Have a huge photoshoot coming up with a car... seeking advice

I have my uncles car that just got out of the body shop with a staggering $75k paint job. It's a 1971 Ford Torino GT SCJ with a 532ci motor and a 8-71 blower pushing slightly over 1000rwhp. You can see his car in the background in this image before it was repainted. He has asked me to do some magazine quality type stuff.

My initial idea was to do some light painting at but also get some nice sunset shots with various angles. I will be traveling from houston to Indiana for this via driving. I have 4 AD200s, 4 V860ii's, tons of stands, 30x60, 24x36, 12x36 soft boxes, umbrellas, PCB beauty dish, colt 45 and a cheetahstand ricebowl 90. I've read that shooting a car a circular polarizer is pretty much mandatory... I dont' own any so is this a must when strobing? I was planning on using the soft boxes. I have several ideas for what we want to accomplish and several angles. I do plan on lighting the interior for some shots. I plan on getting a strobe up high blasting down, also plan on doing a few 3 strobe shots. I plan on picking up a fog machine to try that out as well.

What else am I missing? He is taking a full week off of work and I will be there for a full week. It will be some casual shooting. No payment... pure fun and enjoyment. He wants some high quality shots and I want to strobe it and never done a car before. I was going to go out this weekend and practice on my truck just to goof around and kind of work out the lighting a bit.

Just looking for any advice anyone might have to offer... maybe some pretty strong do's or don'ts when it comes to the lighting part. I have 3 of the AD-B2 twin heads so I can have modeling lights and spot check my reflections.

I've never seen a $75K paint job that I know of, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do with it. I would hope that you are able to get some shots similar to these of the "Beast".
UBNXOUS Beast! part #2.

Otherwise, look through the top two links in my Sig, & good luck!

I think one of your best sources would be the car magazines themselves. If he has an intricate designed paint job, check out Lowrider Magazine's website. Get familiar with their angles and detail shots. They have some great photographers

https://youtu.be/jeRDH​zVLulY

This F Stoppers video is probably the best approach to getting what you're after.
One frame shots of cars for publication require hugh amounts of production planning and on-site production.

Even in studio one frame shoots are difficult.

Light painting is the best option for your project.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #18636337
I've never seen a $75K paint job that I know of, so I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do with it. I would hope that you are able to get some shots similar to these of the "Beast".
UBNXOUS Beast! part #2.

Otherwise, look through the top two links in my Sig, & good luck!

Nice thanks for sharing the link. Yes the paint was an exterior job only along w/ rechroming all the trim/bumpers and such along with a few other things. The car was done at a top 5 shop in america who has won best of sema several times. I don't have a ton of info on the details but I do know the shop spent just shy of 900 hours on the car. Solid original color nothing fancy.

Just let Frank do it. He has real experience and may have shot a similar car in studio when the car was new. They don't call him Dr. Motown for nothing.

DBNissan wrote in post #18636341
I think one of your best sources would be the car magazines themselves. If he has an intricate designed paint job, check out Lowrider Magazine's website. Get familiar with their angles and detail shots. They have some great photographers

I haven’t looked at magazines in forever but I’ve been big into the car scene a decade ago. As far as angles and such and car positioning I have about 7 or 8 shots I want to get. I have a few background ideas I want. Some of the stuff will be done right in his own driveway and his garage.

I want a garage shot where the door is open his car is facing out. I have the tail lights on and headlights on and the garage getting fogged. Dark misty glowing shot as if the car was ready to pull out and start warfare.

Aside from the 7-8 shots I do plan on getting a few of the interior and several detail shots.

I’m going to try to convince him into letting me send them to hot rod magazine to see if I can get him a cover shot

Chet wrote in post #18636387
Just let Frank do it. He has real experience and may have shot a similar car in studio when the car was new. They don't call him Dr. Motown for nothing.

I feel confident of my ability to capture what I need. What I'll need to work most on is my post.

I have no doubt you can pull it off either. I've been in the studios with the 20' x 20' light panels that accentuate the lines of the cars with zero unwanted reflections. It's a true art from.

Chet wrote in post #18636387
Just let Frank do it. He has real experience and may have shot a similar car in studio when the car was new. They don't call him Dr. Motown for nothing.

"Dr. Motown"? Geeez! Sounds like a singing group from the '70s! ; D

I went back to my Facebook and found a couple snapshots I took a few years ago of the car. Nothing fancy I was just walking around at a local Friday casual show they normally do.

If I'm light painting and I'm using my fixed colored video light then should I gel the video light to match any artificial lighting?

Chet wrote in post #18636404
I have no doubt you can pull it off either. I've been in the studios with the 20' x 20' light panels that accentuate the lines of the cars with zero unwanted reflections. It's a true art from.

Is 20x20 common? I've been running some stuff through my little pea brain and was coming up with rectangular shapes.

That kinda sounds stupid typed out, but that's what I came up with. lol

I was thinking one large (15x25) overhead and one skinny one (25x5) to light door and quarter panels.

I have in mind an outdoor evening shot supplemented by strobes and panels.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #18636770
Is 20x20 common? I've been running some stuff through my little pea brain and was coming up with rectangular shapes.

That kinda sounds stupid typed out, but that's what I came up with. lol

I was thinking one large (15x25) overhead and one skinny one (25x5) to light door and quarter panels.

I have in mind an outdoor evening shot supplemented by strobes and panels.

We had huge studios that you could drive a semi inside. It mostly depends on the size of the studio & the distance of the flat from the car.
https://photography-on-the.net …showthread.php?​p=18298168

I have only shot a few classic cars, so there are probably lots of "Tips and Tricks" that the big boys use,
that I have never thought of. One thing that I have discovered is HDR and bracketing. I have stumbled
into a 5 shot bracket sequence with approximately 1/2 stop or 3/4 stop apart. Using the NIK software
(HDR effects Pro) returned results that I liked....My 2 cents.

Hope this helps,

110yd