m3fan Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Hello All, After much searching on here and google I'm still not sure on what kind of settings work better for taking pics of our models. I'm looking for info as to iso, f/, macro etc. I have a decent camera that has many settings available to me but not sure how to use them. I made a light tent and have a neutral background but after many pics still they don't look like many I see posted. Thanks for any and all help. Russ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 experiment with the f numbers i shoot most of mine with the highest f number , then again i,ve shot at f18 with good results, and macro, good lighting is esential theres no light as good as the sun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FastFred Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Check with harry p or mikemc...they seem to know an awful lot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
george 53 Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Mike Mc has years of photog expierience, he can steer ya right. Harry does too,so if he can take an eye off the crazies here, he might be able ta help ya too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 (edited) I don't know what camera you have and many new ones hide the numbers that equate to the old film days, High end camera DO still use these numbers so I will too. ISO probably should be low .. try 200 if you camera gives that. A few I'd probably leave what your cameras default is. ISO equates to what used to be film speed in film cameras .. the sensitivity of the film to light. Higher number is more sensitive . for low light photography. Sounds like you have f/ stops so use the highest your camera will allow .. it should be given as f22, f32 or such. Use the highest you can. This is depth of field .. the "length" of the area in focus. This is a small distance when close up and can be less than the length of your car .. so the higher the better. A high f stop closed down the lens so less light gets to the sensor/film so you MUST use a tripod. There are many reasonable ones available for small cameras. As with most camera accessories, the more you pay the better it usually is .. usually. Focus is also important and with all the auto-focus cameras this can be troublesome. You'll have to experiment with your camera to get it to focus where you want it. Typically the focus point on a 3/4 view is close to the windshield to get all the car in focus. Manual focus is the best way if your camera allows it. If your camera has a macro or closeup mode do us eit. Many of the above mentioned settings will be used. Hope this helps .. I thought I'd give MikeMc a break this time. Edited April 14, 2012 by Foxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apexonephoto Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 I don't know what camera you have and many new ones hide the numbers that equate to the old film days, High end camera DO still use these numbers so I will too. ISO probably should be low .. try 200 if you camera gives that. A few I'd probably leave what your cameras default is. ISO equates to what used to be film speed in film cameras .. the sensitivity of the film to light. Higher number is more sensitive . for low light photography. Sounds like you have f/ stops so use the highest your camera will allow .. it should be given as f22, f32 or such. Use the highest you can. This is depth of field .. the "length" of the area in focus. This is a small distance when close up and can be less than the length of your car .. so the higher the better. A high f stop closed down the lens so less light gets to the sensor/film so you MUST use a tripod. There are many reasonable ones available for small cameras. As with most camera accessories, the more you pay the better it usually is .. usually. Focus is also important and with all the auto-focus cameras this can be troublesome. You'll have to experiment with your camera to get it to focus where you want it. Typically the focus point on a 3/4 view is close to the windshield to get all the car in focus. Manual focus is the best way if your camera allows it. If your camera has a macro or closeup mode do us eit. Many of the above mentioned settings will be used. Hope this helps .. I thought I'd give MikeMc a break this time. I'm not an expert on photographing models, or building them for that matter, but I did sleep at a Holi.. Just kidding, everything that Foxer said is spot on. The only thing I would add, is if you have a timer function on your camera to use it. At a slow shutter speed, even pushing the shutter button can cause some shakiness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PlasticMom Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Try to go outside... A lot more light...My dad taught me that many years ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno356SC Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Hi all, PaslticMom is right. Going outside is a good idea. BUT this works best if it's cloudy. Cloud gives you a more evenly lit subject, which helps create an even exposure. When there is too much sun hitting your model, some of it will look too bright, while other ares be too dark. (I work in advertising and I can tell you there is a reason we shoot beauty shots of cars in a studio with those massive soft box lighting rigs. EVEN LIGHT.) Now, that said, going outside can give you some intersting effects. And you can play with different surfaces, such as grass, asphalt as the setting. Here are a few examples I shot of a Fiat 500 I built last summer. I shot 200 ISO at 2.8 using a Canon 5Dii with a 24-70mm lens. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonfinkelstein/6026559307/in/set-72157626907301530/ As far as the camera settings are concenered, it will partly depend on what effect you're looking for. Foxer is right. Higher ISO means the camera is more senstive to light. Which means you can shoot at smaller apertures and avoid underexposure or blurs etc. But the higher the ISO, the more noisy the picture can be depending on your camera. For a non-professional camera, I wouldn't shoot higher than 800ISO or it's will start to look noisy. (you know, grainy etc). I think 200ISO makes perfect sense. Personally, I like shooting with a very short DOF. I find it makes the cars look a little more realistic. So for me, rather than shoot at f22, I prefer f2.8 to f1.2. You get tons of light into the cam with nice blurred background, called bokeh. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bokeh Of course, as stated above, if you want everything in focus, you'll need a higher f-stop. At less than a few feet from your subject, I doubt you will find a differernce between f10 and f22. f10 is much easier to shoot hand-held and will give you plenty of depth of field. f22-f32 is best for landscapes and shots where there is lots of distance and you want tons of detail Have fun. Try differnt techniques and see what happens. Don't like it? Erase it! Love digital. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno356SC Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 M3 Fan? Perhaps you can tell us more about your camera setup (body, lens etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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