Import Car shoot

[ugpdfw]

I am doing a shoot very very soon,and not sure if I should go with just a strobist set up or rent gear for the set up. The shoot will be outside most likely on a rooftop, there will be one car, and one model, shot different angles. No power options other than battery packs.

#1 Should I go ahead and shoot with the strobist set up which I have done with good results or

#2 Should I rent gear. If number 2 please advise what would be good to rent.

[kayumangi]

Three questions:

what time in the day are you shooting?

second, why wouldn't you want your strobist setup? There was a post on strobist specific for shooting cars from different angles, so if that is what you're aiming for, the strobist route should be more than sufficient.

third, what's your budget?

[ugpdfw]

late in the day 7p, and I like the strobist setup just hope its enough light, I have an umbrella and the other strobe is raw ( no softbox, no umbrella )

budget - rental would be about 100$ if needed, or could get some type of diffuser for the strobe setup if I went another route.

[kayumangi]

Check this post from David Hobby

Strobist: What it Takes to Light a Car

And honestly, $100 is not enough to properly light a car IMO, so your best rout is the strobist route.

If you don't have enough speed lights better start renting or borrowing from your friends =)

[ugpdfw]

well, i could spend more on the shoot just not exactly sure what to rent if I went that route.

[kayumangi]

Think of it this way, if you want to shoot a big subject like a car you need a big-ass light source.

And since there is no such thing as a big-ass light source you'll need to construct an enclosure big enough to fit a car and use lots and lots of white diffussing material.

Only then can you decide what to use, either use high powered continuous lighting, strobes or a mix of both.

Umbrellas are no good because they are not big enough.

I still don't understand why you don't want to go the strobist route if you said it already worked for you. Unless you meant it worked for you when shooting portraits.

Shooting big subjects like cars is no easy task my friend, specially in the dark =)

[ugpdfw]

Thanks, I am going to use the muti strobe setup, I choose 7p since its not dark out, and gives the backdrop a nice sunset hopefully.

I am not shooting the whole car, just angles of it.

[disboifan]

2-3 lights should be enough depending on your equipment. use the sunset to your advantage as a backlight source and fill with strobes. i would set up the day before and do some test shots to see what its like...

[High_Boost]

there is a long thread on POTN on lighting cars that has some setup shots, advice etc.

here is a link

The automotive strobist setup pic thread - Canon Digital Photography Forums