together. i didnt use a modifier. bare flash

booja wrote in post #18603220
ive used one 580exii to light up a car before. i did each panel then also exposed for background and foreground and put them all together. i didnt use a modifier. bare flash

It's very busy, but an interesting shot.

booja wrote in post #18603220
ive used one 580exii to light up a car before. i did each panel then also exposed for background and foreground and put them all together. i didnt use a modifier. bare flash

This is exactly the look I am going for!

Could you give me some more details? Like settings, power of the strobe, distance of the strobe, angles etc?

How many pictures/exposures is this?


/Jocce

Jocce wrote in post #18603656
This is exactly the look I am going for!

Could you give me some more details? Like settings, power of the strobe, distance of the strobe, angles etc?

How many pictures/exposures is this?

/Jocce

if i remember right i think it was like 10-13 pics put together. i did each panel then each wheel and so on. i cannot recall the settings used bc i did this so long ago. i know i used my 35L at f/8. the flash i would say is about 10ft away. i did a long exposure for the background and exposed it properly. when i was lighting up the car it was under exposed and i let the flashes do its job. i also made sure that it wasnt too bright bc you can make the car look flat if its all bright and exposed. needs some shadow and light fall off on the car

Here's what I would do.

Camera on a tripod (duh) and either a wireless remote trigger or a helper.
I'd shoot at 4.0 or 5.6 max in order to help keep the ISO low and flash power not at max. If you want everything sharp front to back, you'll have to dial up the f/stop to f/11 or f/16. For me, I like the background a little blurry and car super sharp.
Once you decide on your f-stop, figure out your ISO - if you have a good camera with low noise you should be able to go to 800 if necessary. I prefer to keep it under 800 as much as possible. I'd set ISO as low as you can get it without having multi-second exposures unless that is a look you want. Nothing wrong with multiple second exposures it just adds to the time for each shot and increases the chance for motion blur to creep in (wind, a bump on the tripod, etc).
Expose for the background so you don't have pitch blackness or blown out lights from buildings (no strobes - just get the background right. Strobes won't be lighting up the background anyway). You'll leave your aperture set and adjust shutter speed and ISO to get your exposure.
Now add your strobe. Just start at say 1/2 power on your strobe and take a test shot. I'd recommend having your light up as high as practical (7-9 feet) and angled down at the ground so it is NOT pointed right at the car. You can experiment with angle and distance to get the look you want.
Dial in your power. If you hit max power and the exposure is still dark, you'll need to give something up - raise your ISO, or open your aperture.
It's a meticulous process - there is no ONE super setting that is perfect. The answer is it all depends - on your camera, strength of your strobe, if you have a helper, if you are in the middle of nowhere or in a brightly lit parking lot, if you are shooting at the blue hour (which I recommend - it's beautiful) or hours past sunset.

Hopefully this gets you started!
James

With a small aperture and low ISO, you can walk around in the frame with no impact on the final photo, just wear black.

I think you can get it in one exposure, but I'd rather be behind the camera than behind the mouse. Figure out the ambient exposure, then figure out the time the lights need to be on, with that as your base exposure figure out flash power and number of pops on each side.

60x60 (hopefully inner diffuser panel only) or bare flash.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18604831
With a small aperture and low ISO, you can walk around in the frame with no impact on the final photo, just wear black.

I think you can get it in one exposure, but I'd rather be behind the camera than behind the mouse. Figure out the ambient exposure, then figure out the time the lights need to be on, with that as your base exposure figure out flash power and number of pops on each side.

60x60 (hopefully inner diffuser panel only) or bare flash.

yeah i did it this way recently. it was dark out and i set my iso low and have my shutter open for 20 seconds and had a helper run around a pop a flash manually all around the car. you can do that or use an led light and paint the car. i did both but the flash pops looked better for some reason. it only took two pics to merge instead of like 10. i exposed for the background for one shot and then lit up the car for the second shot

Yep - absolutely can do it that way - the big drawback is if you accidentally over power part of the car and blow it out. With multiple exposure approach you can pick and choose which ones you like that highlight specific parts of the car and then merge them in Photoshop. I totally get wanting to spend as little time with the mouse as possible - each way works, it's just a matter of how good you are at consistently aiming the flash or painting with the light.

Two of the results.

Not 100% satisfied, but as I mentioned, first time trying this!