Automotive photography advice?

[Celcius]

Hello. I received a Canon xsi with the kit lens for Christmas last year and haven't really taken the time to 'improve' my skills aside from experience gained from the few times I've taken it out for practice. I was hoping I could get some constructive feedback on my photos.

The main problem I'm having with my photos is clarity, color depth, and sharpness. The lens I'm using is the kit lens with image stabilization. Both of the images I'm posting were processed and digitally sharpened, which helps a bit, but sharpening them any further in photoshop causes them to look over processed in my opinion.

Is the lens the issue or is it just my lack of skill with the camera? Is there anything you notice I may be doing wrong that is causing the color 'richness' to be lost?

Here's one of the photos I've taken that I'm more proud of:

http://yospeed.com/events/050903_eibach_springs_honda_tech_open_house/honda_s2000_premium_garage_krew.jpg

And one I'm not so proud of:

http://yospeed.com/events/0409_toyota_grand_prix_of_long_beach_2009/mazda_rx_8_mazdaspeed_formula_drift.jpg

[Tatt2Guy]

I like the first but its a lil to well lit on the front of the car, maybe a lil bit of PP will help it, the second, is a little too touristy to me, maybe it needs to be cropped, and some of the glares taken daown a bit.....

[Tatt2Guy]

Here's my opinion on the S2000 which is a great shot BTW... I liked it alot ....

[Lennybird]

Celcius, Welcome to the forums! Hope you enjoy your stay here.

I like the first one's colors, but the angle you took the photo feels a bit awkward. Try kneeling down a little more and get a more, "head-on," shot next time and compare. Make sure the photo looks symmetrical.

The bottom photo, to me, just appears to be too much blur from too slow of a shutter speed in too dull of light. I do, however, like the composition better than the first. Still, the big trucks behind the main subject of interest (the white car), is sort of distracting. I agree with Tatt2Guy that there is just a bit too much glare/specularity.

Something that I haven't done for the 6+ months I've had my XSi is mess with the built in Picture style settings. If you aren't happy with the sharpness and tones, try - before PP - creating a user defined profile for the sharpness, color tones, contrast, and saturation. I know I'm going to try this out myself and see what happens.

Best of luck!
-Jake

[Celcius]

Thanks for the quick responses!

I really like what you did with the first photo. Did you just adjust the levels a bit or did you do something else if you don't mind me asking?

And thank you for the advice regarding the presets. I haven't bothered to play with those much. Don't these produce the same results as sharpening or adjusting the contrast via post processing?

[Lennybird]

Thanks for the quick responses!

And thank you for the advice regarding the presets. I haven't bothered to play with those much. Don't these produce the same results as sharpening or adjusting the contrast via post processing?

To be honest, I'm not sure. Someone else more experienced will have to answer that, but I imagine it depends if you're taking RAW or jpeg. I assume it would apply all the adjustments prior to converting it to jpeg within the camera, which would be better than post processing the same effects as a jpeg of course.

Plus for someone not experienced with manually tweaking photos (like myself), it may be worth a shot? It is for me, haha.

[ssracer]

Pick up a nifty fifty. I love shooting cars with mine, although you need more room since it's a prime...lol

[DAMphyne]

Here's my opinion on the S2000 which is a great shot BTW... I liked it alot ....

The OP should turn his "Image Editing OK" before playing with their photos.:)