I took a tripod and used it for about 5 mins before I realised there simply wasn't room to get 90% of the shots I wanted. I'd always use a tripod where possible (especially in low light places like this showroom) but with how tightly packed in the cars were it simply proved pointless.
I could have copped out and run at a high ISO, but for magazine work it needs to be as low as possible so I opted for ISO400 and made sure I got as steady as possible. I did of lot of holding my breath and just taking things steady.
The other thing was the risk of catching the tripod on a car when moving around. Apart from the middle two rows, there was hardly room to move between cars (a lot of the cars you had to carefully squeeze between) so it seemed best to run without the risk. Luckily my trusty 50mm f/1.4 meant I could maintain a fast shutter speed most of the time and my wide angle (16-36mm) f/2.8 was pretty good handheld too in this light.
It was a challenge and it probably took longer by hand (taking two or three shots of each composition to make sure I got at least one sharp shot...and only a few weren't pin sharp) but no cars were damaged and Dan & I were pleased with the shots in the end.
I can't wait to see and read the article.
Mini-tripod FTW ;D
Or a monopod.