Hey guys, I put together a helpful little article on how to do rigshots. Let me know what you think.
Everything you need to know about rig shots

 

Not bad. However you state that you used a shutter speed of "20 seconds". I think you meant to say "2 seconds".

 

Very detailed write up. Well done!

 

Great write up! And 20 seconds seems correct to me.


mpowers
no pro

 

The shot that he uses to illustrate his rig was in no way a 20 second exposure.

This is the result of a 4 second exposure



This is a 2 second exposure

 

Check my exif data. It was definately a 20 second exposure. I just didn't move very far or fast because I was trying to minimize shake. The pole was extended pretty far.

 

So your telling me that you pushed your car, what...3 or 4 feet in 20 seconds? Also, if your trying to minimize camera shake the last thing you'd want is a 20 second exposure time.

 

his exif shows 20 seconds at 5.6

its kind of hard to put up an argument with someone who's work is world's better than yours.

 

I stand corrected then. The OP certainly has some nice car shots. However his use of a 20 second exposure limits him to front views if he's going to be pushing his car. It also imposes some limits on time of day and location as well. Not to take anything away from his rig, but in the examples above of my car, I was able to have a buddy drive the car (albeit at a very slow speed) while I fired off my camera with a remote switch. Using a very sturdy rig makes this possible. The OP's rig works well for what he's doing. I took mine a bit further and added some wire rigging and a counter balance to help dampen the rig. I still have a ways to go before my rig is as stable as I would like.

There are always more than one way to shoot a shot.

Some more examples







and some shots of the rig

 

Wow. Both of these folks do nice work. I, too, doubted the "20 sec" exposure. After looking at the exif and the write-up, it did seem possible.

Thanks for the info. So, does the "rig" disappear in the blur, or do you photo chop it a bit?

 

No, the rig stays sharp since it's attached to the car. You still have to photoshop it out. The OP gives a nice write up on his methods.

 

D8mn, my reading comprehension sucks. Thanks.

 

O.K., not even trying to start a "my work is better than yours" thread. Jcolman your work is great and it looks like your rig design is equally great. Let me explain my thinking in that shot.

First I arrived at the location late. I shot that right after the sun went down so I didn't have much light to begin with. I would've been more than happy to shoot at a 4 or 6 second exposure but with it being so dark, I had to open the shutter longer. In fact I also had to open up my aperature a bit. I usually try to shoot rig shots at f/8 or higher because the wide angle I use is a bit soft. So I opened up the aperature to f/5.6. Another option would've been to raise my ISO but I don't like doing that because it introduces noise into the shot.

As I said in my article, this is how I do rigshots. I'm sure there are a lot of better options out there. As you said, I am somewhat limited to lower light situations but I talked about that in my article as well. I'm definately not limited to front shots though.

 

No harm, no foul. You've got some very nice shots there! I was simply trying to point out that after I read your article, I was left with the impression that your long exposure shots was the "everything-you-need-to-know-correct "way to do these kinds of shots. I apologize if I came off sounding like a "rig snob." You certainly know what you're doing and you've got some amazing shots with your setup. Congrats.

 

You've got a good point. I went back and reread the article and it does seem like I'm advocating a 20 second exposure. I'll fix that when I get the chance. Thanks for the input.

 

cyberz350, your shots looks GREAT. especially the last rear shot of the silver Z.

 

Thanks bro, I appreciate it.

 

Oliver damn you when you gonna get me some updated pics. My car has drastically changed from your old school pics remember when you started with the powershot? I want to set up a shoot with you soon. I can drive to OC when you are ready. Your skills are beyond what I can even do.

 

noob question, but how would you photoshop the rig out. seems hard imo lol

 

LOL +1 for me too... i have cs3 but im a noob with photoshop.