Brother-in-law's WRX (first car shoot)

Hi guys,

Thought I'd try my hand at car photography, given my brother-in-law has a nice WRX that he's about to sell. Found this spot about 2 minutes' drive from our house and had a play this afternoon. These shots were all taken with the 12-24mm I'm currently selling. I'm going to miss it now! Good thing I have plans for a 5D to go with my 17-40 eh

Criticise away!!

1.

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some nice shots. I was just browsing thru the selective colouring thread, and wondered what the car would look like done like that? It would help stop the distraction of the background.

I like these Luke. Well done. The angle of the last one had me turning my head around in circles.

Thanks guys. I actually like the background (hence shooting at f/11) so was aiming to keep it and the car in balance. Selective colouring becomes gimmicky awful quick so I try to steer clear of it unless the shot cries out for it ... I'm not sure these do. Which is why I'm not sure I even like the more subtle desaturation in #4. Anyway, thanks heaps for the idea!!

catsith wrote in post #2538069
some nice shots. I was just browsing thru the selective coloring thread, and wondered what the car would look like done like that? It would help stop the distraction of the background.

I agree!
#2 is a perfect candidate for the task!!

Just my opinion (for what it's worth), but the background is too cluttered on shots 1 to 3. Exposure, lighting, contrast, DOF and composition on 4 doesn't work for me. I would try again when the sun was much lower in the sky and/or with some kind of panel to difuse the light.

Graphyfotoz wrote in post #2539095
I agree!
#2 is a perfect candidate for the task!!

Had to be done....

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Hawg Hanner wrote in post #2539991
Just my opinion (for what it's worth), but the background is too cluttered on shots 1 to 3. Exposure, lighting, contrast, DOF and composition on 4 doesn't work for me. I would try again when the sun was much lower in the sky and/or with some kind of panel to difuse the light.

Yeah #4 sucks. I agree. Note to self: don't try to PP a bad shot into a less bad shot

Re: the lighting, I also agree. My brother-in-law was heading back to Sydney yesterday evening and I had to shoot while the sun was still high and the sky was cloudless. That said, I kinda like the harshness of #1-#3.

How would you have minimised the clutter in this setting? Or would you have gone somewhere with less clutter (happy to stand corrected on the desirability of this location, I didn't really do much location scouting).

Liberalis wrote in post #2540128
Had to be done....

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Not bad. In fact I kinda like it. Thanks for posting

Warehouse and industrial districts often provide great backdrops (i.e. colorful sheet metal, brick walls, etc.). I would have then parked the car further away from the building so the reflection of the building was removed. Again, with the sun lower in the sky it would have helped, too.

Thanks Hawg Hanner... the moving it forward to get rid of reflections is a great tip. (Ahhh, the joys of obvious things you forget when you're doing something for the first time!)

Liberalis wrote in post #2540128
Had to be done....

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AHHHHH YES!!
You nailed it......BRAVO!