Anyone have any good tips for taking pics of our cars? I find that a car that looks great to the naked eye looks awful at tmes when I photograph it. Case in point was the Falcon that I sent in for Rogers last race . In person the car looks pretty darn good in my book but as soon as you take a pic all the imperfections are magnified 10000%. Thanks, Rob

There are a few things... get a can of compressed air and use it on the car before you take pics. this will take off the tiny pieces of dust that seem to show up under the flash. A tripod is a good thingtoo. Also, top lighting as opposed to direct front lighting... you can use a reflector to get indirect fornt lighting... anything white will do... even a paper plate.

but in the end, it's mostly just trial and error

Rob,

Here is what happens. As we get older our eyes don't take in the close up detail as they use to so when looking at a stripe that has been masked o=f and painted it looks great but when photo graphing close up with a macro lens all of a sudden what looked great shows a ragged edge that we just could not see. Any imperfection will show with a close up photo that you just can't see holding a car in your hand. Decals that looked good will look pixalated in a close up photo. Your Falcon looked great in my hand and zipping around the track. You had so much extra detail that was incredible that I didn't capture with the camera.

Roger Corrie

For some reason red does come out well in JPG format. The compression messes with it and you end up with blocky artifacts in the red. You need to try different compression options or save the digital file as a GIF or BMP. ;)

Roger,
Don't get me wrong. I wasn't complaining about your pics at all! I thought they were just fine. I have the same issues when I take the pictures and I was wondering how others that take digital pictures get the job done.

A clean car and plenty of diffused light. Using a flash this close causes problems too. Most better digital cams will tone down the flash when the camera is set in macro focus mode, but it's not enough in my experience.

I use a cheap digital camera (2 mg) which has a close up feature. The real trick is the lighting. I turn the flash off and use the rooms natural lighting. It works great.

Check out the slide show on my space. www.myspace.com/northtexasslotcars

Rich 43

Some of the best shots I've seen are ones taken outside in natural sunlight. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

I still have not master the technique of taking a decent picture inside with just the flash and an extra light to minimize shadowing. Someone had a plan for a cardboard box. Cut out openings on the two sides and top. Get three extra lights, position two from the sides and one overhead, add something like tracing paper over the cutout areas for diffusion and shoot away. Sounded like something that would be worth trying. This way you have surround lighting that should accent the flash from the front. Still waiting to build it.
:rolleyes: rr

Buisnnes depot sells a dark box and two halogen lights on tripods and a digital tripod for 39 bucks. i used it on the last series of pics ( not the box pain in the rear..my pics were 100 times better as you can all see lol...

Dave

This thread is usless without pics...har

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g282/bobhch/apj3.jpg

I still use my first Didgital Sony Mavica and find also that Pictures taken outside using natural light come out the best.

Bob...snap, snap...zilla

This thread is useless without pics...har


True that... Indirect lighting, brush/blow off the car first, no flash or minimal flash at best. Also, try taking several of the exact same picture... same car/same camera position, each one utilizing different lighting sources and camera settings. Now that we're (for the most part) using digital cams, wasting film is pretty much a non-issue. Compare your results and see which one worked best. Also good to remember is that certain colors look better in certain lighting situations too. nd

Someone had a plan for a cardboard box. Cut out openings on the two sides and top...
That would be here (http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=205567&page=2), about halfway down the page. The car in the picture is large in comparison to the box, it must be 1:32 or larger. First page of that topic is mostly about cameras, the second page about lighting. It might be worthwhile reading.

Note, you do NOT use the flash with this setup.
I still have not master the technique of taking a decent picture inside with just the flash and an extra light to minimize shadowing.

I doubt you ever will. Side lights can't compete with the intensity of a flash close to the subject. For good pictures, follow this simple rule:

No camera-mounted flash. Ever. If you can't turn it off, put duct tape over it, cover it with your fingers, whatever, but no flash.

Use strong enough lighting that the camera doesn't need the flash. With digital cameras, that could be a couple of desk lamps. Those cheapo clamp-on bare metal reflector lights with a 100 watt bulb should be more than enough. Put the lights in front of the subject, but off to the side and a bit higher. If you have only one light, use a white reflector on the other side of the camera, as close as you can get, just out of the picture.

A piece of foamcore board, maybe 18" x 18", makes a great fill-light reflector - just prop it up vertical. Posterboard works too, but it can be a pain to make it stand up.

-- D

I use those 500 watt shop lights on a stand. Two on each side, just out of range. When the car starts to get that glossy look, thats when I snap the shot. Turn the lights off quick! Don't touch the car!!! (you have to wait for it to cool back down and get hard again) I learned that one the hard way. It was like pulling a glazed pop tart right out of the toaster. Anyways, that should get you a nice, fresh shot, but it might melt the decals off.
So, what's up with all the fancy lighting posts? Natural light rules. Sunlight is great, or I have eight of those corkscrew florescents in my garage. No Flash.

Rich

www.myspace.com/northtexasslotcars

So, what's up with all the fancy lighting posts? Natural light rules. Sunlight is great, or I have eight of those corkscrew florescents in my garage. No Flash.

Easy for you to say, cowpoke. :cool:

I also like to use natural light for car photos, since I have a living room that has two walls that are mostly glass and 340 days of sunshine a year. It gives nice, diffuse, even lighting from two sides. But we Texans tend to forget that in the less-developed world there are things called basements. They're like a big dark hole under your house where you go to do the stuff you enjoy when your wife says "Hey! None of that up here."

Hard to believe, but it's true; I've lived there.

Of course they also have hobby shops in every town over 5,000 population (sigh). :o

-- D ;)

How to make a light tent for taking evenly lit pics of a slot car, or any other small/medium object. Works great for eBaying stuff!


http://www.ignitecast.com/p/BpHT5mWNVq/

How to make a light tent for taking evenly lit pics of a slot car, or any other small/medium object. Works great for eBaying stuff!


http://www.ignitecast.com/p/BpHT5mWNVq/
I LIKE it!!!

(Great! Another project.......:woohoo:)

Scott

Check your local Wal-Mart, they've been clearing out Portable Lighting Studios...last I saw them at was $20.

What section of Walmart?

The camera section !:rolleyes:

You can take a look at some of my photos under "My Photos". These are shot in a basement with only basic flourescent lighting overhead. Photography is one of my other hobbies (it's great when two hobbies come together like this) and I do have a nice camera but that's not necessary. For this dark environment, a tripod and slow shutter speed is necessary.

For shooting just a car off the track, as many have suggested, light coming in a window on a cloudy (not sunny) with a sheet of white paper behind the car opposite the window to reflect the light. Play with the positioning of the paper; distance to the car as well as the angle. Typically again, it will require a slow shutter speed and a tripod. I will also tell you that the car will look better if you can get down to nearly eye level so the car's angled to the camera is much the way it would be if it were 1/1 scale. Enjoy.