Best setup for car shows ?

[halfpenny43]

Am making my annual pilgrimage to the Geneva Motor Show in March and will be the first year with my OM-D 5ii

One thing I have never managed to do successfully is recreate in a foto the true colours of a car. The colours always manage to look either darker / duller or less vivid on the foto than "in real life"

Last year I got some slightly better results with a flash and using the defuser, but find that the combination of lighting used in exhibition halls along with the sheer expanse of an exhibition hall often make lighting a foto difficult.

Any advice welcome, along with best lens choice - I was thinking of a 17-42mm as most of the pictures are taken from close up ?

[Simpo Two]

halfpenny43 said:

One thing I have never managed to do successfully is recreate in a foto the true colours of a car. The colours always manage to look either darker / duller or less vivid on the foto than "in real life"

Last year I got some slightly better results with a flash and using the defuser, but find that the combination of lighting used in exhibition halls along with the sheer expanse of an exhibition hall often make lighting a foto difficult.

Dark/dull sounds like an expsosure issue, but equally importantly shoot RAW. Exhibitions are notorious for mixed and odd light sources; RAW will allow you to hammer out/correct the white balance afterwards.

Flash on cars (used direct) is usually a bad idea as you just get highlights.

[xjay1337]

I have no issues getting cars to look realistic with a bit of post-processing
I also commit the cardinal sin of a "pruuu furrrturrgrufferrr" and shoot in JPEG because I take photos which are half decent for lighting in the first place

On a crop frame 17-42 will not be wide enough

Have a look through here .
Go to a lot of shows, indoor/outdoor etc.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/fatbearphotography/

I've just recently got a 10-18 which is the best thing ever IMO for car shows especially ones where you are in tight spaces.

[MartinFC]

Would you not get too much distortion from a very wide angle lens?

[xjay1337]

You do get a bit but that is mostly removable with post processing. (there are lense profiles on Lightroom for example).

[halfpenny43]

Thanks all for the responses. I'll have a look at lenses to see what is available.

I have never shot in RAW before or used post processing software - except for something basic on the iPad. But maybe I need to look at something else.

[Simpo Two]

halfpenny43 said:

I'll have a look at lenses to see what is available.

I have never shot in RAW before or used post processing software - except for something basic on the iPad. But maybe I need to look at something else.

If in doubt shoot both.

On focal length, Xjay likes wider than 17mm but he's getting half the exhibition hall in the background.

[jayemm89]

You will find you have an extremely difficult time reproducing accurate colours if you're photographing inside. The majority of large venues use lights which are far from ideal for photography. The have a very poor CRI, and render colour over a very thin spectrum. This doesn't bother your eyes because generally you know what colour cars look like (eg. Ferrari red), so your brain fills in the missing information and presents it correctly. Cameras not so smart unfortunately.

I'd personally be tempted to get a monopod or tripod and use longer shutters rather than a flash, a flash from on the camera is probably going to have a less-than-great effect unless you're using it as a fill (eg. you're outside and the car is heavily backlit)

[xjay1337]

Simpo Two said:

If in doubt shoot both.

On focal length, Xjay likes wider than 17mm but he's getting half the exhibition hall in the background.

I've tried to do 18-55 mm lenses in exhibition hall type shows and it's very difficult to get the car in the frame especially if, like most car shows, you struggle to get the whole car in the frame of a crop sensor camera.

A few years ago now so not my best photography but you can see what I mean - it's very difficult to get the car in frame beacuse by the time you have filled the shot up with car you are basically sat on the bonnet of another one.

Photography is all about personal expression. For a long time I have managed with an 18-55 lense, maybe switching to my 50mm prime for some shots but I feel a greater range of personal freedom at indoor car shows with the 10-18. Most of the time I'd be shooting at 18mm anyway. A 10-22 (older cannon wide lense) may offer additional flexibility.

[Rogue86]

I worked Geneva last year (and will be doing so again this year) and really, on-camera flash is fine. To be honest, the lighting in there is bright enough in most places to shoot without the flash as well. I wouldn't particularly recommend shooting UWA for everything as all your images end up looking the same.

There's some stuff in here from last year:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129730878@N07/

[xjay1337]

Some really nice pics there. ^^

[halfpenny43]

Rogue86 said:

I worked Geneva last year (and will be doing so again this year) and really, on-camera flash is fine. To be honest, the lighting in there is bright enough in most places to shoot without the flash as well. I wouldn't particularly recommend shooting UWA for everything as all your images end up looking the same.

There's some stuff in here from last year:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129730878@N07/

Wow - nice pictures ! That is exactly what I mean't about capturing the true vivid colours.

Very helpful looking at how you set your camera up for the shots.

One question if I may - how did you determine between using F2.8 or F4.0 ?

Edited by halfpenny43 on Friday 22 January 21:21

[Rogue86]

Thanks - I didn't get much time around the halls as I was being contracted to work on a stand so Im glad you guys like them.

The aperture really depended on what I wanted to achieve for that shot and the lighting on that particular stand. The bigger manufacturers all pay for stand-lighting but some of the smaller independent guys dont because of the huge costs. That said, you can really just get away with setting up the camera in manual for one area and then just test/adjust as you go round. Then all you really need to worry about is finding a gap in the crowds!

[kman]

I've been to Geneva many times (and will be there on press days this year) and I personally would say you don't need a flash - most if not all stands will be lit up well, albeit spotlights from high up ceiling leave a hard light - nothing you can do really even a CPL filter is limited with all the angles the cars get hit with light. Wouldn't shoot with direct flash not a lot to bounce off either and take a range of lens.