Your Press Conference, My Studio
Is this the best photo of a Ferrari you have ever seen?No, it's not.
But bear in mind that it was lit off-the-cuff at a presser with some quick thinking, two SB-600s and one very expensive light stand.
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Taking a cue from Kenny Brown's awesome gullwing shot a ways back, Strobist reader Mark Shannon (gently) put a Nikon SB-600 in each of the back seats of this brand new Ferrari California at a premiere event and fired them into the white ceiling. This created the nice, soft-edged light source that lit, and was reflected by, the car.
He triggered the flashes via CLS, with an on-camera SB-900 which did not contribute to the exposure. He placed the flashes so the light sensors were just visible on the seats, and they were strong enough to get him f/8 at ISO 200 even off of the ceiling. At a 250th of a sec, that allowed him to drop the background off nicely.
If you don't have a compact, 5-section light stand hanging around, it's always nice when you can support your precious speedlights with a $200,000.00 light stand that cradles them in soft, butt-hugging leather.
Not a high-end studio shot by any means. But quick thinking to elevate a not-so-great photo at a live event into something that at least begins to do this car justice.
Robin Masters would be proud.
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Posted at 12:00 AM.
15 Comments:
This reminds of a series I saw not to long ago by Carlos Baez… some great cars a a sweet video to go with it…
http://www.carlosbaez.net/?p=508
To quote the Strobist, I think it was said in the Lighting 102.. "You work with what you got." =)
The new ferarri california aye? NICE photo and superb lighting!
That is certainy eye-catching! I took a photo of my brother's Ferrari. It was sat on the drive with a Volvo parked one side and a Ford Galaxy with a flat tyre in the background. Thanks to the angle and the drop off I got this shot with one strobe firing off as I walked round the car and three 15 second exposures...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32889289@N07/3647837919/
Nice! But bouncing causes the ceiling lights to show up in the bonnet's reflection. Rather distracting.
Robin Masters! I hope I'm not the only one to get the reference to the TV show. I guess I'm dating myself now!
In the sales lit I bet they don't even mention 'makes a sweet light stand' in the features.
Thanks for all the great feedback - I love getting the chance to apply some of the tricks picked up on the Strobist blog in my commercial work. On a side note the client (Ferrari of Alberta) loved the shot as well. I left it pretty raw, but it wouldn't be hard to 'shop out the reflections if needed.
Magnum would be proud of the reference, as would Zeus & Apollo. Patrol!
I love the on-the-fly thinking and the outcome from a situation that we find ourselves in. Nice job!
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@Justin, that's not a 2 light car shot and it's not yours :-) It's mine!
Awesome idea utilizing the white ceiling. This proves it.. you need to light a car is 2 small flashes. =)
My attempt at a two light car shot
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3342/3640047231_4e417513f3.jpg
sorry abrahamlove, this should be the proper link!
I'd agree white ceilings are a boon for those of us with just a couple lights. I'm new to car photography (and the whole strobist thing) but I found a great location shooting my friend's BMW Z4 M Coupe. It was a newer parking garage, which of course had nice low ceilings. And they were painted white! Even better, it was a transit park and ride, so it was free to get in. Worth looking for if you want to do a car shoot on the cheap. Here's one of my faves:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/themunkyhouse/3396117590/
This is a great shot and a great solution to a problem.
Wow, I have to learn more about quick setups, thought I was somewhat fast but nothing near this result... splendid.
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