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I would like some C&C on some photos I took while 4WD today. The biggest thing i found was that alot of 4wds are white which isn't great in full sun and then when the track close in a bit it gets really broken light with lost of shadows so any hints and tips on setting and technique would be fantastic







Cheers
James

Hi mate,

nice pics. I know that shooting a 4WD meet can be a bugger. I shot the MotorEx challenge at Bathurst on the June long weekend.

I had the same problems, mottled and low light.

I got around it by shooting with the aperture wide open (using F/2.8 lenses) and changing the white balance.

White and silver 4WD's are a pain as you are often worried about over exposing, and end up with a under exposed image. Just accept that some of the vehicle will be over exposed and expose for the rest of the image.

A little bit a play about in photoshop with brightness/contrast & saturation will help these images look better, also, you can add a 'warming filter' to them.

What lens you shooting with?

Good luck next time out.

i was shooting with a d70 and 18-70 ED kit lens and most photos where taken at about f6 and shutter up round 500. I was going to use the 50 1.8 but i found that the tracks where fairly tight and i couldn't get far enough away to get full car shots

was diffucult too cause i was driving as well so i would stop to take photos of all the guys then end up at the back of the pack and miss alot of the action


those photos have had a bit of a crop i think and that is about it. just resized them to put on a 4wd website that the day was organised through. I will have a play in photoshop and possibly post up the results. the images seem to look a bit 'flat'to me but not sure how to fix it

Cheers
James

bimborocks wrote:I will have a play in photoshop and possibly post up the results. the images seem to look a bit 'flat'to me but not sure how to fix it

The images will 'pop' more once you play in photoshop. I played about with the last image and brightened it, added some contrast and saturation and it looked less 'flat'.

Even though it's only a white 4wd there is still colour you can bring out more.

IMHO motorsport images are best served as being saturated and contrasty. If you look in nearly all motorsport mags you will see this also.

i really like the middle one where the water is gushing and the tight crop works well. i think they may be a tad underexposed though. if you shot them in raw try knocking up the exposure to +0.7EV and i think it will really add some more life to them.

Ok had a bit of play with photoshop with an image taken one frame before the first photo. I did a tight crop cause i love the reflection in the water. played with the saturation in certain areas as well which i think makes it heaps better.
C&C more than welcome



Cheers
James

A little , but where was this? Always on the lookout for places to take the Patrol.

Newcastle area near mount sugarloaf. I think it is called the killingsworth/awaba loop. if you jump on the 4wd monthly forum they oftern organise trips

bimborocks wrote:Ok had a bit of play with photoshop with an image taken one frame before the first photo. I did a tight crop cause i love the reflection in the water. played with the saturation in certain areas as well which i think makes it heaps better.
C&C more than welcome



Cheers
James

awesome PP job.

Thanks for the tips and comments

Anyone else have anything to add - tips on taking photos or post processing?

cheers
James

Wait for the sun to go behind a cloud, then shoot quickly. In most forests there are relatively open areas, use them. Shoot early in the morning and late afternoon. Consider the angle you're coming from too, sometimes it pays to shoot into sun. Shots can look very different depending on which side of the track you stand. Don't be afraid to go for high ISO to preseve shutter speed. Use continous shot mode to ensure you get the picture you want, it is not possible to predict the nanonsecond a wheel will be in the air. Onlookers generally detract from the picture, so get them out of the way if possible. A powerful flash often helps with head-on or 3/4 shots as the flash light will illumuniate mud, bullbars but largely bounces off the bodywork. Shoot RAW and then work with Fill Light or similar. Consider your metering too. Looks like you may have spot-metered so the white Patrols have edged out the dark background. Get the cars a little dirty first to cut down on reflections. There are also anti-relfection sprays (aside from dirt!). Good luck.

I spend a lot of my time shooting 4WD competitions and the problems you have mentioned are commonplace, in particular the mottled light. Unless I have a constant light I now use flash. I am not convinced that shooting wide open is the answer because you need to show the terrain as well as the vehicle.

Thanks for the tips. there are a few more things to try out next time i am out in the bush. I guess keep trying and find out what works for me and what doesn't