'55 T-Bird: First try at car photography

gfw123

Any tips on how to improve? I was hoping my 2 580EXII flashes would do the trick (1 of which has to stay on camera to act as master). I don't think I had enough light, especially as it got darker.

I see that the ground is really taking away from the shots, I need to learn to see like the camera does. I wonder if you can buy big tarps to drive onto or something.

I also need to watch for reflections of nearby objects (light stand, other cars, etc).

Do the 'partial car' shots work for you? I suppose it is suppose to be about the car and not the city huh, so I should always show the whole car.

Anyway, appreciate any feedback or ideas on good outside locations for car shoots.
--greg.

Here are the shots, more can be found at the *END* of this gallery:

http://www.gregorywrightphotography.com/Cars/West-Seattle-Car-Show

black mamba

Hi Gregory,

Overall, these pictures are pretty good. Looking at what you've written, I believe you are aware of some of the issues that prevail in shooting cars. First and foremost, you can never lose sight of the fact that the car is the star. In this case, the car is competing too much with the city background. In many cases, such as car shows, you really are at the mercy of what the situation is and what it dictates. Usually, a car is best shown in a sterile environment ( like an industrial background ) .....but always be aware of elements that will cause a viewer's attention to stray.

Sometimes you can clone out unwanted reflections on the car....many times you can't. Watch for it and deal with it as best you can. When shooting in daylight, it is mandatory ( as I see it ) to use a circular polarizer. It won't help much with reflections coming off the car from the metal parts, but it will yield great benefits in dealing with those coming off the painted surfaces.

Partial car shots are OK if you are purposefully trying to accentuate a particular design element or mechanical feature. Otherwise, show the entire car.

Tom

rwells

Hey Greg,

Man, I was hoping the car master "Tom" would jump-in and give some of his sage advise. True to his nice nature, he gave you/us some very valuable info.

My take:

While I personally like to shoot cars close, I think with the perspective that you've chosen, you either shot them too tight, or cropped them that way. They need a little "breathing" room in the image area. Not a lot, but a little. The first two shots, you cut-off the tire. That's like cutting off someones toes in an image.

About the background:
Just like shooting people, you need to employ whatever method that you prefer to help isolate your subject from the bg. That might be a shallower DOF, underexposing the bg, or if you can, lighting the vehicle (in lower light shots) properly, making it the star, not the bg.

I think two 580's will light a white car just fine. Just control your bg exposure with any combination you like. Aperture, ISO, shutter speed.

And, we all know that cars are usually on something other than a drop-cloth. I see nothing wrong with pavement, it's quite natural for a car. I'll sometimes clone out a parking stripe if it's distracting.

I think your off on a good start & I'm looking forward to seeing more of your work.

BTW, beautiful car & nice job on the effort to shoot it

Here's a quick, and not too accurate effort processing to give you some idea of what I'm referring. (I'll immediately pull this down if you say so)

I'm not saying this is how it should be, but to give you ideas... These changes simply make the car the most dominate item, not the bg.
NOTE: I would try and achieve something like I stated in-camera, not relying on post to make most of it happen...

After


Before

nikitynick

i agree with the above, i feel like the car needs a little more breathing room, especially underneath. the car should be a little closer to the center where it would draw the most attention, whereas here the background is more distracting rather than emphasizing the car's image

gfw123

Thanks to you all.
I got some shots (just one of the above and 6 more from that gallery) printed out, 8x12 and 12x18s.

You are all right on with your suggestions. On the pics I had cropped too close I loosened them back up a bit and it helped. I cloned out the white lines and that helped a lot. That is where my editing skills end though (I only have Aperture).

The person has agreed to let me shoot it again in the same spot. I will give the car more room, use a polarizer and take more control over the flash so that I dim the background a bit and brighten up the car. I will also drop down from the f8-f13 I was shooting at to blur out the city a bit, which I think is a cool look anyway.

If the weather here in Seattle doesn't hold, the car will have the black rag top back on it. I will deal with that if/when it happens.

I might also try some reflectors or something to augment the two bare flashes I have. It wouldn't be so bad if I had triggers and could get the 2nd flash off of the camera body. More stuff to save up for. :-)

Thanks again for all the great advise. I will get back in here and post the new versions once I can work out a day for the 2nd shoot.

--greg.

TonyCooper

In my view, the background makes an otherwise rather ordinary photograph a bit more special. I'm not a car person, though. While I take photographs of older cars, the newer cars (post-WWII) don't interest me photographically. I'd walk by that T-Bird and think "Nice car", but not bother photographing it.

So, your setting adds something that - to me - makes an interesting photograph.

I do think you cropped far too tightly, though. I'd shoot from a lower position, get the cityscape right behind the car, and leave a great deal more space right and left and some under the tires.

moose135

I think I agree with Tony as far as your shooting angle - that last image, with the buildings right behind the car, is my favorite. I think it would make a terrific image with the skyline lit just after dark.

gfw123

An update.
Said I would come back and update everyone here on my progress, so here I am. I have not had good enough weather yet to re-shoot the car, so I have been trying to teach myself some post processing with Aperture and some plugins (I will save up for photoshop eventually). Anyway, here is the result. I like it much better, the car seems to pop out more.

Thanks again for all the tips,
--greg.



and how about some high contrast stuff> :-)

black mamba

A big improvement. I prefer the color version....very well done.

Tom

Richard

black mamba wrote:

A big improvement. I prefer the color version....very well done.

Tom

The angle in the newer ones brings it all together. I also prefer the color.

rwells

That's what I'm talkin' about


I also prefer the color version.