Toronto Photography Meetup Group

*I hope this is in the right place*

I'm currently a newbie photog. Shooting as a hobby.
I use the Nikon D90 mainly with the 35mm f1.8G lens, but also have that crappy 17-55mm that came with the camera.

I'm looking for a new lens that would be useful for car shots like my last one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16064214@N ... 512513612/

Thanks!

I think any lens will do the job, car photography is not really about the lens.. more like the lighting.. a tripod will probably be the first thing u want if you want to shoot cars..

Stop down your kit lens to f8 and your images will be of fine quality. Experiment.

i hope this is a serious typo.

oh it is. i shall edit

EDIT:
Oh, I can't edit the first.
crappy 18-55mm =D

Best car photographer I know is Stephen (Ste823) so check out his site for inspiration.

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G + Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G shall do the trick. Then invest other gear on tripod, rigs, lighting, etc. =)

If your budget is tighter, then get the "not as good lenses" such as the Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G.

You're at the right place. Having said that, if your need some shots like your last shots, you can use the lens you use last time, or any lens that cover that mm range that gives you that perspective. If you don't like you last shots, well, tell us what you don't like about it first.

I always thought Ste823 was a canon shooter

I think it depends on what "kind" of shot you are trying to get. Before when I had a crop body - I loved the 17-55 and for rigs I went with a 10-20.

On FF, the setup that Ste823 has would be great if you can afford it I now prefer primes (20/50/85) and a 24-70 for when I feel lazy.

OP shoots Nikon.

Thanks for the input so far



What I don't like is the general shoots has to be on "pieces" of the car to get good pics. As opposed to the bigger picture.

I shot some more last night with a friend: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16064214@N ... 807846876/

Still unsure

I think by "pieces" you mean detail shot and by "bigger picture" you mean a shot of the entire car?

Have you tried taking a few steps back to get the entire car in the frame?

I see some of your pictures showing the 2 cars in its entirety were shot with the 35mm. So what's the problem? If you use the 18-55 then it'll be even wider.

If you don't like the background, angle, or the lighting, those are the things that you need to find and a new lens won't help you there.

It'll be easier if you can better explain what you are trying to achieve. Or provide some sample shots taken by someone else that shows what you want to achieve to give us a better idea of what you want.

I guess what I was trying to say is that it doesnt come out as nicely for the full car shots.

But thinking about what you said Xerox. It is mainly location and lighting. I have access to 2 SB600s, and I guess if I get stands for those I could try to use that effectively. Instead of a lens for now

Yeah.. don't think that's much of a lens issue. You're actually fine with the lenses you have right now. Find the look you want first, then you can figure out what gear you need.

The only way is to control the environment. It's tough with onlookers they're usually parked undesirably, terrible light etc. Studio or an outside shoot with no crowds.

kinda agree with most people here, but there's one thing you might wanna pick up to shoot cars is a circular polarizer, f8+.. tripod.. and a CP is a pretty good start to shoot cars

most of the pics in my site are shot with natural lighting, have a look.. http://www.shutterlit.com

try shoot with natural lighting first... using speedlites is a pain if you don't really know what you are doing.. kit lens is perfectly fine to shoot cars..

thanks Ste for all the tips! Hows the Hoya CP?

Instead of starting a new thread, what are some recommendations for a startup rig for moving shots such as those seen in the Cars! thread?

I'm particularly interested in the mount that hangs over the curbing such as with this shot...unless that wasn't done while mounted to a following car?

I think what you're referring to is the Manfrotto Magic Arm.. I think

no problem, CP is for removing reflections on the car (IE. windshield)


if you need to do rolling rigshots, you pretty much need the following..
avenger f1000 suction cups x2
manfrotto super clamps x3
manfrotto magic arm x1
a 10-15' long boom
wide angle lens (crop-10mm, ff-16mm)

pretty much this is what most people using in the net (mine is a little more fancier), probably cost around 4-500 for the accessories above (minus the UWA lens).. but then it kinda goes on.. and on.. such as ND filters, remote trigger.. never really stops lol, i want something more for my rigging gears

Does this qualify as "more"?

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ofermod/4878680356/" title="Mitsubishi commercial shoot by ofermod, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4878680356_19c0927a52.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Mitsubishi commercial shoot"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ofermod/4878079553/" title="Mitsubishi commercial shoot by ofermod, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4878079553_9cd227dec2.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="Mitsubishi commercial shoot"></a>

Ummmmm... this is more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikQd8vs1 ... r_embedded

They brought the second SLS in case DC turfed the first one... "You've got a spare haven't ya?"