BillF

I need help with the correct settings for taking pictures at Car Shows both indoor and Outdoors. My Camera is Canon EOS REBEL XSI and I'm using the kit lenses 18-55 and 55-250, as well as a Canon 50 mm 1.8. Thank you in advance for any help from fellow Photobugs.
Bill

jdtx Loc: SA, Tx.

that is a question with a million answers, and begs another few hundred questions..it all depends on what the lighting is like, cloudy, sunny, dark inside well lit with ambient and other lighting, what you want to get as far as pictures are concerened etc etc...experiment with your different lenses in different lightin' conditions and see what settings work in each and keep track of that..good luck

BillF

Thank you for your input. Perhaps I should have mentiuoned that I'm a newbie and not understand all the settings and why to use which ones for certain applications as you mention. I was hoping maybe I can get a starting point from which to get going. Thank you for your help.
Bill

jdtx Loc: SA, Tx.

welcome first of all..light is what allows you to take pictures..how much light, how long your sensor is exosed to light, and the quality of light all play a factor..the f-stop aperture, controls how much light, the shutter speed controls how long your sensor is exposed to that light the aperture just let in..and the type of lighting involved, flourescents, incadescent, sun etc dictate the quality of light..from there it can goes on and on..and I do have to get to work..my first suggestion still stands, the 2nd suggestion is to read your manual, and read and watch online as many vids as you can..good luck

BigD Loc: The LEFT Coast

Hi Bill I thought I would give you my two cents and see if it helps any. My Dad is a BIG TIME Street Rodder and I spent my entire youth going to car shows both inside and outdoors. So I learned a few things dragging cameras to them for 30 plus years.

Since your new to this try setting an auto mode like Scenic as opposed to something like Portrait. Scenic mode will offer a deeper depth of field which will render images that are more in focus from front to back. A Portrait mode would tend to have a more shallow depth of field and either the front or back of the cars will be softer assuming your shooting at angles (most car shows require an angle shot because the cars are parked close to one another). Another good tip for shinny cars is to use a Circular Polarizing Filter which will tame some of the reflections and totally improve the quality of your outdoor images.

For indoor shots like in a large Convention Center you will probably need a flash to get some fill (light up dark or shadowy areas)especially if you want to shoot the interiors of the cars. Get the correct flash for your camera (the popup flash usually is not powerful enough and is hard to diffuse) and just go with the TTL (Through The Lens) automagic mode to start with. You will start to deal with harsh flash results like "hot spots" when the light hits the shinny cars and it takes some experimentation to "soften" the light. There are inexpensive "flash diffusers" that fit over the flash that will help but there are way too many to list here so spend some Google time and find one you like (I prefer the Graslon 4100D).

Overall you can get some very nice shots using the cameras fully automatic modes but as you grow you will want to achieve "more better" results and for that you will need to transition into either Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, or fully Manual modes. They allow you to "force" the camera to take the image the way you want it to as opposed to the way the cameras preprogrammed algorithms decide to. I recommend that you pop by a Book Store and look for one of the many books on Digital Photography for beginners and start the journey. Have fun learning, that's the coolest thing about photography is there is always something new to learn (and there is always a new thing to purchase haha). Hope this helps.

BillF

Thank you for your 2 cents. wow that's lots of info for 2 cents. I really appreciate the help and ideas you gave me. I'll let you know how these ideas work for me. thanks again
Bill

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

Using auto settings or P, take some pictures of cars on the street or a parking lot in different lighting. See what works and what doesn't. Use the settings that work. Not trying to be a smart ass, but this is a valuable way to learn how your camera works and what settings provide the best solutions. Don't be afraid to experiment and adjust stuff like aperture and shutter speed, exposure compensation etc.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

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