First Attempt @ Car Shots

[Shasta]

This is my first real attempt at some car shots. I just purchased the car so really is my first opportunity to shoot a car. Aside from the dirty tires I would love some tips on car shooting. Once the weather warms up I'm hoping to use those tips to really come up with some great images.

http://usera.imagecave.com/DMIMAGE/Mazda/P5_1.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/DMIMAGE/Mazda/P5_2.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/DMIMAGE/Mazda/P5_3.jpg

http://usera.imagecave.com/DMIMAGE/Mazda/P5_4.jpg

EDIT: Forum rules allow a maximum image size of 800x800 pixels - moderator

[StaticThought]

Nice shots, I like number 2 lots though.

[Just Be]

Get closer. You can capture a smaller section of the car for a more dramatic image. Yes, better weather makes a difference. I'm dying for spring to begin so I can get out and do some real shooting.

[creechjs]

Get closer. You can capture a smaller section of the car for a more dramatic image. Yes, better weather makes a difference. I'm dying for spring to begin so I can get out and do some real shooting.

Hm I'd have to disagree. With a 1d, im assuming you have a long lens. I'd say get further and use the distance to create some nice dof. I would also say find a better location and let your car interact with it in the frame. Use the rule of thirds like you did in pic 3. Its not neccesary to fill the frame with the whole car in every shot. It sometimes feels a little too claustrophobic.

[spooledup]

Is this Darryl? If so whats up dude? Pics look good, how you liking the new car? I finally bought a Kata bag it comes in tomorrow, so now I only need the 17-40mm :(.

[PhotosGuy]

Good start. Keep at it! A few Car Lighting Tips (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

And...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Forum%20Junk/Welcome-ChargerRT_020.gif

[Shasta]

Is this Darryl? If so whats up dude? Pics look good, how you liking the new car? I finally bought a Kata bag it comes in tomorrow, so now I only need the 17-40mm :(.

Hey dude, yeah its me, welcome you will like it here, loads of good criticism here. I have been unable to find you a lens for sale but look here as well, good members here too. You will love the bag.

Thanks for the tips, especially not filling the frame with the car. I think for a beginner its just natural to think to always get the entire subject in the frame which does not always make for the best image but to focus on one part of the car or practice cropping to see what loks best then shoot to recreate that image in a full image.

[Shasta]

Good start. Keep at it! A few Car Lighting Tips (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)



Thank you very much.

[Just Be]

Hm I'd have to disagree. With a 1d, im assuming you have a long lens. I'd say get further and use the distance to create some nice dof. I would also say find a better location and let your car interact with it in the frame. Use the rule of thirds like you did in pic 3. Its not neccesary to fill the frame with the whole car in every shot. It sometimes feels a little too claustrophobic.

I don't know about that. It works for me. :lol:

[Just Be]

Hey dude, yeah its me, welcome you will like it here, loads of good criticism here. I have been unable to find you a lens for sale but look here as well, good members here too. You will love the bag.

Thanks for the tips, especially not filling the frame with the car. I think for a beginner its just natural to think to always get the entire subject in the frame which does not always make for the best image but to focus on one part of the car or practice cropping to see what loks best then shoot to recreate that image in a full image.

Like I said in the earlier post...
Get closer or crop tighter.

If you look at almost any car commercial you'll notice that you don't see many shots of the entire car. That's because most cars don't look good in a full shot or just any angle. Every car has a good side or certain features that make it stand out. That same car can also have features that make it unattractive. Just like a portrait of a person, cars need to be seen in their best light and at the proper angle/height.

Look at any black car in a car commercial. They show black cars in ads and commercials for a reason. To hide unattractive lines. Most cars have them unless you are looking at a Corvette or Porsche. You will also notice them poorly lit so as not to show off these same detracting features.

Smoke and mirrors my friends. :lol:

[creechjs]

Like I said in the earlier post...
Get closer or crop tighter.

If you look at almost any car commercial you'll notice that you don't see many shots of the entire car. That's because most cars don't look good in a full shot or just any angle. Every car has a good side or certain features that make it stand out. That same car can also have features that make it unattractive. Just like a portrait of a person, cars need to be seen in their best light and at the proper angle/height.

Look at any black car in a car commercial. They show black cars in ads and commercials for a reason. To hide unattractive lines. Most cars have them unless you are looking at a Corvette or Porsche. You will also notice them poorly lit so as not to show off these same detracting features.

Smoke and mirrors my friends. :lol:

Different strokes for different folks, I presume. I don't think your example of car commercials works all that well because its a different medium. Your talking video, I'm talking stills.
The way I think about it is I want my picture to have meaning or context. A closeup of a defining feature of a car is simply just a detail shot. I'm not saying they can't be done, but the best ones I've seen were pictures taken in a studio, where the photographer can control the reflections.
If you ever look at magazines, detail shots are thumbnails that just fill up space. The full body shots are the pictures that make the two page spreads.
Finding a location that fits your car only adds to the picture. Cropping tight eliminates any context you may have had. For instance, a picture of a ferrari on a racetrack with the rumble strips in the foreground and grandstands in the back is more powerful than a detail shot of the side air duct. When I only see detail shots posted in a thread, I automatically assume it was a car show or car meet and they couldn't pull back and shoot more of the car.
At least in most people's internal rule books, the first rule is Location, Location, Location! Without stepping back and finding the angles that not only make the car look best, but also show off the environment, that first rule is irellevant.

[Just Be]

I of course don't mean to imply the exclusion of wide shots. I just recommended to the OP that close-ups might be nice. :D

[racketman]

too much uninteresting foreground in 3 & 4 - avoid placing subject in the middle of frame, especially in portrait framing (#4).

[Shasta]

I'm going to have to agree with getting closer, I'd like to take a picture and the first thing someone thinks is cool pic then they go 'hey thats a INSERT CAR HERE'. Like a double whammy, I'm going to work on that with some different angles, I don't want to be the norm, its boring then.

Excellent comments and to me the best comment I could possible attain is that someone used my image as their desktop.