Slot car photography Options

[eAddict]

Great discussion. There is another one going on here as well with more photos and information.

[DaveKennedy]

As a matter of fact Timo I happen to have that Porsche too...



I pulled back a bit to show the reflector angle. I also shot this car on a manual setting so I could over expose slightly. The G9 can be used fully manually which allows more flexibility than a more automatic setting.


Over exposing the photo a bit will help get that background white as the guys have suggested. The result is below:


Thanks for the link Vince, lots of serious guys there. They sure have some impressive gear.

[LDFan]

Hey DK,

I'm glad you finally came out w/ this thread. I've had my camera for years but have never spent all that much time getting the most out of it. This is a nice thread for getting those crucial basics down.

Dave

[Danni_OLaisip]

This thread will come in handy. Thank you.

I am still not promising perfect pictures in the future.

[DV]

Great thread, Dave!

For action shots I use the slow synchro setting on my camera:



This is indicated by "SL" on the status LCD of Sony cameras. It balances the flash with existing light to determine the exposure setting. I also set the flash to it's lowest setting. I find this gives a nice balance of blur and sharpness. I also use the macro setting which is indicated as a flower icon on the display.

Even though I have Photoshop on my computer, I use ACDSee photo editor to colour correct and crop my photos. It's quick and allows for easy batch processing of repetetive tasks like resizing photos for upload.

Van

[Johnny Lugnuts]

Great thread with lots of good advice. I'm no expert, but I'll throw in my 2¢.

I don't use a reflector or any sort of fancy light sources or techniques. In fact, I just put the cars on a white background on the bench and shoot:




No messing about with white balance only because I'm too lazy. Dave's idea of a reflector sounds like a good one; I might give one a try. BTW, the shots on the bench are done under fluorescent lights, while the track shots are under halogen.

When shooting a model on its' own, I always go for a deep depth of field. Nothing will tip off the viewer faster that he's looking at a model car than a shallow depth of field. The enite subject, from front to back should be in focus. If shooting indoors, the deep depth of field will be achieved at the expense of shutter speed. This will always necessitate the use of a tripod. Because of the tripod, you may now reduce the ISO speed to the slowest speed (lowest number). This will produce an image with less grain or "noise". I usually encounter shutter speeds of about one second, or even longer. To eliminate camera shake (your finger pushing the shutter release at slow shutter speeds can be enough to introduce shake), I always use the self timer, or one can use a wireless remote if so equipped, or even a cable release for you old 35mm guys. I ALWAYS avoid the use of a flash, though some might disagree with me. Don't forget to use the macro setting. I do post editing in Paint Shop. Here's the result, nothing fancy, but useful:




If shooting a "scene" on your track, there are plenty of techniques. I sometimes like to use a long focal length to get that yummy telephoto compression, and an appealing shallow depth of field. A wide angle has its' uses, but can sometimes scream "Toy car!" Here's one of my fave telephoto shots:



The shallow depth of field draws the viewer's eye to the subject, which in this case, isn't a car at all! It also puts the background out of focus, so there's nothing to cause a distraction.

Here's another long lens shot:



The subject is reasonably sharp but the foreground and background are out of focus.


Speed shots are a problem for me. I find it's pretty much trial and error. Try various shutter speeds to get the desired effect. Dr. Vanski's advice about using the flash might be worth a try. It's also a good idea to have someone else drive the car!




It can also be fun to mess around in low light situations. Get a small tripod and go for the really long exposure:




Post editing in your favourite app can be limitless. I'm not an expert in these matters, but I sometimes fool around with it. Who knows, you might stumble upon a new method or technique!




The best advice is to experiment and take plenty of shots.

Thanks,

Johnny

[Bellator]

That´s very interesting!!! Thank you, Dave!

I have a question: why does my plain white background always appear grey ??
Any suggestions?

For these whitepoint issues (where there is some question about which white is really white) you might find you are better served by post-processing in a digital photo application. The technique is similar to the one used for special effects in movies known as "green screen". (And one I use every year for the family Christmas card.) :-)

I've simulated this effect with a shot of the SXC Corvette by adding a bright blue background similar to what you'll get using a bed sheet, craft felt, or poster board.

Step 1: Select a background color that doesn't exist in your subject. i.e. a bright green, blue, yellow, etc...
Step 2: Stage and take your photo. (Take a few at different exposures and make sure to use plenty of lighting so you don't have any unwanted shadows.)



Step 3: Upload to your PC.
Step 4: Edit the picture in your favorite photo editing tool. I use Pixelmator on a Mac, but there are plenty good packages available for both PC and Mac platform. (i.e. Photoshop[$$], Paintshop Pro[$], the Gimp[Free], Paint.Net[Free])
Step 4a: Using the majic lasso tool (or whatever your tool calls it) to select the background color and delete it.


If you have good definition between the background and the subject in your photo you should have a crisp image of the subject "floating in space". You may need to zoom in and do a bit of clean up in trouble areas such as a wheel well or spoiler.



Step 4b: Fill the background with the desired color (In this case the white you desire), or.... wait for it....


Step 4c: Add a new layer and paste in a different photo or image as a background.


Here's a shot of the Layers dialog in Pixelmator. Other editing programs look essentially the same.


That's a whirlwind tour of cleaning up backgrounds when you're after a special effect. I've found that it takes me more time to find the background I want to use than it does to actually edit the photo. (Assuming, of course, that I've got well defined "edges" between the subject and background.)

Hope this helps...
B