Coming At It From A Different Angle

It always pays to investigate coming at a target from a different angle. Whether it is an oil refinery in Ploesti or a portrait subject in Perth, the unexpected yields results.

Likewise in the car game. There are a number of solid professionals who photograph cars for the Western Australian publications - magnificent productions for some of the magazines with dusk exposures, multiple speedlights, and reflectors all over the place. Every month's issue of Perth Street Cars is a visual treat.

Unfortunately, on the occasions I photograph cars in the field, I do not have the luxury of multiple lights. I make do with one speedlight and the sun. Sometimes it all works out well, and sometimes it doesn't. The sun can be hard to program. I have increased my chances of success with the Stoboframe camera brackets.

Initially I carried a Stroboframe Press-T with a Nikon speedlight on the top - a coiled TTL cord between camera and flash. All good, until I chanced to try the Stroboframe PRO-RL. Now I use the PRO all the time at the car shows.

The basic operation is self-explanatory. The frame holds the flash above the axis of the lens no matter how the camera is orientated, and you can slide it waaay on up there to drop the shadow behind the subject. It also means you never have red-eye on telephoto shots. You can angle it down to drop that light onto a close-up subject.

But you can also do the Ploesti on it - you extend the flash to the end of the bar, rotate the camera to the portrait mode, then shoot it flat in landscape orientation. The flash will be way out there on the right-hand-side of the lens. It is perfect for taking interior shots of cars when there is a glass window between you and the insides. You can get your lens close up to the glass to eliminate reflections and then the flash enters from the rear window. See the example of the '32 Ford Sedan. The whole interior of the car lights up without you infringing upon the vehicle.

This might also be the answer for interior shots in real estate.