outdoor car show with circular polarizer.. bad or good idea?

[josef]

So I'm been asked to take a few outdoor shots for a car club this weekend to use on some of their award plaques.. All Pre-1949 cars.. nice stuff. Anyways, I've done it the past two years and they've been Very happy with my shots.. I've always used a UV filter outdoors and been pretty pleased with the results..

Well, I recently purchased a Circular Polarizer (for a great vacation to the Smokies ) but I haven't had the chance to try it out in sunny weather on vehicles.. So my question is: Would it be better or worse to use the CP for vehicles? I mean, aren't the reflections on the cars "cool?" ..lol. Also, what effect will it have on the vibrant colors of the cars? I don't know.. I just wish I would've had a chance for a practice session before his weekend..
just wondering you guys' advice.

thanks in advance..

[N.C.F.]

The polarizer will definitely have an adverse effect on the car's reflections, which will be matter of taste.

I would think, that unless you were high enough to have a large chunk of sky, or other bright material in your photo, it'd be a negative effect on the cars. You're looking at possibly dulling out the colors (always a no-no with show cars, as they're paint is often the big eye catcher), and having to think about where your polarizer is in each shot.

But, this is purely my opinion. It'd be interesting to see to what effect you could use it, maybe a few test shots early in the show then pop it off if you're not pleased?

[VTEC_EATER]

I am going to disagree here.

It has been my experience that the circular polarizer does not eliminate reflections, but reduces the glare from the reflections, thus enhancing the reflections.

Also, since the glare will be removed, the "washed-out" effect glare has on a photo will be eliminated increasing the saturation, or "pop", that the cars have.

I like to take photos of my car, and I have always used either a CP filter on the lens, or if I feel like having fun with my wide angle, I pull out the ND grads and really bring down the sky's exposure. I wish I had some shots with me here at work (I'm on my lunch break) to show you what happens with the CP and the ND filters, but I think I have them on my home computer.

Also, one more tid-bit of advise about post processing your car shots. In case you had not noticed yet, cars LOVE unsharpen mask. I'm not talking a little bit, I mean a lot of USM. Something in the range of 1.0-1.3 pixel radius at 250% or more. All those reflections and lines you see in the car become razor sharp and the car really pops.

You can see a few of my car shots here on my Flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9301511...7613057546811/

I still need to do a little editing on some of my ND grad shots, but even straight out of the camera, they are awesome. I cant wait to get a little bit of time to get them edited and added to the photo stream.

[K1W1]

Take photos with and without the polariser if you are not sure.

[josef]

thanks for the responses.. VTEC, you bring up some good points and have the photos to back it up (very nice stuff!)..

looks like i'll have to do a test run between now and Friday so I'll know which way to go on Saturday.. i'll try and post some comparison pictures soon (with & without CP) if I can get away from work and studying ..

[TheWengler]

Can't you just try a few when you get there to see if you like the CPL effect? You have a digital camera so you can see the effect right away. If you don't like it then it takes 2 seconds to take the thing off.

[josef]

Can't you just try a few when you get there to see if you like the CPL effect? You have a digital camera so you can see the effect right away. If you don't like it then it takes 2 seconds to take the thing off.

Yes I can.. I planned on trying that but viewing on a monitor at home compared to out in the sun on my 3" viewfinder is a little different.. Also, I was just trying to get some professional advice from the nice people on here..

[shshsh]

The polarizer will definitely have an adverse effect on the car's reflections, which will be matter of taste.

Hm - isn't it only non-metallic reflections (glass, water) that are affected?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogr...lter#Polarizer

(look at the image with the rear view mirror)

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam...polarizer.html


I found one article about shooting car shows:

http://photography.suite101.com/arti...ing_a_car_show


Please post some results!

[achuang]

Hm - isn't it only non-metallic reflections (glass, water) that are affected?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogr...lter#Polarizer

(look at the image with the rear view mirror)

http://www.cs.mtu.edu/~shene/DigiCam...polarizer.html


I found one article about shooting car shows:

http://photography.suite101.com/arti...ing_a_car_show


Please post some results!

This is correct, a polariser only works on non-metallic reflections as that is polarised light. Light reflected off a car's metallic surface is not polarised as it is completely reflected. No light is passing through the surface.

The only benefit will be to get the reflections off the windows and maybe increase saturation of colours.

[benp]

This is correct, a polariser only works on non-metallic reflections as that is polarised light. Light reflected off a car's metallic surface is not polarised as it is completely reflected. No light is passing through the surface.

The only benefit will be to get the reflections off the windows and maybe increase saturation of colours.

The paint forms a non-metallic surface, so you do in fact get polarised reflections from cars. Also remember that with the polariser you can either eliminate reflections, or enhance them by rotating the plane of polarisation 90 degrees.

Sometimes it's easier to judge the effect if you take the polariser off the camera and hold it up to your eye while rotating it. Or wear polarised sunglasses and tilt your head at different angles, if you don't mind the funny looks