Focusedonsound
07-29-2004, 02:31 PM
By no means am I a photography expert however I have personaly taken some intrest in taking some better pictures of my car along with others. I thought I would share this with you guys! FYI ... I copied this from a lot of different places so there maybe be some things like in the first paragraph (ask the car owner for permession)
1. Do not make photographs with the car hood—or bonnet as the British say—raised. Many owners do like to display the cleanliness or sparkling chrome underneath, but that’s not the best way to photograph any vehicle because it breaks up the car’s lines. Since he or she is probably nearby, ask the owner if they would close the hood so you can make a photograph. In exchange, offer to give them a print. That print automatically positions you as a photographer who cares and opens photographic marketing opportunities too.
2. It’s a good idea to remove show placards such as the identification cards placed on the dash or under the windshield wiper. Ask the owner before touching any part of his or her car! It’s best to have them do it, so ask politely. They want you to make the best possible photograph and this interaction can provide some potential print sales as well as better photographs.
3. Next to your camera, the most important thing to bring to a car show is lots of memory cards or film. While some digital photographers only use one brand, I’ll confess to using whatever is on sale. (OK, shoot me.) For film, which I shoot rarely these days, I prefer Kodak’s Elite Chrome Extra Color slide film, whose vibrant colors make cars look like they are jumping out of the slide mount. Whatever you do, pick a film whose palette is neutral in color but punchy in saturation. You can also use black and white film for a vintage look. Since I like to work fast at shows (so many cars, so little time) I only bracket exposures when using slide film. With a Canon EOS-1n, I do one-third stop brackets on either side of aperture-controlled automatic exposure. One or more of the three shots is always usable
4.You don’t need an expensive camera to make interesting car photographs; you don’t even need a car show. I was taking a test drive of my friend Lance’s VR6 powered New Beetle (NB fans will get that one) and when stopping for some refreshments saw this awesome air-cooled VW on the parking lot. Using the Minolta Dimâge Xt, I always take with me when running errands; I raised the camera high over my head to give the shot a more interesting angle and made some exposures. I used Photoshop to add Motion Blur to this shot too, but just because I though it looked cool.
5. Be sure to make images of parts of cars. Don’t be frustrated by the lack of space and crowded working conditions found at shows. Use that to your advantage by finding small details, such as the refined delicacy of a Bugatti’s grille or the sensuous lines of a street rod’s fender and capture them in sharp focus. I prefer wide-angle zooms that let me get in close, which is the next suggestion.
6. Get close to the car. Begin by working in close and gradually back off until extraneous non-car details or people start to appear in the frame, then crop them out--in camera. Wide-angle lenses or wide angle zooms let you fill up the frame with part or even the entire car while making sure distractions are eliminated, but make sure your lens allows close focusing. I once purchased a 28-85mm zoom lens specifically for photographing cars only to discover it didn’t focus close enough to do me any good. More next time!
Some other tips I came accross while doing a little research were as follows.
1. Tripod/monopod. You can pick one up very very cheep And this will make your pictures that much better!
2. When using a tripod use your cameras timer this way once you press the button to take the picture your hand isn`t shaking anything around.
3. Check your shutter speeds....from what I understand when taking bright pictures the faster the shutter speed the better. When shooting dark pictures the slower the better...I know with my Black Mustang when I slow the shutter speed down I get better pictures.
4. White balance your camera....if you don`t select auto-white balance, or remember to white balance your camera you will get pictures that look blueish and will throw off the rest of the colors in the image.
I can`t think of anything else I have learned in my search for better car photography. However I did find a great web site (www.dpreview.com) where they have basicly reviewed just about every camera out on the market. They explain every feature of the camera from soup to nuts. They even go into detail on the down falls of the camera and how to work around these given problems!
Hope this is helpful to some of you guys. If there is anything anyone else here can add...I am always up for learning something new!
I forgot to add this link as well http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=article_122903
1. Do not make photographs with the car hood—or bonnet as the British say—raised. Many owners do like to display the cleanliness or sparkling chrome underneath, but that’s not the best way to photograph any vehicle because it breaks up the car’s lines. Since he or she is probably nearby, ask the owner if they would close the hood so you can make a photograph. In exchange, offer to give them a print. That print automatically positions you as a photographer who cares and opens photographic marketing opportunities too.
2. It’s a good idea to remove show placards such as the identification cards placed on the dash or under the windshield wiper. Ask the owner before touching any part of his or her car! It’s best to have them do it, so ask politely. They want you to make the best possible photograph and this interaction can provide some potential print sales as well as better photographs.
3. Next to your camera, the most important thing to bring to a car show is lots of memory cards or film. While some digital photographers only use one brand, I’ll confess to using whatever is on sale. (OK, shoot me.) For film, which I shoot rarely these days, I prefer Kodak’s Elite Chrome Extra Color slide film, whose vibrant colors make cars look like they are jumping out of the slide mount. Whatever you do, pick a film whose palette is neutral in color but punchy in saturation. You can also use black and white film for a vintage look. Since I like to work fast at shows (so many cars, so little time) I only bracket exposures when using slide film. With a Canon EOS-1n, I do one-third stop brackets on either side of aperture-controlled automatic exposure. One or more of the three shots is always usable
4.You don’t need an expensive camera to make interesting car photographs; you don’t even need a car show. I was taking a test drive of my friend Lance’s VR6 powered New Beetle (NB fans will get that one) and when stopping for some refreshments saw this awesome air-cooled VW on the parking lot. Using the Minolta Dimâge Xt, I always take with me when running errands; I raised the camera high over my head to give the shot a more interesting angle and made some exposures. I used Photoshop to add Motion Blur to this shot too, but just because I though it looked cool.
5. Be sure to make images of parts of cars. Don’t be frustrated by the lack of space and crowded working conditions found at shows. Use that to your advantage by finding small details, such as the refined delicacy of a Bugatti’s grille or the sensuous lines of a street rod’s fender and capture them in sharp focus. I prefer wide-angle zooms that let me get in close, which is the next suggestion.
6. Get close to the car. Begin by working in close and gradually back off until extraneous non-car details or people start to appear in the frame, then crop them out--in camera. Wide-angle lenses or wide angle zooms let you fill up the frame with part or even the entire car while making sure distractions are eliminated, but make sure your lens allows close focusing. I once purchased a 28-85mm zoom lens specifically for photographing cars only to discover it didn’t focus close enough to do me any good. More next time!
Some other tips I came accross while doing a little research were as follows.
1. Tripod/monopod. You can pick one up very very cheep And this will make your pictures that much better!
2. When using a tripod use your cameras timer this way once you press the button to take the picture your hand isn`t shaking anything around.
3. Check your shutter speeds....from what I understand when taking bright pictures the faster the shutter speed the better. When shooting dark pictures the slower the better...I know with my Black Mustang when I slow the shutter speed down I get better pictures.
4. White balance your camera....if you don`t select auto-white balance, or remember to white balance your camera you will get pictures that look blueish and will throw off the rest of the colors in the image.
I can`t think of anything else I have learned in my search for better car photography. However I did find a great web site (www.dpreview.com) where they have basicly reviewed just about every camera out on the market. They explain every feature of the camera from soup to nuts. They even go into detail on the down falls of the camera and how to work around these given problems!
Hope this is helpful to some of you guys. If there is anything anyone else here can add...I am always up for learning something new!
I forgot to add this link as well http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=article_122903