2008 Mini Cooper S

Static automobile work is something I am starting to get more into...and I need practice....practice is easiest on my own car...so any tips or crits you might have are greatly appreciated.

The car is new to me for 2 months...been slowly building it how I want...new wheels and coilovers are in the garage, waiting on parts...done some aesthetics stuff, which is new for me...never used to care about that. Anyway, first real photo outing was yesterday, thought I might get some crits. Thanks for looking.

TR

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …travisrhoads/10​863832623/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …travisrhoads/10​860724963/

I like these, especially together as they complement eachother well (wider angle & sharp vs a longer & shallower DoF in the second).

It looks to me like you pushed the DoF blur in post a bit on the second because the bottom right part of the image seems more blurred than it should be.

Highlights are what bring out a car's personality. See the links in my Sig, and...


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redvoodoo wrote in post #16454929
I like these, especially together as they complement eachother well (wider angle & sharp vs a longer & shallower DoF in the second).

It looks to me like you pushed the DoF blur in post a bit on the second because the bottom right part of the image seems more blurred than it should be.

Thank you. Yes I did push the oof areas. . nice catch. I can't afford that 24 f1.4 just yet. I probably should have worked that spot a little better. Thanks for the crit.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16454962
Highlights are what bring out a car's personality. See the links in my Sig, and...


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I think I know what you mean. ...I try to avoid bright spots to much but will consider that next time. Thanks for the welcome!

Nice pics! Is it a JCW or does it just have the JCW bumper?

Hyland33 wrote in post #16455066
Nice pics! Is it a JCW or does it just have the JCW bumper?

Thanks. I wish... they were out off my price range. It has the full JCW aero kit.

TRhoads wrote in post #16455025
I think I know what you mean. ...I try to avoid bright spots

I'm not sure that you do. Here > https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=70290

redvoodoo wrote in post #16454929
I like these, especially together as they complement eachother well

I totally agree!

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16455292
I'm not sure that you do. Here > https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=70290

OK, so I read through a lot of that today...I looked through a lot of the threads linked in it too. I saw a bunch of cars in parking lots, and a bunch of cut outs on PS backgrounds....not really the kind of shot I am going to try to get into making. Not really looking to do For Sale ad shots, I want more creative, staged, something with some artistic quality to it.

I realize that light and the way it bounces off things, and in this case cars can really define the shape of the car, accentuate its lines or hurt. I have shot Motorsports for about 8 years now, and think I have a grasp on how to handle light around cars, and what will make them look better.

If you have some specific crit about my shots, great, please share it I am all ears.

TRhoads wrote in post #16456890
OK, so I read through a lot of that today...I looked through a lot of the threads linked in it too. I saw a bunch of cars in parking lots, and a bunch of cut outs on PS backgrounds....not really the kind of shot I am going to try to get into making. Not really looking to do For Sale ad shots, I want more creative, staged, something with some artistic quality to it.

I thought we were talking about, "Highlights are what bring out a car's personality."?

#1 is so flat looking (w/out highlights) that it looks 2D to me.
#2 does have some highlights & an interesting mood, but I don't think that the brighter-than-the-car pipes in the background add to the image.
Sorry if I offended you, but I think a few shots like Adrian's set here R56 MINI Cooper S would make the Mini look better.

Nice shots! I like how they're darker with some highlights, but not much. While it is true that highlights are what brings out a car's personality, you can't always go with what everyone else does. I like the shots of Adrian's Cooper S, but I like these shots even more. Adrian's shots show me the car, where these shots put me in a mood. I like the unique creativity of the photos here. To me, Travis does what is most important to any artist - shows how one is unique.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #16458724
I thought we were talking about, "Highlights are what bring out a car's personality."?
#1 is so flat looking (w/out highlights) that it looks 2D to me.
#2 does have some highlights & an interesting mood, but I don't think that the brighter-than-the-car pipes in the background add to the image.
Sorry if I offended you, but I think a few shots like Adrian's set here R56 MINI Cooper S would make the Mini look better.

we are talking about cars...the one thing I have loved since I was maybe 5...the first thing I liked to read was Car and Driver...I am a car guy...and getting to merge that with my passion for photography makes them all the more a part of who I am...so I get a little testy...my apologies. I was just a little put off by the assumption that everyone has to do it your way, or its no good...I appreciate the feedback you gave specific to the images I shared. I will keep that in mind next time out. Using light to accentuate the shapes of a car is a good point, thanks for highlighting that for me.

But I still don't see myself filling the whole frame with the car, to me that is boring, and I deduce that to you that is more landscape or some other form of photography that happens to have a car in it somewhere.

Adrian's shots are ok, they are details, and to me still look like they are for an ad or a short magazine bit about the car. To me they are technically sound, but lack any mood or emotion...they are a bit sterile.

We all like different things...and that is good...how boring would it be if we all liked the same stuff....

DaMiFo wrote in post #16459658
Nice shots! I like how they're darker with some highlights, but not much. While it is true that highlights are what brings out a car's personality, you can't always go with what everyone else does. I like the shots of Adrian's Cooper S, but I like these shots even more. Adrian's shots show me the car, where these shots put me in a mood. I like the unique creativity of the photos here. To me, Travis does what is most important to any artist - shows how one is unique.

Thank you. I appreciate that these spoke to you on a different level.

TRhoads wrote in post #16460306
But I still don't see myself filling the whole frame with the car, to me that is boring, and I deduce that to you that is more landscape or some other form of photography that happens to have a car in it somewhere.

Adrian's shots are ok, they are details, and to me still look like they are for an ad or a short magazine bit about the car. To me they are technically sound, but lack any mood or emotion...they are a bit sterile.

We all like different things...and that is good...how boring would it be if we all liked the same stuff....

I don't think that there's only one way to shoot a car. What I have pointed out at the beginning of "Tips" is that, out of a possible 8 shots, "I'd still like to see one shot in a series that makes the car/bike/etc. look as good as possible." And for me, that means clean highlights that define the shape of the body. It doesn't matter if it's an "in your face" CU, or a landscape with a car in it.