How to Set Up Automotive Studio Lighting
In automotive studio photography, using hot lights is a better choice over strobes. Cars have a very reflective surface. If you use a strobe, it's hard to know where the glare and reflection will fall on your subject, unless you do a lot of test shots. With hot lights providing continuous lighting, setting up is easier because you see right away where the reflections will fall and even use it in artistic ways. Hot lights are also cheaper than strobes. Note that a bigger space is needed in automotive photography compared to shooting portraits.
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Things You'll Need
- Three hot light units (250- to 500-watt flood bulbs or quartz-halogen)
- Light stands
- Background
- Light meter
- Single lens reflex camera
- Wide-angle lens
- Computer
- Photo editing software
Instructions
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Set up your main light at least 4 feet away from your subject. Place it 45 degrees from your subject if you want to show details and shadows such as the sleek curves of a car. If you want to show depth and texture (for example, the front grill of a car), place your main light 90 degrees to the side of your subject.
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Set up your fill-in light. Your main light has thrown a strong shadow once you have placed it in position. Your fill-in light will soften this shadow and show some details on that dark side. Depending on how you placed your main light, place your fill-in light 45 to 90 degrees opposite your main light.
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Set up your background light. This light is used to separate the subject so it will not blend in with the background. You have the option of lighting the whole background or just a small area. Plain black or white backgrounds work well in studio automotive photography. A warehouse setting is also a popular background to show an industrial look.
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Set up your camera and take test shots. Hot lights give off a yellowish color cast. This can be neutralized by setting your white balance to "Tungsten" or "Incandescent." Preview your camera's LCD after each test shot. Move the lights closer to photograph the interiors of a car or farther away to get the desired intensity of light.
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Use a light meter to determine the right camera-speed-and-aperture setting. To get a sharp image from the bumper to the tail end of a car, use a small lens opening or aperture. A wide-angle lens will be very useful to take an image of the entire length of a car if you're in a small shooting area.
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Upload your photos to a computer and edit if necessary. In a photo editing program you can crop, resize, touch up, recolor and do a lot of effects to your image. If you've used a wide-angle lens, check for linear distortions or straight lines that appear to be curved. To fix this in Photoshop, use the "Straighten" tool or the "Transform-Linear Perspective" tool.
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Tips & Warnings
There are a lot images that can be taken in a single vehicle, including its exterior, interior and unique details such as the hood, headlights, bumpers, rims, engine and muffler. Turn off your main and fill-in lights and try using just the back light to come up with an interesting silhouette shot. Shooting a car and its reflection on glossy flooring will also result in a visually satisfying image.
References
- Photo Credit car image by Andrew Breeden from Fotolia.com
