car show in wilmington, nc

kingwiththeax1

please check out my pics from a local car show here in wilmington, nc and let me know what you think. how do you paste them into the message? thanks.

Richard

Hi there and welcome to Dgrin . Since you have a SmugMug account, the best way to include pics is to link to them. How To Post on Dgrin

kingwiththeax1

Well nobody replied so i guess they weren't up to par. Please feel free to reply with constructive or negative comments also. I am new at this and would love any criticism I can get. There are lots of great photographers on here and I would love to learn from you. Thanks.

Richard

Hint: Enable external linking in your SmugMug gallery so that the pics appear inline--it's all in the instructions above. People are really lazy about following links. There are quite a few car shot fans here, so I think you'll get comments once people see your pics.

chuckinsocal

There are some nice images there but the watermark is way too intrusive to be able to enjoy them. I think you need to find a better balance between protecting your images and allowing people to enjoy them. In fact, if you go through the many beautiful images here on dgrin you'll find very few watermarks and most of the ones you do find are very unobtrusive, barely noticeable, and do not distract from the image itself. I understand the reason for watermarks, but the stark reality is that any image on the internet, even those that are "protected", can be stolen by someone who really wants it.

And, take Richard's advice. You'll get far more views which should result in more comments.

Just my nickel's worth (inflation ya know).

FLYING EYEBALL

I agree with with what the others have said.

Change the settings on your smuggy so you can post the images instead of links and lose the over the top watermark.

I'm a big fan of Car Show pics as well.




Keep them coming

kingwiththeax1

thanks for the feedback! i figured out how to embed the photos. i agree with the outrageous "proof" thing. i couldn't get it to turn off until just now. anyways...i thank you guys for helping. this is a great forum.

chuckinsocal

MUCH, MUCH BETTER.
I shoot car shows occaisionally myself and I know there are things that are impossible to control, but next time, if you can find cars without the distracting reflections in their sides, those would make for better photos.

Also, that shadow on the first 442 can't possibly be yours can it :yikes ? Nah ... I didn't think so.

Anyway, car shows are far more difficult to shoot than most people would think and it just takes practice, trial and error, then more practice.

You're off to a good start. I look forward to your next set.

vintagemxr

Chuck is correct, it's harder than it looks to shoot cars at a public show. I know, I've taken thousands of mediocre shots! I expect there will be more. : Fortunately, I've snuck in a few good ones too. At least I think they are.

Odd reflections can kill an otherwise nice shot unless you plan ahead and use the reflected element as a part of the shot, say maybe a pretty girl reflected in the hood of a Corvette or an old man reflected in the paint of a vintage car. Something that melds two the images without being too obvious can look nice.

Try to plan ahead what you want to shoot that day:

• Documenting the show?

• A particular brand or type of car?

• Close up studies of unique car shapes or parts or colors (Flying Eyeball's shot above)

• People and their cars.

The list could go on and on but all built around the central image of a vehicle.

Setting out with a concept in mind can help bring some structure to what you're shooting. For instance, I'm consciously trying to get more people into my shots; other humans seem to like those kinds of shots better for some reason but then that comes to the point of who you're shooting for and why.

Controlling shot scenes at a public show is nigh on to impossible. Feet, legs, butts, and disembodied heads all turn up in the oddest places and usually in your otherwise best pictures. A trick that does work well, if you don't mind the hassle, is to shoot from a tripod. Suddenly people notice you ("He must be a serious photographer, he has a tripod!") and are better about keeping out of the shot.

Know your subject. I know a fair bit about VW's so I like to shoot those as opposed to something more glamorous like a Corvette.

The shots you posted are sort the standard car show shots. I like the low angle ones the best. Finding a unique shot and really getting it right is tough and takes lots work.

Doug

Paintguy

Love the contrast on the first one. Would like to see the crop a little higher on the '56 Ford to get the roof and top of the headlight. Photoshop out the light pole and "man on the hood". Tough reflections there.

snakedoctor

nice shots Kingwiththeax1 We are having a little car meet in Wilmington on sunday 8-1-10 at the port city java in front Brunswick Forest in leland . Any chance you would stop by to shoot a few cars?

kingwiththeax1

snakedoctor wrote: »

nice shots Kingwiththeax1 We are having a little car meet in Wilmington on sunday 8-1-10 at the port city java in front Brunswick Forest in leland . Any chance you would stop by to shoot a few cars?

Snake,

I would love to. Let me know what time. Thanks!

Shades of Hyperion

Really nice shots. I really like the first one... it would be even better if the hood on the truck was closed, but I know you take what you can get at car shows.

I really like local weekly "cruise night" type shows, the quality of the vehicles isn't always on par with major shows but, if you get to know the owners they are amazingly cooperative when it comes to photographing their vehicles.

System

I've got almost the same exact shot of the black ford...

Eia

I'm really likin' your car show shots! the angles give that attitude and the sky is a sweet touch. I don't know much about cars - but I know classics are awesome compared with today's!

kingwiththeax1

@ captain....nice shot. that's wild that we caught that same angle with the same car! and even the red in the reflections.

@ eia.... thanks! classic cars have amazing lines. very fun to shoot.