Best Flash for automotive photography

gerax · 10-09-2018, 07:05 AM

Hi all,

I'm starting to explore automotive flash photography. I have a vintage car repair shop at my disposal (thanx to my wife) so I have some pretty nice vintage sports cars (Maserati, Ferrari and the likes) that need to be shot before they leave the shop.
K1 and HD DFA 24-70 is the combo I'm using for this task.

Now, I'm a bit of a newbie for what goes on with flash photography. I'm getting into it with lots of tutorials and such but I need to get one to actually practice the thing before I get to the shoot.
I know regular studio flashes are used for this task but I'd like to start out simple and build it up gradually; also, I'd like to use it for regular event and portrait shooting, so I'd go with a speed light to be used off camera with trigger and receiver.

Any ideas on what to get?

tuggie76 · 10-09-2018, 07:24 AM

Originally posted by gerax

Hi all,

I'm starting to explore automotive flash photography. I have a vintage car repair shop at my disposal (thanx to my wife) so I have some pretty nice vintage sports cars (Maserati, Ferrari and the likes) that need to be shot before they leave the shop.
K1 and HD DFA 24-70 is the combo I'm using for this task.

Now, I'm a bit of a newbie for what goes on with flash photography. I'm getting into it with lots of tutorials and such but I need to get one to actually practice the thing before I get to the shoot.
I know regular studio flashes are used for this task but I'd like to start out simple and build it up gradually; also, I'd like to use it for regular event and portrait shooting, so I'd go with a speed light to be used off camera with trigger and receiver.

Any ideas on what to get?

With flash you are likely to get a lot of reflections in the paint, you might want to try just ambient light first to see how it turns out. You might also like to visit Strobists, strobist.blogspot.com/.

Wasp · 10-09-2018, 08:02 AM

For this kind of job, lots of power is needed. A Pentax AF540FGZ would be a good starting point. Two would be even better. Or look into the stuff made by Yongnuo. Not as pricey as the Pentax. Keeping it in the Pentax family has the advantage that wireless and P-TTL is built-in and ready to go, no need for extra triggers and manual exposure.

PS: flashes by themselves are nice, but to do justice to the subject you need to add stands with softboxes, umbrellas etc. The Strobists page is a good starting point.

runswithsizzers · 10-09-2018, 08:58 AM

I have no experience with setting up lighting, but I have taken a lot photos of cars in museums. One of the biggest problems I've seen is specular hot spots on the shiny paint (mostly reflections of the spot lights used in the museum). I try to move my angle around to reduce the worst of them but ...

My points being:
- Some kind of diffuser / reflector is probably indicated to reduce hot spots.
- With a flash you can't see the hot spots until after the photo is made - so expect to do a lot of critical chimping to make sure you don't have unexpected reflections.
- Might be easier to get a light stand or two rather than a flash? (tho obviously not for event shooting)

Just guessing.

**Wingincamera** · 10-09-2018, 12:10 PM

I have very little experience with this, but when I do I find using a polarizer helps with some of the reflections. Since your using a tripod a slow shutter speed will not be a problem.

stub · 10-09-2018, 02:07 PM

If your using speedlights.. Purchase the Godox "S" bracket to attach the speedlight to a lightstand. You can the attach softboxes or any other lighting modifier using this bracket...

gerax · 10-09-2018, 03:28 PM

Originally posted by Wasp

For this kind of job, lots of power is needed. A Pentax AF540FGZ would be a good starting point. Two would be even better. Or look into the stuff made by Yongnuo. Not as pricey as the Pentax. Keeping it in the Pentax family has the advantage that wireless and P-TTL is built-in and ready to go, no need for extra triggers and manual exposure.

PS: flashes by themselves are nice, but to do justice to the subject you need to add stands with softboxes, umbrellas etc. The Strobists page is a good starting point.

Thanx, this is very interesting. I didn’t know the triggering system was built in the camera body. The model you are suggesting is one of those I’m considering, as I’d like to keep it within the Pentax brand. Now, for automotive type shoots it’s basically used in manual as the power is more or less kept constant, but I’d want to make sure it’s P-TTL and hopefully HSS too for the rest of the shoot types I’ll use it in.
The rest of the gear (soft boxes, stands) is taken care of easily by Amazon. As for the technique I pretty much got it down (it’s basically one master shot and the many shots with dedicated lighting and masking that get later on assembled in PSJ; it may look easy but I bet it’s not and I won’t be able to tell until I have ha flash to try it out...

normhead · 10-09-2018, 03:55 PM

My buddy used to do this type of photgraphy professionally with huge trucks.

His solution, a white tent big enough to drive the trucks into, Huge banks of rented lights positioned outside the tent using the tent as a huge diffuser. Personally, I've never seen flash work as good. HIs work was used in many commercial and trade magazines, as well he had a contract with GM and many of their vehicles had their promotional images taken at this location. SO, first thing is, you have to realize that whatever you do with flash is not going to be top shelf. After you get over that, I guess you just do the best you can.

**clackers** · 10-09-2018, 04:11 PM

Originally posted by runswithsizzers

I have no experience with setting up lighting, but I have taken a lot photos of cars in museums. One of the biggest problems I've seen is specular hot spots on the shiny paint (mostly reflections of the spot lights used in the museum). I try to move my angle around to reduce the worst of them but ...

The pros remove those in post, standard routine in that line of work.

**clackers** · 10-09-2018, 04:12 PM

Originally posted by normhead

My buddy used to do this type of photgraphy professionally with huge trucks.

His solution, a white tent big enough to drive the trucks into, Huge banks of rented lights positioned outside the tent using the tent as a huge diffuser. Personally, I've never seen flash work as good. HIs work was used in many commercial and trade magazines, as well he had a contract with GM and many of their vehicles had their promotional images taken at this location. SO, first thing is, you have to realize that whatever you do with flash is not going to be top shelf. After you get over that, I guess you just do the best you can.

For us without a big white gazebo, light painting/combining exposures where the flash and modifier is moved in between shots is the alternative.

Brooke Meyer · 10-09-2018, 06:24 PM

Originally posted by clackers

For us without a big white gazebo, light painting/combining exposures where the flash and modifier is moved in between shots is the alternative.

Light painting with a constant source in a softbox would be Plan B, as long as its in a dark garage with room to shoot and move about at night or with blacked out windows in day time. That won't satisfy the OP requirement to also use for events. The notion that a Pentax 540 will handle all that is exponentially optimistic .

Dericali · 10-10-2018, 04:22 AM

Originally posted by Wingincamera

I have very little experience with this, but when I do I find using a polarizer helps with some of the reflections. Since your using a tripod a slow shutter speed will not be a problem.

Are you sure? Polarisers have no effect on light reflected off metal surfaces. Do you mean the windows or other non-metal objects?

**lsimpkins** · 10-10-2018, 07:11 AM

Originally posted by Dericali

Are you sure? Polarisers have no effect on light reflected off metal surfaces. Do you mean the windows or other non-metal objects?

Light is at least partially polarized when it reflects off any surface. So the effects of a polarizing filter will vary with the surface, but are worth a try.

Dericali · 10-10-2018, 09:22 AM

Originally posted by lsimpkins

Light is at least partially polarized when it reflects off any surface. So the effects of a polarizing filter will vary with the surface, but are worth a try.

Well, the physics I've read on this, and the practical demonstrations I've seen via videos are all pretty unequivocal that light reflected off metal is not at all polarised.

electromagnetic radiation - Why does light not polarise off metallic surface? - Physics Stack Exchange

But I'd grant that cars don't have a shiny stainless steel exterior, so maybe the paint finish does have a polarising effect.

**clackers** · 10-10-2018, 03:11 PM

Originally posted by Brooke Meyer

Light painting with a constant source in a softbox would be Plan B, as long as its in a dark garage with room to shoot and move about at night or with blacked out windows in day time. That won't satisfy the OP requirement to also use for events. The notion that a Pentax 540 will handle all that is exponentially optimistic .

Actually, he's better off painting with the Pentax 540.

Because its flash is so much brighter, he can really stop down the camera for the composite and kill the ambient if needed. Onlookers can be removed … there just needs to be a single frame where they're not in the same position.

Tripod and permission from the owner required … in fact, the owner could be sold resulting photos!

10-09-2018, 07:05 AM	#1
gerax Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 224	Best Flash for automotive photography Hi all, I'm starting to explore automotive flash photography. I have a vintage car repair shop at my disposal (thanx to my wife) so I have some pretty nice vintage sports cars (Maserati, Ferrari and the likes) that need to be shot before they leave the shop. K1 and HD DFA 24-70 is the combo I'm using for this task. Now, I'm a bit of a newbie for what goes on with flash photography. I'm getting into it with lots of tutorials and such but I need to get one to actually practice the thing before I get to the shoot. I know regular studio flashes are used for this task but I'd like to start out simple and build it up gradually; also, I'd like to use it for regular event and portrait shooting, so I'd go with a speed light to be used off camera with trigger and receiver. Any ideas on what to get?

10-09-2018, 08:02 AM	#3
Wasp Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Pretoria Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,661	For this kind of job, lots of power is needed. A Pentax AF540FGZ would be a good starting point. Two would be even better. Or look into the stuff made by Yongnuo. Not as pricey as the Pentax. Keeping it in the Pentax family has the advantage that wireless and P-TTL is built-in and ready to go, no need for extra triggers and manual exposure. PS: flashes by themselves are nice, but to do justice to the subject you need to add stands with softboxes, umbrellas etc. The Strobists page is a good starting point. Last edited by Wasp; 10-09-2018 at 08:11 AM.

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10-09-2018, 07:24 AM	#2
tuggie76 Pentaxian Join Date: Oct 2011 Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,215	Originally posted by gerax Hi all, I'm starting to explore automotive flash photography. I have a vintage car repair shop at my disposal (thanx to my wife) so I have some pretty nice vintage sports cars (Maserati, Ferrari and the likes) that need to be shot before they leave the shop. K1 and HD DFA 24-70 is the combo I'm using for this task. Now, I'm a bit of a newbie for what goes on with flash photography. I'm getting into it with lots of tutorials and such but I need to get one to actually practice the thing before I get to the shoot. I know regular studio flashes are used for this task but I'd like to start out simple and build it up gradually; also, I'd like to use it for regular event and portrait shooting, so I'd go with a speed light to be used off camera with trigger and receiver. Any ideas on what to get? With flash you are likely to get a lot of reflections in the paint, you might want to try just ambient light first to see how it turns out. You might also like to visit Strobists, strobist.blogspot.com/.

10-09-2018, 08:58 AM	#4
runswithsizzers Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: USA Posts: 186	I have no experience with setting up lighting, but I have taken a lot photos of cars in museums. One of the biggest problems I've seen is specular hot spots on the shiny paint (mostly reflections of the spot lights used in the museum). I try to move my angle around to reduce the worst of them but ... My points being: - Some kind of diffuser / reflector is probably indicated to reduce hot spots. - With a flash you can't see the hot spots until after the photo is made - so expect to do a lot of critical chimping to make sure you don't have unexpected reflections. - Might be easier to get a light stand or two rather than a flash? (tho obviously not for event shooting) Just guessing.

10-09-2018, 12:10 PM	#5
Wingincamera Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Pine Haven, Wyoming Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,182	I have very little experience with this, but when I do I find using a polarizer helps with some of the reflections. Since your using a tripod a slow shutter speed will not be a problem.

10-09-2018, 02:07 PM	#6
stub Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Manchester Photos: Gallery Posts: 227	If your using speedlights.. Purchase the Godox "S" bracket to attach the speedlight to a lightstand. You can the attach softboxes or any other lighting modifier using this bracket...

10-09-2018, 03:28 PM	#7
gerax Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Posts: 224 Original Poster	Originally posted by Wasp For this kind of job, lots of power is needed. A Pentax AF540FGZ would be a good starting point. Two would be even better. Or look into the stuff made by Yongnuo. Not as pricey as the Pentax. Keeping it in the Pentax family has the advantage that wireless and P-TTL is built-in and ready to go, no need for extra triggers and manual exposure. PS: flashes by themselves are nice, but to do justice to the subject you need to add stands with softboxes, umbrellas etc. The Strobists page is a good starting point. Thanx, this is very interesting. I didn’t know the triggering system was built in the camera body. The model you are suggesting is one of those I’m considering, as I’d like to keep it within the Pentax brand. Now, for automotive type shoots it’s basically used in manual as the power is more or less kept constant, but I’d want to make sure it’s P-TTL and hopefully HSS too for the rest of the shoot types I’ll use it in. The rest of the gear (soft boxes, stands) is taken care of easily by Amazon. As for the technique I pretty much got it down (it’s basically one master shot and the many shots with dedicated lighting and masking that get later on assembled in PSJ; it may look easy but I bet it’s not and I won’t be able to tell until I have ha flash to try it out...

10-09-2018, 03:55 PM	#8
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	My buddy used to do this type of photgraphy professionally with huge trucks. His solution, a white tent big enough to drive the trucks into, Huge banks of rented lights positioned outside the tent using the tent as a huge diffuser. Personally, I've never seen flash work as good. HIs work was used in many commercial and trade magazines, as well he had a contract with GM and many of their vehicles had their promotional images taken at this location. SO, first thing is, you have to realize that whatever you do with flash is not going to be top shelf. After you get over that, I guess you just do the best you can.

10-09-2018, 04:11 PM	#9
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by runswithsizzers I have no experience with setting up lighting, but I have taken a lot photos of cars in museums. One of the biggest problems I've seen is specular hot spots on the shiny paint (mostly reflections of the spot lights used in the museum). I try to move my angle around to reduce the worst of them but ... The pros remove those in post, standard routine in that line of work.

10-09-2018, 04:12 PM	#10
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by normhead My buddy used to do this type of photgraphy professionally with huge trucks. His solution, a white tent big enough to drive the trucks into, Huge banks of rented lights positioned outside the tent using the tent as a huge diffuser. Personally, I've never seen flash work as good. HIs work was used in many commercial and trade magazines, as well he had a contract with GM and many of their vehicles had their promotional images taken at this location. SO, first thing is, you have to realize that whatever you do with flash is not going to be top shelf. After you get over that, I guess you just do the best you can. For us without a big white gazebo, light painting/combining exposures where the flash and modifier is moved in between shots is the alternative.

10-09-2018, 06:24 PM	#11
Brooke Meyer Guest	Originally posted by clackers For us without a big white gazebo, light painting/combining exposures where the flash and modifier is moved in between shots is the alternative. Light painting with a constant source in a softbox would be Plan B, as long as its in a dark garage with room to shoot and move about at night or with blacked out windows in day time. That won't satisfy the OP requirement to also use for events. The notion that a Pentax 540 will handle all that is exponentially optimistic .

10-10-2018, 04:22 AM	#12
Dericali Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Berlin Posts: 298	Originally posted by Wingincamera I have very little experience with this, but when I do I find using a polarizer helps with some of the reflections. Since your using a tripod a slow shutter speed will not be a problem. Are you sure? Polarisers have no effect on light reflected off metal surfaces. Do you mean the windows or other non-metal objects?

10-10-2018, 07:11 AM	#13
lsimpkins Site Supporter Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: SE Pennsylvania Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 537	Originally posted by Dericali Are you sure? Polarisers have no effect on light reflected off metal surfaces. Do you mean the windows or other non-metal objects? Light is at least partially polarized when it reflects off any surface. So the effects of a polarizing filter will vary with the surface, but are worth a try.

10-10-2018, 09:22 AM	#14
Dericali Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Berlin Posts: 298	Originally posted by lsimpkins Light is at least partially polarized when it reflects off any surface. So the effects of a polarizing filter will vary with the surface, but are worth a try. Well, the physics I've read on this, and the practical demonstrations I've seen via videos are all pretty unequivocal that light reflected off metal is not at all polarised. electromagnetic radiation - Why does light not polarise off metallic surface? - Physics Stack Exchange But I'd grant that cars don't have a shiny stainless steel exterior, so maybe the paint finish does have a polarising effect.

10-10-2018, 03:11 PM	#15
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by Brooke Meyer Light painting with a constant source in a softbox would be Plan B, as long as its in a dark garage with room to shoot and move about at night or with blacked out windows in day time. That won't satisfy the OP requirement to also use for events. The notion that a Pentax 540 will handle all that is exponentially optimistic . Actually, he's better off painting with the Pentax 540. Because its flash is so much brighter, he can really stop down the camera for the composite and kill the ambient if needed. Onlookers can be removed … there just needs to be a single frame where they're not in the same position. Tripod and permission from the owner required … in fact, the owner could be sold resulting photos!