What Am I doing Wrong????????Lens or Me?

[drksol]

Why Is it that My Pics, don't look like this?
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/My%20Bike/DPP_0008.jpg

http://www.azht.net/images/350z/img_4920.jpg

http://www.azht.net/images/350z/img_4934.jpg

But Look like this??? What Am I doing wrong?

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/114/l_ab8efcc9efca1882bb8f183a32f9b0f1.jpg
http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/48/l_75edcbb030e00d3e69cb3088617f21cf.jpg
http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/113/l_fb530eb6cb713e9e220f6feea00d0335.jpg

[drksol]

They are not any bit close to the clarity to the first set. Could it be the lens or the way im shooting them?

[Roy Mathers]

Some more details (eg full exif) about the shots would help people 'trouble shoot' these pictures for you.

By the way, you should be aware of two of the Forum rules -

4. All images posted are copyrighted to their respective owners.
5. You agree to post only content that you have copyright for, or with written permission from the copyright owner.

To overcome this, you might want to post links to CJM's pictures instead.

[PhotosGuy]

To overcome this, you might want to post links to CJM's pictures instead. Fixed them.

Read the links in my Sig, & then look at the light on those shots again.
And...

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

[Caspita]

The two shots of the 350z appear to be taken around sunset. Read Photosguy links they are very informative. The basic rule is you want to either shoot very early in the morning, or as the sun is setting. This yields more flattering light and way less harsh shadows ( extremely harsh lighting in your first two pictures). To try to make them pop a little bit more I would tell you to drop the aperture of your lens, this can help bring some sharpness to the subject, while adding bokeh to the background. Most importantly don't be discouraged by your results, the best way to improve is to continue to practice.

[interpretiv]

the first photo of a bike you posted is actually a 3D render.

[dinko]

what are you using to edit your photos? i think what you're after is more saturation of the colors...

[drksol]

clarity

[RadAL]

a 240sx with torque thrusts.... hmm.... nah.

[rikaro]

unsharp mask is your answer

Also I noted all your sample pictures have a shallow depth of field. If you want your background blurred then you would want bigger aperture, and/or more telephoto (plus closer focus distance and further background)

[Slidewayzs14]

Hey the first picture of the R6 was mine hahaha

[drksol]

Slidewayzs14:
My Bad, I didnt mean to steal it but it was a great picture. setting?

rikaro:
Why would you say unsharp tool? I just want the clarity that those sample pics had. I can shoot people and nature perfect but cars, i can never get it right.

[PhotosGuy]

Why would you say unsharp tool? UnSharp Mask, USM, is a sharpening tool in Photoshop. You need to better learn image processing. All Images need sharpening after resizing.

[drksol]

can you take any on my pics and do it to?

[Slidewayzs14]

I dont remember the Settings But I was using Canon EOS XSi with 18-55mm lens If that helps.

I think that picture was kinda soft a bit lol

I like these that I took a bit more (again I dont remember the settings, it was along time ago lol)

My Bike
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/Bikes/IMG_0477.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/My%20Bike/DPP_0031.jpg

Friends Bike
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/Bikes/IMG_0426.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/Bikes/IMG_0419.jpg
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i320/DJSmurf_1/Bikes/IMG_0414.jpg

[Slidewayzs14]

You could try using Sharpening tools also, I didn't use it but it can help alot :mrgreen:

[99allturbo]

IMO, it's not just using usm. You may also need a lens with a wider aperture. Since cars a much larger than people, you have to back out quite a bit to get the whole car in the frame. When you back out on a kit lens (even at f/3.5), everything tends to be in-focus. Therefore you don't have that (slight) blurred background you may be looking for. A nice lens for the money is a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 (~$450) which is what I started with and was very happy with the results. Or look into a Tamron 24-70 2.8 which is longer and will give you a bit more blur. Another important thing is you need to place the car furthest away form it's background. If you see, the cars below are far from the backgorund. If they were positioned right in front of a wall, you won't get any of that blur. Also, don't shoot in the middle of the day, wait til closer to sunset, like an hour before sunset.

Here are some samples of mine with an even longer lens (70-200 2.8 ). All photos where taken with a 40D.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd127/CYPhoto_album/Luis%20CLK500/IMG_0114_3.jpg

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd127/CYPhoto_album/Logans%20Evo%20X/IMG_1623_3.jpg

...my car with the Tamron 17-50

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd127/CYPhoto_album/Automotive/IMG_3717_3.jpg

[drksol]

99allturbo: Badass....Thats what im looking for...