hyb

Excluding the first few shots I took of an empty coke can on my desk




Large here


Advice welcome

got rice?

The positioning of the car with the background could be improved. Rather than parking in the middle of the lot, position it somewhere to work with the location, such as parking it in the overhang area and waiting for better, less harsh lighting.

Also, shoot at a larger aperture to blur more of the background. I can't see the exif in this photo but it seems to be shot at a small aperture. I'd suggest around f/5.6 at this angle.

I also like to fill the car in the frame for most shots unless you're trying to incorporate the surroundings for an artistic shot. An example:

This shot I have the Contour offset to the side to balance with the blue window.


This shot I fill the frame so the background (grey garage door) doesn't play much part in the image other than making the car stand out.

Amer

hey rice, how do you take those pictures? they look so professional like something out of a brochure. Is it the expensive camera or you settings? I have a 5.0 megapixel cannon camera $150 worth can I get shots like that?

hyb

Thanks for the tips, I'm a complete novice at this so it's great to see pictures like that and the info to get them. I would have parked it in the shed/garage area but it was riddled with bits of metal and didn't fancy getting a flat

michins2k

Wow...looks beautiful.

ExoticCarSite

Thats because its Monte Carlo Blue

(refer to sig for more MCB piccies)

got rice?

Probably a combo of both settings and camera gear. Those photos were with a Canon 1D Mark II and a Canon 70-200 f/2.8L IS lens but I can take the same quality photos with an entry level dSLR. My 20D and 350D are capable of shots like those; the main reason for the 1D MKII is because of the superior autofocus over the 20D and 350D.

point and shoot cameras have limitations but it *might* be possible getting shots similar to those I posted but the keeper rate would be much lower. The problem with P&S cameras is that they tend to have everything in focus except when shooting in macro mode, so it takes away from the focal point (in this case, cars) because your eye wanders to both the background and foreground. When the background is blurred out, it makes the eye move immediately to what is in focus.

got rice?

Now that you mention it - one thing I do before I start shooting is clear out debris and trash around the vehicle. In your shot, you have some paper or white stuff on the ground. I'd clear that out since it will do two things 1) cause a distraction, 2) give unwanted reflections at certain angles.

I have a few things I do before I start shooting

1) have the camera settings ready before you start shooting. I can usually judge what ISO I'll need so I'll preset it while we're driving to the location. I'll have the lens hood attached, lens cap off, and camera on my neck. I'll have the camera set to shoot in RAW, along with focus set to single shot, auto white balance (fixed with CS2 since I'm shooting RAW), etc etc. I mention this because there are times when you will be kicked off the property from security or the property owner so the amount of time spent fiddling with the camera is time wasted that can be taking pictures. I get kicked off of proprety all the time, usually one out of every eight locations but I still manage 5-20 shots before they realize what we're doing.

2) check for reflections on the windows/paint (poles, signs, trees, parking lines). You can't always control the environment 100% but it's worth spending a few moments positioning the vehicle to minimize them. I always position myself where I will shoot and have the owner park the vehicle where I want it positioned. As they are parking, I will check the paint and windshield for reflections and have them reposition it until I get a position I like. Sometimes it requires moving forward a few feet or to the side a few feet.

3) check the background for distractions. I will sometimes shoot in urban areas which are usually plastered with graffiti. One time I did a photo shoot on a 240SX and in the background was the word 'penis.' I loved the location but a few angles I couldn't shoot because of the graffiti lol. Other things to look out for would be people walking around in the background. If you're in an area with a lot of foot (and vehicle) traffic, you can wait for them to walk / drive by before you take the shot. If you use buildings as back drops, this shouldn't be an issue but keep an eye out for people peeping out of windows. Again, the goal is to make the car the main focal point and not having other things draw the eyes away from it. Other stuff to try to not have in the shots: trash cans, signs, trees or poles protruding from the car, etc.

hyb

Committing this all to memory

Flames60

Nice color on the S2000!