I’m glad people have an interest in how to take good photos at shows, and I’m very happy to give some advice and tips. This post is geared towards the digital photographer, although most of what is written here applies to film-based photography as well.

Gear & Preparation

Obviously, you need a camera. The two cameras I use are almost at opposite ends of the spectrum of digital cameras: I use a Casio EX-Z1000 and a Nikon D70S DSLR. Neither are state of the art, but both produce photos good enough for print and excellent for posting online. Really, any camera that can capture a few megapixels or better is going to be fine as far as quality is concerned. If your camera has a wide-to-telephoto zoom lens, then that’s perfect. If you can swap out lenses (like on a DSLR), I recommend using a fixed wide angle lens or a wide angle zoom. The wider the better, although you may want to leave the fisheye lens at home, unless you’re going for special effects. You’ll be working in very tight spaces at a show, so the closer you can stand to the vehicle you want to photograph, the better. If you have a flash for your camera, bring it along. If your camera already has a built-in flash, you’re all set. I’ll explain why later. A flash diffuser is also not a bad idea, if you have one.

Some people like to use tripods at shows. I don’t, and I wouldn’t really encourage you to use a tripod either. If you’re concerned about being able to keep your camera steady, I suggest you use a monopod, or even better, a string camera stabilizer, which you can make for very little money. Either will work very well to help stabilize your camera, and won’t take up as much space as a tripod, plus you will have much more freedom and flexibility. Trust me…you do not want to be “that person” with a tripod at a show, unless you’re a professional photographer on a paid assignment.

This should be obvious, but charge up your camera, bring extra batteries if possible, and extra storage or film. Bring a lens cleaning cloth. Shows can be dusty, and I can guarantee you that you will need to clean off your lens at some point.

Tips and Techniques

I find most shows to be very crowded with people, and usually the vehicles are spaced pretty closely together. Pretty obvious, right? Well, when you’re trying to take photos at a show, you become acutely aware of just how many people there are and how close the vehicles are to each other. It’s my experience that most people will not notice that you are taking a photo of a vehicle and will often just walk right in front of your camera. The key here is to be patient and to seize the moment when you can get a clear shot. Often you will only have a split second to take the picture, so be ready. While you’re waiting, try to previsualize how you will compose the shot. Doing this will help you line up your shot quicker and grab the photo before someone walks in front of you again. If possible, keep an eye on the edges of your viewfinder too, because you probably don’t want someone’s arm or leg intruding into the picture. Sometimes there will be a vehicle that draws a crowd and it will be difficult to get a good shot of it. Often if you ask politely, people will oblige and move for a moment so you can get your shot, or what I usually do is just revisit the vehicle until you can get a clear shot.

Sometimes it’s impossible to avoid due to the angle of the sun and the position of the vehicle, but try not to shoot into the sun. If you have to, try using your flash to avoid having the car backlit (unless that’s the effect you’re going for, of course). You may have to “force” the flash on (consult you camera’s manual on how to do that). The flash also comes in handy for a fill light to brighten up what would otherwise be a dark photo. Many cameras have a “fill flash” or “soft flash” function, and I suggest you experiment with it to see how it works for you. I use it in a lot of my show photography.

I could write a lot about composition, but I’ll just give you some basic techniques that I use in my show photography. I usually try to get a 3/4 view (front or rear), side view, front view or rear view, depending on how much space is available and how visually appealing the composition is. Change your perspective: I will often drop to one knee for a shot, or you can even try shooting from the hip or holding the camera high. An overhead view of a motorcycle is usually pretty cool looking, but difficult to pull off at a show. If the car has interesting details, photograph them. I like to use them as elements in a composition, and they usually make for visually striking photos.

This should be obvious, but if you’re trying to get a picture of the entire vehicle, make sure the whole vehicle is actually in the frame. I’ve seen many photos of motorcycles especially that have had parts chopped off at the edge of the photo, and it almost always looks poorly composed. It’s not always possible, but try to give the vehicle some “breathing space” around the edges of the photo. Also watch your backgrounds…it can be difficult sometimes to not get people’s butts in the photo for example, but try.

Post-Processing

I use Adobe Photoshop for all of my photo processing needs. A free alternative is GIMP. Both programs are similar, and for most people, GIMP is perfectly fine. On just about every photo that I take, I will at least try to color correct it, and sometimes I crop photos, but usually I stick with the composition as-shot. One of the greatest post-processing tools for my show photography is the “Content Aware Fill” in Photoshop. It’s incredibly helpful for removing distracting bits and pieces that have snuck into your photos, or even for extending the space around the vehicle. When you’re working in such close quarters as you are at a show, sometimes you can’t help but get things like the end of a handlebar into your shot, or a piece of a car, and so on. Content Aware Fill will help you get rid of those elements effectively.

That’s all I can think of for now, and hopefully I’ve given you some techniques to think about the next time you’re at a show. Any questions? =)