DSLR Tips

[Justin]

I should have my hands on a Cannon XTI to take to Centralia. Being as I'm more of a point and shoot type of guy, can anyone give me any tips on taking awesome shots of the great cars that'll be there?

I know great photography is something that comes with time, but I have a pretty badass platform to work with, so with a few tips I should be able to take some good shots... I'd hope

 

[BorHor]

Make sure lighting is good. A tripod is your best friend some times. I like shooting in aperture mode. Just play around with your camera then you will eventually figure out what to set under different conditions.

 

[Van Diesel]

I have a 30D. Basic tips?

1. Plenty of batteries
2. Plenty of CF cards

I HATE it when I run out of either of the two...it's a show stopper.

a good backpack or camera bag i.e. lowepro or tamrac is a good investment. My last trip to Rome I had 2 bags...sucked so I have one multipurpose bag now. Buy a lens cleaning kit. Dust happens and can ruin a great shot.

Basically what BorHor said. Play around with the different setting. I'm sure the rebel and the 30D are similar. Play with the aperture/zoom and the shutter speed to find out how the pics turn out and look like so you have a base to start from.

 

[ERA]

Get sexy angles that accentuate the cars awesomeness and practice in GT4's photo mode heh.

 

[bluemkiii]

Take alot of pics at different settings.

 

[SirLoki]

when shooting cars try to shoot wide, im assuming you might have the kit lens 18-55mm, shooting at that range helps and you can zoom in as needed so your shadow does not interfere with the photo; also dont just stand in front of the car and shoot away, get on the ground and at various angles to get the most out of the shots, eye level shots are too bland. Tripod works well during night shots.

play with the aperture of the camera, i think the kit lens is a 3.5-5.6. when shooting cars, i personally like to shoot at f/8 during really nice sunny days as this will focus more on the car as a whole, as you open up the aperture and shoot a more open aperture > f/5.6 your focusing starts to center more on the point selected. If you are trying to capture a certain aspect of the car then shooting at f/3.5 works well, you get that blurry background (bokeh) effect while getting a sharp focus on the object.

 

[Clip]

get on the level with your subject, one of the better tips ive gotten.

 

[Justin]

get on the level with your subject, one of the better tips ive gotten.

hah, that's a good tip for me, I'm at a significantly higher plane than most subjects. I'm a little taller than average