Finished project photos

gcreekgcreek Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
edited December 29, 2009 in Landscapes
Very much a newbie to photography but having lots of fun figuring it out. We just finished the construction of a new Ferrari dealership in Austin and thought i'd take a few marketing photos. Any advice is welcome-i've got thick skin.
Canon 30d - Canon 17-35mm
exp 3.2sec
F/10
ISO 125

Comments

  • Nikonic1Nikonic1 Registered Users Posts: 684 Major grins
    edited December 29, 2009
    Did you take this on a tripod? It's a bit out of focus in key areas of the shot. Cool lighting and colors available though.
    Matt :thumb
    http://nikonic1.smugmug.com/
  • gcreekgcreek Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
    edited December 29, 2009
    Nikonic1 wrote:
    Did you take this on a tripod? It's a bit out of focus in key areas of the shot. Cool lighting and colors available though.


    Yes on the tripod-thought i had it focused correctly. Plus the signs are a little bright.
  • schmooschmoo Registered Users Posts: 8,468 Major grins
    edited December 29, 2009
    Hi and welcome to Dgrin! wave.gif

    It must be nice to finally have this building finished. But I gotta say that you took on quite a challenging project here. That's not a bad thing, but marketing and architectural photography can be quite hard.

    If it was windy where you were, that could account for some slight softness. But also, glowing lights do tend to overexpose because the dynamic range of a scene this time of the day is quite large. While your camera might be trying to get enough light in the shadows, the lights give off a bit too much.

    You can try bracketing (taking one shot for the highlights and one for the shadows, and blending them in a photo editor), or you can maybe try shooting earlier in the evening when there is more ambient light? For blending, we have some great basic tutorials in our galleries here. There are quite a few there that you might be interested in, so check 'em out!

    Composition-wise, perhaps get closer to the building, or crop out some of the concrete space at the bottom? Center-focused shots tend to be a little lackluster in terms of drawing the eye, but it does depend on what you're shooting.

    I guess the best advice I ever heard was to shoot a lot and from that process you should get a better idea of what works for you and what doesn't. Good luck and let us know what you come up with! thumb.gif
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  • gcreekgcreek Registered Users Posts: 3 Beginner grinner
    edited December 29, 2009
    I took several photos at different stops and exposures so i'll try to see what i can come up with blending them together. Technical aspects aside i'm having trouble making architecture look interesting, I'm amazed how a lot of the folks here can turn a pretty boring subject into a great photo.

    Thanks for the advice.
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