A red Ultima GTR

digital_gopher

According to the web site for the Ultima, this is one of the fastest cars in the world. Found this one in the parking lot at a local autocross event. The owner has since contacted me asking if I could take more pictures of the car. Any suggestions on taking pictures of cars?

Jeremy

Higgmeister

Hi Jeremy,
Let the owner know that to capture the true essence of his/her car, you need to take it for a spin to see what the car tells you:D.

Seriously, I don't have much to offer. The only thing I would say is to use a polarizing filter to help cut out some of the reflection. This isn't a problem with dirty cars, but I'm assuming that the owner removes the smallest specks of dust whenever he can:D. I'd also say to find a location that doesn't have a cluttered background.

Good Luck and have fun,
Chris

BTW, don't forget to charge the owner a healthy fee. If he can afford that toy, then he can pay for the photos.

gsgary

Take a bikini clad model with you and get her to lay across the hood and post the results

cslithergo

That is Craig's car (front plate gives it away - he wanted to be legal) He has a great web site that has the complete build on it:

http://craig-ultima.com/

He has helped me much with my GTR purchase.

Chris

DJ-S1

I'm a rank amatuer, but I have been told in the past not to forget fill flash and/or reflectors to brighten up the foreground. I think #1 could have used it. Nice photos, that car must really haul.

cslithergo

DJ-S1 wrote:

I'm a rank amatuer, but I have been told in the past not to forget fill flash and/or reflectors to brighten up the foreground. I think #1 could have used it. Nice photos, that car must really haul.

0-100-0 world record holder. Over 1G on the skid pad.

ChrisJ

It sometimes can be nice to turn on the headlights and/or parking lights. Also, turning the wheels so they're not straight can add some effect.

Jonny427

95Mcaj wrote:

It sometimes can be nice to turn on the headlights and/or parking lights. Also, turning the wheels so they're not straight can add some effect.

If you would like some ideas as to shoot cars, I'm the photographer for my Car Club :

My website is http://www.importsuci.com/gallery feel free to take a look around for any ideas.

Usually I like shooting with a polarizer to saturate the colors and get rid of some of the reflections. Also, I try to avoid pictures that are parallel to the horizon (some dramatic effects 0o0o0). If you want to take a full car shot, I usually shoot it from the corners of the car instead of head-on. Otherwise, I like to focus on specific parts that make that particular car unique (ie. fender flares, scoops, tail lights, etc). If you got a wide-angle lens, get up close and shoot tight, cutting some parts of the car off.
Another idea is to have a moving car backdrop at night... basically park the car against a high traffic road and fire off a 15" exposure to turn the background into a sea of white and red.

Think as if you are shooting a portrait of a person, good bokeh is

Oh, and as others have stated, charge big $$$$!! This guy is loaded!

Jonny427

Here is an example. Make sure you BLUR the license plate, some peeps get mad if you post that info online!

(no polarizer, but shot at -2/3EV. I was kinda buzzed that day so it was shot at ISO 800 on accident)