My F150 - Second Shoot

This time, I took it up to a local creamery with an excellent view of the sunset. It was an almost perfectly clear sky, so I tried to use the highlights of the sunset and the light after the sun had set. How do you think they came out? Is this an improvement over my previous attempt?

1. This one was obviously taken well before sunset.

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These are better for me.

A little darker would work better. You've lost the edge of the rear fender in the sky.

#2: The exposure for the side is about right. A 2nd lighter exposure for the wheel & front would be better, & a darker one for the sky would be my choice. Blending in a range of exposures is something you should plan on doing when you shoot. It only takes a few seconds & makes PP a lot easier.

#4: It could be a winner. The headlights on & the better colors in the sky make this one have the most potential for me after some creative blending.

I did try a few HDR's. I tried my best to keep them looking realistic; here's how one of them came out. I'm not sure if the sun in the photo works.

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cokethenwpepsi wrote in post #10609174
I did try a few HDR's. I tried my best to keep them looking realistic; here's how one of them came out. I'm not sure if the sun in the photo works.

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There are very, very few HDRs I like, and back-to-back I usually prefer the non-HDR shot...but damn this turned out well. The best of the bunch by a long shot...well done

Thank you very much!

Except for the halo around the top of the truck, that looks pretty good. I'd crop about 25% off the right side.
But HDR is a whole different thing from doing the truck yourself & the results are very different.

Ok I tried a blend. How does this one look?

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Now you've got it! Good work.
A couple more thoughts. That antenna looks really weird. I'd either shorten it, or remove all of it.
I think your biggest problem was trying to hold the exposure in the sky in the base shot, instead of exposing for the car as I did in the "Move" thread. Better to get it "right" in the base image & then darken it in PP if you need to. You have more good tones in it to start with & less noise when you finish.

Look at the original base image of "the Beast".
https://photography-on-the.net …php?p=8537811&p​ostcount=5
And then look at the finished version. (#8)
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=747170

Excellent. I think I finally understand how I should go about photographing vehicles. Thanks for all the help!

Now it's your turn to pass it on to someone else.