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      10-24-2008, 05:36 PM   #1
Teshi
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Drives: Blue/Usually full of camera ge
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Harrow - London

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Rig Photography Sharing/Tips

Right, hope all is well. Now one thing most photographers always wonder, I did myself is how people take motion shots from extreme angles or what type of rig they use to actually go about doing it. Hopefully this insight will show you, without use of Photoshop to add the blur. Most rig photographers are very reluctant to supply information on how they do it. Here is a just a general guide.

First of all, you need a car rig of some sort. Now there are thousands of variations on this ranging from a 6ft pole with a magnetic base to mount on the undercarriage of a car or a suction based system positioned on the bodywork. Some can be bought, others purchased.

Here is mine - The Pro Mount SM8 kit via Fast Films


As you can see, its a pre-built rig and then just gets put together on a car via suction cups.

Stage one
Decide on where you want to take the photo from and take a test shot or two. Make sure it is an obtainable photo. After all, you do not want to damage your camera in any way.



Position the camera once complete and take another shot or two. Adjust accordingly.

Stage 2
Set your camera up. You want a nice and slow shutter so lower the ISO as much as possible, use a small aperture so something like f/16 or f/22 if it is real sunny or use filters such as a ND8 filter. Your aim is for a slow enough shutter speed so anything like 1/10 to 30 seconds maybe suitable.

Remember, at 1/10 the driver may need to drive a bit quick. 10mph should be suitable. Make sure you give the driver instructions eg maintain a full lock, go on my signal etc. Remember, you will be in control for this.

Longer shutter speeds such as 10 seconds allow the driver to move slower so you can keep up and also minimise any vibrations or shake.

Stage 3
Set the camera up on a self timer or if you have a wireless remote, set the camera to burst mode, get the driver to start and capture away. Try about 5-10 photos for each rig shot as the will be a result of some sort of camera shake due to surfaces.

Once done, you should have a simple yet clean result.


This was a simple setup but remember, more complex setups may require additional edits later.

Such as this type of setup


Before motion shot was taken


During the shot


The sharpness and the front bumper is extracted from the first photo as too much of the suction cup makes it difficult to simply clone out.

Finished verson - [LINK]

Remember, this is only a guide and not responsible for your camera or car. :P I am still learning so any extra information or experiences are more than welcome.
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