Lighting questions
 

I took a few pix last night with a friend, and after looking at them closely on the comp and showing a friend, they have some lighting issues. Example

http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/4...epstop1ne4.jpg

Foreground is a bit dark, background glares (City Hall, Comcast Building, lights on the parkway, other bright objects).


Here is another one

http://img105.imageshack.us/img105/1...teptop2ii9.jpg

I used the curve tool is PS to brighten it up a bit but it doesnt help much, you can still tell its kinda dark, and grainy on the nose of the car from when i tried to curve it.


My question is, is there a cheap tool to do "spot" lighting. I was thinking of perhaps some kind of bulb to mount on top of the camera that I can swivel around and focus lighting on a certain part of the picture, hence not having these issues, and be able to lower exposure a bit to get less glare??

it's called a flash...

i think i saw this car at BCCC every morning...right?

:lol:

please learn to walk before you run... you need to understand the tools in your camera and how they work and why the work before you get into lighting and so on.
if you had the background to understand why the photo came out the way it did in that situation it would be easy to diagnose...

Your background is bright because the camera used a slow shutter speed to expose the car. And since there are lights in the background those lights were over exposed.

In order to get a nice looking background with a correctly exposed subject (the car), you need some sort of alternative lighting. And since this is outdoors and in a remote location the only thing that would probably work is speed light(s).

I see your shooting with an XTi, so yea speed lights is definitly an options. You can go with a canon 430ex or bigger 580exII. Or go with a used speed light, such as vivitar 280's etc, older canons, or even Nikon flashes.

One speed light might really be pushing it, but im sure you could make it work. but ideally a 2-3 light setup would kick ass for a shot like this.

Honestly my recommendation, find a new location...

Good luck man, and if your into photography.. Take the time to learn your hobby. check out these sites.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/
www.digital-photography-school.com/blog

and for lighting
www.strobist.blogspot.com/

And hey, if you want to see some strobist style car lighting check out this flickr Pool.
http://www.flickr.com/groups/carstrobist/

I'm no pro, but i dont mind helping.

heck man, I work for Location Lighting, we do film/video lighting for tv and movies, not really still photog, but I do have some still photog customers.

Those pics look fine to me. I mean, are they perfect? no. But with a little fiddling with camera settings I'm sure you'll figure it out. All these fancy new digi-cams all have so many settings, its hard to figure out what works best. Every camera is different, you just need to learn yours better. Pics look fine though.

You could think about getting a cheap light meter, so you can meter your subject (car) and determine and set the correct exposure. That would help a bit. But with the background issues, thats why they're in the background.

To light your car, you would need a lite bigger than one that sits on-top of your camera, otherwise it would just be a spot on the car. Just stick with available light, get that light meter and spend a few late nights with your camera menu settings and operating manual. :)

Calumet Camera in Philly specializes in still/digital photography, and they WILL help you out, if you tell them someone from Location Lighting sent you.

you have a lot to learn before you go onto any strobist stuff. my friend made a mistake when he bought his dslr. he wanted to take photos as good as me, so he went out and bought a flash with his d40. actually a damn sb800 just to out do me. didnt have a clue on how to use it. i told him how to work it and use it, but (like i told him) he needs to learn about the basics of lighting. which you do to. dont go jumping into the deep end until you know how to swim.

at least use a smaller aperture so the lights aren't light orbs. and you can try using a flashlight and painting the car in light where its underexposed.