Automotive Photography

[mute]

Alright guys,
I know at the old site we had a long section of someone's ride taken up with just automotive photography questions.
I've created this topic to keep from getting to that.

My guidelines (please disagree; add some)

1. Use the rule of thirds.
divide the viewfinder mentally into 9 equal sections, at the intersection of the lines dividing it, thats where the focus should go
2. Make sure the car is going into the picture.
if you are taking a pic of a car, make sure the car isnt on its way out of the picture, make it look like its coming into the picture and towards you
3. Try to use dramatic lighting,
taking pictures at dawn or dusk where there are a lot of shadows is good for dramatic picture. i prefer to take em after a storm when the sun comes out for the first time, lots of reflections=good to me
4. use interesting angles.
instead of taking a picture of the entire car, take a picture of the front half of the car from the 3/4 front view or the back half of the car from the 3/4 back view. dont be afriad to take pictures from down on the ground looking up or up high looking down
5. dont make a busy picture
try to keep from making other things in the picture take focu[QUOTE]s from the car, make it so that almost 1/2 to 2/3 of the picture is just car
6. Use a good backround.
take into account the color of your car use a paler or washed out complimentary color for the backround. make sure the backround is not busy, dont take focus away from the car itself the sides of concrete, old brick, and stucco buildings are great. complimentary colors are opposite the color of your car on the artists color wheel, red;green. blue;orange yellow; purple. landscapes and sea scapes are amazing, a good sunset can be great for autos

im not sure how i feel about open doors and trunk picks, but try em i have no suggestions on how or if it work well to do em

use photo editing programs as much as you need, it works well, using a grey scale can actually work well for some colors

the reason if your wondering that im posting this is cuz i just got a new camera
Cannon S-2

Hey guys im just using suggestions here, these are very falliable,
contradict them, add your own, its for us to help each other

[Flybrian]

Um...I took this once...

[Cory Wolfe]

I have a crappy camera... I try... but the crappiness overtakes it.

[Chris_Doane]

And when engineers yell at you or start coming at you...just keep shooting.

[Mach5GTP]

Good tips. Also, and for the love of God, don't have things "growing" from your car, like trees or lightposts behind it or in the background; nothing ruins a nice shot like a flagpole appearing to jut prominently from your sunroof. An example from personal experience:



I wouldn't say it's "ruined", but the cement lightpole behind my car distracts. I really wanted that angle, and the post was a necessary evil. (That's a friend's GORgeous 69 GP LJ, BTW. :bowdown: )

Here's a fave of mine:



I wish the other car weren't back there, but it was a spur-of-the-moment shot. I used to call this one "The Jesus Prix", because of the "light from on high"-style effect, until I decided it was a little blasphemous. :o :P

Also, and this may just be me, but I am not fond of people in car pics, unless they're posing with it. Again, nothing dumber than a nice shot of a cool car, and somebody watering his lawn in the background. :blink:

[mute]

Um...I took this once...

[post="7715"][/post]

great example but i dont like a white backround, its still an amazing shot

[Mike The Canadian]

Hows this? I think it's one of my best shots..
(it would have been better of I had the orange running lights on)

[mute]

hey wait a sec . . . im not sure how ya all feel about this but we could have a photo comp? im not thinking itll be big but you are all asking how yours is, i personally think that if your happy with it its good, dont matter what others say and my cameras here so ill get some pics of the blood red van of doom up soon

[Cory Wolfe]

I'll vote no on that since I'd loose due to my crappy 1.3 mp Camera! :P

[mute]

thats straight, i wasnt thinking itd be a hit but i thought id throw it out there

[Drew Dowdell]

[mjdecker]

I tilt the camera to attempt to get a more dramatic shot


Here's one shot I liked but I wish I had took the shot else where as in not in front of my house and have something symbolic like say a 442 or something in the reflection.


Fly: I like your shot.. nice angle.. granted the lighting isn't perfect one thing bothers me more.. The date/time on the pic :P

Edited September 3, 2005 by Decka

[mute]

oldsmoboi, perfect example of reallly hot shots

[Drew Dowdell]

Thanks, I have more, but I can't seem to find them. Photography is an amature hobby of mine.

[mute]

i kinda figured, you didnt seem like you didnt care about it by those shots

[!!!TED!!!]

great example but i dont like a white backround, its still an amazing shot

[post="7840"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

The great thing about technology is that you can fix any mistakes you make in pictures, or enhance them further.

I played around with Brians sweet low angle shot...

[mute]

better but the contrast of the ground was good, id put reds and such of sunset in the sky, a grey car can do well to contrast, sometimes making everything colorful except for the car puts a lot of emphasis on the vehicle

[Flybrian]

The great thing about technology is that you can fix any mistakes you make in pictures, or enhance them further.

I played around with Brians sweet low angle shot...

[post="9194"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]

Super sweet! Thanks, man! :) :CG_all:

[ShadowDog]

I couldn't find the original, so disragard the caption; however, this was my favourite of my Monte Carlo. Please critique the shot. I like opinions of my images. I pulled out a step ladder to get 'just' a slightly higher angle so the white of the roof would contrast the background. I have other similar shots; however, I can't find them.

What I like:
-The extreme contrast of color.
-The variety of color in the early fall season (and subtle, not too busy)
-The lightness of the green grass bringing a focal point to the car on top

What I don't like:
-The road is distracting.
-For this image, I could chop the spruce tree on the left and the pole on the right; however, I wanted some distance off the edges of the bumpers

Your thoughts:



Another one I love is of the 944 because of the color variation; however, there is too much crap in the background. Had I taken it on the front lawn like I did the Monte Carlo, it would look dead-sexy.

[Sixty8panther]

I'd like to think I have better than average skills. I'm famous for snapping a shot of a car while I'm driving and it's moving. Like the 1968 Camaro wiht a flams I photographed a few weks ago.

Here's some of my photos:







Another one of my Camaro looking really unflattering, but I like the shot for some reason.



Some "artistic" shots of my Brougham.





& my Datsun...



I found this picture of a '69 Camaro online and instantly fell in love with it! (sig.)

[Sixty8panther]

This guy whipped around the corner wiht his GN pretty damn fast but I managed to steer my Datsun wiht my knee and snap the shot anyway as I was slowing down for a red.

Edited September 5, 2005 by Sixty8panther

[chris]

the day i bought my car





aaah filthy lens filthy lens!



office garage





any o-pinions?

[!!!TED!!!]

This is the best picture.



The layout is very good, and the splash of redish colour in the backround adds contrast to the while thing.