DSLR lens suggestions?

[SNsMoto]

Kinda like mentioned earlier, a drop cloth and other lighting sources are a bit cumbersome around my work and the setup time will just interfere with my work. So thats unlikely something I'll be able to do.

Also what is DOF?


edit: I'm not arbitrarily shooting down good suggestions. Just with my work some things just aren't feasible. So I have to do the best with what is feasible.

Depth of field. Basically the part of the photo in focus. Bokeh refers to quality of the areas not in the DOF.

 

[GoFast908z]

Depth of field. Basically the part of the photo in focus. Bokeh refers to quality of the areas not in the DOF.

Not sure how I could have been more "precise" with it like mentioned above....I chose to focus at that spot in the car so that as much of the car was in focus as possible. What's wrong with that?

Questions based off of Climber's suggestions...

 

[byke]

I don't think you necessarily need a backdrop for the day-to-day, but it would be good for you to have when you get balls deep in something and really want to show off your work as professionally as possible. I think you could do wonders with just a flash, something powerful like an SB-910. Just aim your flash at the walls/ceiling, effectively turning them into a giant softbox.

You can also improve the image a bit just by adjusting white balance. Below is two seconds using the auto corrections in photoshop.

 

[GoFast908z]

That does look nice and clear with the WB adjusted, but the room didn't look like that. The halogen was set on only 250w, so it had a very yellow look to the room, and I also set the WB on my camera for that kind of light. So adjusting the lighting in photoshop gives an inaccurate view of the conditions...which seems like it may cross a line in the detailing world. I'm not sure though. Its about about representing things accurately and as they are.

 

[stan23]

That does look nice and clear with the WB adjusted, but the room didn't look like that. The halogen was set on only 250w, so it had a very yellow look to the room, and I also set the WB on my camera for that kind of light. So adjusting the lighting in photoshop gives an inaccurate view of the conditions...which seems like it may cross a line in the detailing world. I'm not sure though. Its about about representing things accurately and as they are.

I would go buy some grey cards and use custom WB for every indoor shoot. You don't need them for outdoor--since the camera will probably do an adequate job.

in situations like this, I second the idea of getting a flash and bouncing it off the ceiling.

 

[GoFast908z]

I would go buy some grey cards and use custom WB for every indoor shoot. You don't need them for outdoor--since the camera will probably do an adequate job.

in situations like this, I second the idea of getting a flash and bouncing it off the ceiling.

do you mean one attached to the body and aimed at the ceiling or a remote one?


In 2-3 hours I'll be finished with the Tesla and the paint is flawless. I want insane "glossy" shot and "reflection shots. I will be shooting in the garage under the overhead flourescents and then outside in whatever sunlight Antioch has this afternoon.

Suggestions for settings? I'd like to experiment with some of the good ideas you guys have. I am limited to whatever my lens can do though. Don't have time to make light boxes, sheets, and the like.

 

[Climber]

Kinda like mentioned earlier, a drop cloth and other lighting sources are a bit cumbersome around my work and the setup time will just interfere with my work. So thats unlikely something I'll be able to do.

Also what is DOF?


edit: I'm not arbitrarily shooting down good suggestions. Just with my work some things just aren't feasible. So I have to do the best with what is feasible.

The alternative is to move the red drums which are distracting in the reflection on your polish (correct term?) job. I was picturing a setup where you could unroll the cloth when taking pictures then getting it out of the way afterwards.

Depth of field is the depth of the area that is in focus. The value in that is that if set properly, then it pops your subject by both de-focusing the background (and foreground, if applicable) and giving sharper focus to your subject.

I like the idea of bouncing the flash off of the ceiling, but that might not cover the surfaces that might not be line-of-site to the ceiling. But worth experimenting around. The SB-600 (or higher numbers) would do a very nice job of it in the enclosed space that you're working with.

 

[stan23]

do you mean one attached to the body and aimed at the ceiling or a remote one?


In 2-3 hours I'll be finished with the Tesla and the paint is flawless. I want insane "glossy" shot and "reflection shots. I will be shooting in the garage under the overhead flourescents and then outside in whatever sunlight Antioch has this afternoon.

Suggestions for settings? I'd like to experiment with some of the good ideas you guys have. I am limited to whatever my lens can do though. Don't have time to make light boxes, sheets, and the like.

The grey cards look like this: http://www.amazon.com/Opteka-Pocket-Sized-Reference-Quick-Release-Photography/dp/B001G04VJO

Basically, when you shoot a custom WB, you have to take a picture of a calibrated grey card along with your lighting conditions.

But if you said your camera is already doing a good job, then maybe you can bypass this.

For outdoor, use your tripod, put your lens at f/11 and zoom it at the paint in an angle. You should get some sharp shots there.

 

[wannabe]

http://www.dailyphotographytips.net/camera-controls-and-settings/how-to-set-custom-white-balance/


If you are concerned with making sure that your pics show the true colors that you are seeing, then you need to use a custom white balance. It does not appear that your D90 has a default white balance setting for halogen lights. That's why your pics are looking a bit orange. The custom white balance will get it much closer to what it looks like in real life.

But, my suggestions for when you are done:

1. grab a piece sheet of white paper and use it to set up your custom white balance.
2. turn the lights around so that they shoot upward at the ceiling and turn them up all the way. (hopefully, the ceiling is dry-walled.)
3. take pics of the car

You're pretty well set outside because it should be cloudy. So, you'll get a nice soft light. Don't forget to reset your white balance to 'cloudy' when you get outside.

 

[Climber]

Here's some instructions on setting White Balance for the D90:

Preset (PRE)

You use this setting with a white or gray card to get perfect color matching. The D90 can recall five settings: just hold "WB" and spin the front knob after choosing PRE with the rear knob. You can to use menus to save the five settings.

I never use an actual card. I always grab a napkin, t-shirt, back of a menu or other piece of white. Black text makes no difference, so long as the background is white. If you choose a bluish piece of paper (like a glossy printed piece), your results will be warmer (more orange), and if you use a more orange piece of paper (like a cheap paper napkin), your results will be more blue.

Avoid gray items, since they are very rarely neutral, even if they look gray.

To set your white balance to something white:

1.) Ensure your card or other neutral object is in the same sort of light as your subject. Changing the angle of the object often will favor one kind of a light or another in mixed light, which will greatly affect your result.

2.) Hold WB and spin the rear dial to get to PRE.

3.) Release WB.

4.) Press and hold WB again for a few seconds.

5.) PRE starts to blink.

6.) Release the WB button.

7.) Point your D90 at the card and press the shutter.

8.) If the display flashes "gd" (good) you're all set.

9.) If the display flashes "ng" then repeat from step 4.)

The D90 stores this as value d-0. You can save five different values using the menus, numbered d-0 through d-4. d-0 is always the value you just saved. You can recall the other saved values by holding WB and spinning the front knob. Thank God you can recall them without menus. The menus (explained later) are only for storing, sorting and managing these.

I have mine set to 1.) indoors under crummy residential light, 2.) the screen of my laptop computer, 3.) mercury street lights and 4.) a cloudy day. I'm sure you will be more inventive.

 

[stan23]

You can also just shoot RAW and correct WB after the fact

Lightroom has a free full use 30-day trial in case you were interested.

 

[gnahc79]

You can also just shoot RAW and correct WB after the fact

that's what I do. Most of my pics are of the kids, so yelling "Hold on a second let me get my gray card" won't work

 

[Climber]

You can also just shoot RAW and correct WB after the fact

Lightroom has a free full use 30-day trial in case you were interested.

Very true, but I think that he's very hesitant to touch up the picture in any way.

 

[stan23]

yeah, I understand that now. But I feel like changing WB in camara or after the fact should pretty safe.

In any case, i'd strip off all the EXIF data before posting to those detail guys