Car Photography tips
#1
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This is a article taken from Jtuned.com, an article that has helped me with some of the baisics in auto photogtaphy. This article can be applied to those with the least expensive camera to the high end DSLRS. and those asking for pics of my car will still have to wait a while.....I'm not done yet ;-)
Well that is about it without again going over some of the more obvious tips. I’d like to hear of some more tips from the many great photographers that frequent this site. What do you all think?
Hi i have noticed alot on here that when people take pics of there car they seem to get alot of the background i aswell, the way i see it is that its about the car not the scenery. (in a way it is but its not)
So i thought i would post this up that i found in a mag.
Tips from professional photographers.
Top 8 DON'T - As Advised By 'Speed' Magazine
-Don't shoot your car on grass or sand (You wouldn't believe how many times this came up over the article) leave it for the cows.
- Don't allow telegraph poles or trees to be in the background as it will look like they are sticking out of your cars roof.
- Don't leave windows half open.
- Don't shoot dark cars in the middle of the day.
- Don't have shadows cast under or over the car.
- Don't forget to wash your car, dirt really shows up in pictures.
- Don't just take one shot.
I know most of them a gimmies but you'd be surprised how many cars I see on here not following the most obvious ones.
Top 8 DOS - As Advised By 'Speed' Magazine
- Do shoot your car on concrete or asphalt; it looks natural
- Do shoot dark cars in soft ambient late-afternoon light. (Sunset always looks awesome)
- Do examine the paint all the paintwork for clean, simple reflections
- Do point the wheels AWAY from the camera (so everyone can see your wicked expensive rims)
- Do keep the background clean and simple (remember it’s about your ride not the scenery)
- Do try to find a low angle that will make your car look phat.
- Do detail everything, such as windows, tires and inner guards.
- Do experiment and practice.
Other photo tips from professional photographers such as Mark Bean, Guy Bowden, Cristian Brunnelli or Tony Rabbitte.
- Shoot dark cars at sunset or sunrise, shoot bright cars in sunshine. Pearl, candy and metallic need sun and lots of it.
- Again NO grass, sand or trees growing out of the roof.
- Gaffer tape is a useful waxing tool on carpet if a vacuum cleaner is not at the ready.
- Black the tires, black the tires, black the tires.
- Check the off-camera objects and make sure your mates yellow R32 isn't reflecting in your beautiful paintwork. Ensure your shots are clean. Top photographers use the reflection of the landscape horizon to emphasize body lines.
- Hit the deck cars look great from a low angle, giving that mean outta-my-way stance. Beware of ants.
- Do try taking shots of your car on the move action shots always look great.
- Again make sure your car is immaculately clean with all those little extras not forgotten.
- When taking interior shots park the whole car in a shaded area.
- Study your subject first. Walk around the car and view it at different view points, to see which angle looks best.
- Don't be afraid to move your car around, this will make your collection more diverse.
So i thought i would post this up that i found in a mag.
Tips from professional photographers.
Top 8 DON'T - As Advised By 'Speed' Magazine
-Don't shoot your car on grass or sand (You wouldn't believe how many times this came up over the article) leave it for the cows.
- Don't allow telegraph poles or trees to be in the background as it will look like they are sticking out of your cars roof.
- Don't leave windows half open.
- Don't shoot dark cars in the middle of the day.
- Don't have shadows cast under or over the car.
- Don't forget to wash your car, dirt really shows up in pictures.
- Don't just take one shot.
I know most of them a gimmies but you'd be surprised how many cars I see on here not following the most obvious ones.
Top 8 DOS - As Advised By 'Speed' Magazine
- Do shoot your car on concrete or asphalt; it looks natural
- Do shoot dark cars in soft ambient late-afternoon light. (Sunset always looks awesome)
- Do examine the paint all the paintwork for clean, simple reflections
- Do point the wheels AWAY from the camera (so everyone can see your wicked expensive rims)
- Do keep the background clean and simple (remember it’s about your ride not the scenery)
- Do try to find a low angle that will make your car look phat.
- Do detail everything, such as windows, tires and inner guards.
- Do experiment and practice.
Other photo tips from professional photographers such as Mark Bean, Guy Bowden, Cristian Brunnelli or Tony Rabbitte.
- Shoot dark cars at sunset or sunrise, shoot bright cars in sunshine. Pearl, candy and metallic need sun and lots of it.
- Again NO grass, sand or trees growing out of the roof.
- Gaffer tape is a useful waxing tool on carpet if a vacuum cleaner is not at the ready.
- Black the tires, black the tires, black the tires.
- Check the off-camera objects and make sure your mates yellow R32 isn't reflecting in your beautiful paintwork. Ensure your shots are clean. Top photographers use the reflection of the landscape horizon to emphasize body lines.
- Hit the deck cars look great from a low angle, giving that mean outta-my-way stance. Beware of ants.
- Do try taking shots of your car on the move action shots always look great.
- Again make sure your car is immaculately clean with all those little extras not forgotten.
- When taking interior shots park the whole car in a shaded area.
- Study your subject first. Walk around the car and view it at different view points, to see which angle looks best.
- Don't be afraid to move your car around, this will make your collection more diverse.
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What's gaffer tape?
Where does Rallye Red fit in here? Sun needy?
Great find!
Gaffer tape is a useful waxing tool on carpet if a vacuum cleaner is not at the ready.
Shoot dark cars at sunset or sunrise, shoot bright cars in sunshine. Pearl, candy and metallic need sun and lots of it.
Great find!
#5
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Rep Power: 284 I've taken pics of my rallye red in sunshine, the paint looks very very bright, almost orange, at sunset is a very dark red...
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Rep Power: 787 sorry, alot of those are just preference. i can show you a ton of examples that contradict everything that article said.
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Rep Power: 410 always go for a "theme" with your pictures. if the color of the car doesn't match from shot to shot, then you need to work on post processing the color to make it match.
expensive lenses do NOT make your shot. YOU make your shot.
expensive lenses do NOT make your shot. YOU make your shot.
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One good tip is mess around with the camera itself.
Some shots look amazing with a Sepia filter. Some look great overexposed.
Dont be afraid of ISO and shudder settings!!!
Another thing that is so important is to make sure you see the picture before you take the picture. You really do need to walk around and find your shots before taking them.
Then take like 5-15 of that nice shot with different settings and make sure you get a few good ones before moving on.
Some shots look amazing with a Sepia filter. Some look great overexposed.
Dont be afraid of ISO and shudder settings!!!
Another thing that is so important is to make sure you see the picture before you take the picture. You really do need to walk around and find your shots before taking them.
Then take like 5-15 of that nice shot with different settings and make sure you get a few good ones before moving on.
Last edited by diskreet; 07-07-2006 at 05:03 PM.
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Originally Posted by dirtySAMURAI
always go for a "theme" with your pictures. if the color of the car doesn't match from shot to shot, then you need to work on post processing the color to make it match.
Originally Posted by dirtySAMURAI
expensive lenses do NOT make your shot. YOU make your shot.
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Originally Posted by ramcosca
I had never thought about this... great tip. Yeah. It is said that it's not the camera that makes the shot, it's the lens...
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Originally Posted by texascivic2k1
Originally Posted by ramcosca
But the car is kinda light red... do we have to do it like in between?
RR looks good in any light
Last edited by pon55; 07-07-2006 at 07:32 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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Rep Power: 270 ^^Yeah, that's why the best time for pics is sunrise or sunset; the lighting at that time of the day is perfect for pics..otherwise you'd have to use a polarizer filter to eliminate glare..
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