[tabooda]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

I just realized something! I wrote this a few years ago before digital cameras where the norm. I have since when to the camera store to find some of these high resilution films are not even available anymore. So check with the magazine first to see what they want you to submit.

Brian

Great post Brian. My father is a professional photographer and I think he would agree to all above.

What I am wondering about is this post here. What film can't you find? Most high res film should still be available. Digital cams are the public norm but most pros still go with the 35mm film. Only recently has digital cams gotten to where they are almost or just as sharp as film and most publications want negatives rather than pic files.

My favorite and my fathers is KODAK Gold GA 135-36 100 Speed.

You can grab some here:
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/1crazyde...oga13100s.html

[Jacks77]

Nice tips here... which is the best pix you would pick here and why? Nickpickit 'em apart!

[MARTINSR]

Jack, I don't know if I have any authority, skill, experiance to do any "nitpicking". I do like the two first ones the best and the only critique I would have is the curb next to the car.

If the sun wasn't so high in the sky the shadows wouldn't be so bad on the lower portions of also.

The last one is just too dark. Is that Mt Rainer (sorry for the spelling) in the back ground?

I was just there in Seattle a few weeks ago doing the tourist thing. Very cool place with a lot to see. The underground tour was particularly interesting.

Oh Yeah, one more thing, the model should be on my car, not yours.

Brian

[mickey1031]

OK the bad point i see.

1st photo.

I actually like it the best out of the three it looks nice and crisp. But you should try backing your car up just a bit or try changing your angel of the shot a bit more twords the front to get rid of the building growing out of the trunk. Also try doing it either real early in the mornning or in the late after noon when the light is not so harsh. Another thing to do is get a polarizer filter for your camera (basically sun glasses for it) It would help make the color pop on your car more and give it that punch your looking for. If i had photo shop on this puter im on i would edit them for you and you could make a great shot out of this one.

photo 2

I think this is a nice shot also but the model thing is over done. Also her leaning on the hood the way she is dose not enhance the car (she is very nice looking) but i think it would have been a better photo with her standing on the far side of the car looking at the camera and you instead of having her back twords you. if she was leaning twords you from the other side it would have enhanced her and the car more. Also again the lighting on that shot is not the best due to the high sun light. But the sail boat and the rest of the background looks great with the car.

Photo 3

This is a shot i really liked allot . Needs to be edited to make it brighter and could be done easily. Also the mountain in the back ground shows distance and it is a good thing in some photos again it needs the filter on it witch would have been a stunning shot. or if you could get the sun set on it behind the mountain with the car and even the girl on it it would have been really nice.

Not sure what you were looking for on this but i do photos all day long. One of the big things i have found since the new age digitals have come out is they like to make photos washed out looking I shoot with a polarizer all the time it has become the most used filter i have other then some of the other colors that i have i use for sunsets. But honestly all of the photos you have here show allot of potential . I think they all look good for the most part other then what was mentioned.

A few tips if you want them.
polarizer filter
watch your lighting.
Use a flash even in the day light it will add a fill light to the photos and sofen your shadows up some with out getting rid of them completely/
Not sure what camera these were taken with but if you can mount a lens hood to it also It will help improve your shots also.
Good Luck and i hope this helps i wasn't trying to tear your work apart So please don't take it that way i just said what i saw.

[Jacks77]

Originally Posted by mickey1031

OK the bad point i see.

1st photo.

I actually like it the best out of the three it looks nice and crisp. But you should try backing your car up just a bit or try changing your angel of the shot a bit more twords the front to get rid of the building growing out of the trunk. Also try doing it either real early in the mornning or in the late after noon when the light is not so harsh. Another thing to do is get a polarizer filter for your camera (basically sun glasses for it) It would help make the color pop on your car more and give it that punch your looking for. .

First photo, I was using a polarizer and I deliberately "framed" the Vette with the space needle in front and the building in the rear. Nothing coming out of the Vette at all...

Second photo:
That was one variation of the model. How about this one

[MARTINSR]

Jack, the buildings do "grow" out of the car. Look at the second photo, and the one you just posted, they don't.

I have to say it again, I don't like the curb being there at all. Honestly, it looks like you walked up and took a photo of a car parked on the side of the street while the owner was out enjoying the scenery. And again, the shadows are a killer.

That's at the end of Lake Union right?

Brian

[pumpkin35]

Photo 1:
Good stance on the car, but I would move over a bit to the right, to get a better view of the entire car. Much too much sun on a yellow car, the shadows coming up from the bottom are interfering with the overall integrity of the shot. Notice how the flames in the vents are barely noticable? Shooting at a different time of day should deal with these issues.

Photo 2:
This shot seems to bring attention more to the model than the car. (Nice model, by the way.) The backround is beautiful, except for that darned curb! Putting the car in the grass, and doing the same shot with the model behind the car, leaning across the hood, should give more perspective. Same shadow problem as in photo 1.

Photo 3:
I like this shot best, although a little on the dark side.

Photo 4:
This looks like somebody was passing the car, and told his girl to stand there and smile. She's too far away from the car, which makes you look at her, therefore taking away from the main focus of the photo.

All in all, good shots. Just keep working, and they'll improve with time.

[Jacks77]

Okay then, how about this one? No curb here!



No curb here either! Taken before I added my two spoiler and stinger hood.



And here is a different variation of the 1st photo taken at Alki Beach, Seattle

[MARTINSR]

Again, I have only studied this stuff as a hobby, far from an "expert".

The first one doesn't show enough contrast between the car and the back ground. If that photo had ONLY the blue sky behind it, that would be a winner in my book. Now, as I said, you can't shoot everything so "artsy", but a few, I like it.

Second one, the car looks one dimentional. The photo was made on photoshop wasn't it?. If this were a 3/4 view it would be much nicer.

Three, the curb takes away all cool points, sorry.

Brian

[Jacks77]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Three, the curb takes away all cool points, sorry.

Brian

Okay, lets see some of your car pixs.
I'd like to see your work.

[MARTINSR]

You asked for us to "nitpick" these right? I'll get some up this weekend. I am sure you guys can nitpick them as well. I may not be able to sing like Pavorotti but I can tell when he hits a bum note.
Brian

[Jacks77]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

You asked for us to "nitpick" these right? I'll get some up this weekend. I am sure you guys can nitpick them as well. I may not be able to sing like Pavorotti but I can tell when he hits a bum note.
Brian

Well, two things...
1. I want to see some samples of your suggestions in your work. Your Car, not someone elses.
2. I want to see pixs from the other ones who "nitpick" so I can get ideas for future pixs. Their cars, not someone else.

So bring on the pixs.

[MARTINSR]

We are out of luck then, I am a 15 year old girl posing as a car enthusiast and don't even have a license, sorry.

Briana

[mattmanuel]

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. There is allot of really great info here, some basics and some detailed specifics. When I think of basics I think of three things...

1. What is the picture trying to say
2. Composition
3. Lighting

Technique and opinion are all secondary. I would love to go into each in detail later but for now I will brush on each and see how many eggs get thrown at me

What is the picture trying to say -
Every picture tells a story. You need to decide what you want yours to say. Start by asking yourself a few questions. Am I trying to get on the cover of a Mag? Am I trying to document the beauty and detail of the vehicle? Or, is there something deeper that the car just happens to be a part of?
If your trying to get on the cover of a Mag, that's easy. Copy everything that you have ever seen in every Rod Mag ever! The point being, The research and analysis has all been done. This stuff sells, so pay attention and learn.
If you are trying to document the car, focus always on the car. DON'T fill the foreground and background with distractions i.e. Girls, landscape etc.
If there is a deeper meaning and the car just happens to be part of it, then focus on the subject at hand. Think about where you want to be seen first in the picture and where you want the eye to be drawn from there.
As soon as I figure out the format of this board I'll insert examples.

Composition-
If you don't know the basics of dividing your picture into thirds and balancing objects in the picture then you have allot of reading to do. It's not hard, mostly theory and opinion, two experts will tell you two different things. Listen to them all and try to understand where they're coming from.

Lighting-
Due to the fact that cars are so big and few of us have large studios, lighting is going to come from the natural light of the sun. In my opinion natural light is the best way to go anyway. The trick is to use the light to your advantage. You have to once again ask yourself several questions. Where do I want the main light source on the subject? Where will I need fill lighting? What color or tone of light do I want i.e. evening sun set vs noon blue sky. After you have answered your questions you need to think about how to achieve this lighting. You will need to take into consideration the time of day, day of the year for proper angles, how many darn white sheets will I need to drag with me to get the right fill lighting and so on. This is a science in it's self and experience is the best teacher.

The word basic means to be vague and all encompassing at the same time, so I hope you got some thing from my short rant, and not a "what the hell is this guy talking about" reaction.
Personally I think this should be a Topic instead of a thread. Then again, thats just me, I could be wrong!

Matt

[MARTINSR]

Matt, please do go into more detail. What I would like to know from your experience is what is "opinion" and what is "right and wrong". I have never understood how if there are basic (theres that word again) "Rules" to something, how can one mans breakng of the "rules" be a "opinion" and not "wrong"?

And more importantly, this is not a poke or something, please forgive me if it sounds so. Did you say anything different than what I did with my "Basics"? In your post, unless I am missing something or can't communicate worth a darn I have said the same thing, just in super basic terms.
Now, HONESTLY, I could be so dense that I am missing something and you have a lot more there than I am understanding. Again, honestly, I want to understand this stuff more so try to inlighten me.

Jack, sorry for the smart ars remark in the last post, but I can't stand that "show me what you can do" crap. First off, this is the interent, you don't know me, I don't know you. That is why I made my 15 year old girl joke. My car, our car, what is all that? I don't even know if that is your car or that you took the photos. I could post some that I didn't take, who cares? The point is PROCEDURE, that is all we are talking about. The funny thing is a number of other posters ARE photographers (or close) and all have similar PROCEDURES in their posts and or agree with the basics I had.

A little rule in life: "If you are getting the same information from a number of tape rulers but YOUR tape ruler is different, blame YOURS not all the others"

You can qoute me on that.


Those photos of yours are good, they are very nice photos. If that is all you want to hear, go ask your mom. If you want someone with an interest in photography to crititue them so you could possibly do even better, you ask them as you did ("Nickpickit 'em apart"). But if you can't disuss the crititue intellectually, don't ask.

Brian