Photographing Cars!

[Tommo.]

....is it me or is it really hard to get right?!

After cleaning my car earier today, I decided to take some photos.....

tomc1 by tommo1991, on Flickr

As you can see, it lacks detail and the bodywork looks so flat and dull, not a true representation of how it looks in person (btw, this was one of my better shots). I read some guides on here and elsewhere on the internet so decided to have a second attempt. This time I shot in RAW and tweaked the settings slightly. See below my second attempt.

tomc by tommo1991, on Flickr

I feel this time the paint looks a bit more 'vibrant' and you can see more of the reflections. There is some glare from the sun on the boot, but I understand a polarising filter will sort this?

Do you guys have any tips on how I can improve? I am using a Canon 1000D with the standard lens.

 

[Matt W]

Rule of thirds!

 

[SamP]

A CPL to cut down on reflections.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

As above .. Rule of thirds, CPL and location location location !!!

Maybe drop the aperture too. f7.1 or 5.6 might blow the background out a bit.

Car photos are easy, unless you're in a car park

The BurbleBus by evil_giraffes_rule, on Flickr

What were you expecting the pics to look like ?

 

[Tommo.]

Thanks all for the tips! Gave me a few things to try out.

TheEvilGiraffe, I guess I just want to take a few decent pictures of my car so that in years to come I have some good ones to look back on I have always just left the camera on 'auto' mode until today and never been happy with the shots I've taken.

What sort of locations would you recommend out of interest? Planning to have another go tomorrow so will give somewhere new a try.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

No idea.

Use your imagination and local knowledge !

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_hall99/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/51976176@N07/

Two contacts of mine. Both excellent automotive 'Togs.

Have a gander and see what you think you can do.

 

[Michaelfoz]

i used to put it in manual and f**k about loads but never really got anywhere
now all i use is the "AV" mode
drop the f stop as low as possible then control the shutter speed using by adjusting the iso
obviously you want the iso as low as possible to reduce the grain effect
on a sunny day you get some cracking photos
works really well when there is a lot of trees in the photo lol

also adjust the white balance when you are in this mode
it stops a lot of editing time lol
e.g. if its sunny, use the sunny function etc etc

 

[Habitual]

All of the above really. Your car is very going to look amazing on a car park. >.<

The same shots on a beach or in a field will look ten times better. Maybe during a sun set?

You've got to make your shots more dynamic.

 

[Tigger]

Some of my last ones

N17TWO-4590 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr

N17TWO-4617 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr

N17TWO-8350 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr

N17TWO-4619 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr

N17TWO-4608 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr

N17TWO-4563 by Scout n' About Photography, on Flickr


Nothing out of this world but I like them, first time I took photos of my own car in well over 6 months

 

[Tommo.]

Well I had another go just now, still not overly impressed when I see what others are acheving (such as the above, they look really good Tigger). Still need to find a good location!

1 by tommo1991, on Flickr

Thoughts?

 

[DanFreemanPhoto]

What are you trying to achieve exactly? I don't mean to offend here, but it just looks like you parked up by the side of a road, got out, whipped out your point and shoot, took a VERY quick photo.....then done.

I don't get how you're not surprised the photos look dull when all you're doing is taking quick snaps in rubbish locations.

Sorry for being blunt.

 

[Michaelfoz]

standing bolt upright won't help either
rule of thumb:

the lower you get the better it'll look lol

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

It's OK but it's not interesting in any way shape or form.

You've got to make your shots more dynamic.

also adjust the white balance when you are in this mode

As above .. Rule of thirds, CPL and location location location !!!

What were you expecting the pics to look like ?

A CPL to cut down on reflections.

Rule of thirds!

All of that was ignored... and you've not left the exif on as I assume it went through Photoshop or something ?


Cropped to roughly meet rule of thirds - highlights brought down - temp cooled:

Thoughts ?!

Not much more I can do with a .jpg from FB !

:evil:

Shoot RAW and learn how to edit them. Mac or Windows ?

 

[geordieracer]

What are peoples opinions of this photo? Compared to the ops, composition wise etc.
Taken using a camera phone.

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

What are peoples opinions of this photo? Compared to the ops, composition wise etc.
Taken using a camera phone.

Honestly, dreadful composition. The pillars in the background dont add anything to the shot. Crop in a bit or zoom out and get the bridge in as part of the shot.

 

[geordieracer]

Fair enough, i am trying to learn, and only have my camera phone at the moment.
Using the zoom function seems to affect picture quality too much, so end up taking lots of different ones

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

Thats better !

Yeah if youre on the phone all the zoom will do is crop it for you.

You need to borrow a friend with a wide angle lense

 

[geordieracer]

Yeah, i think i will need to learn a bit more about composition first. Be nice to get the shots right, then worry about improving quality etc.
Any guides you can point me too?

Thanks for the constructive criticism so far

 

[TheEvilGiraffe]

See above links to flickr contacts

 

[MattT]

I'm not saying these photos are perfect examples (the links mentioned above are better places to start!) but it might help you a little - it's the same car after all!

Fiesta ST by whatmattdoes, on Flickr

Fiesta ST by whatmattdoes, on Flickr

Full set is available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/d35ign/sets/72157616307752459/

 

[Habitual]

Thoughts ?!

That's a massive improvement already. The tog just needs to get lower and pick a better location now.

standing bolt upright won't help either
rule of thumb:

the lower you get the better it'll look lol

Couldn't agree more. CROUCH! Case and point below.

Fiesta ST by whatmattdoes, on Flickr

Much better photograph - shame about the location - but still, the tog has the right idea!

Like Dan Freeman said, don't just get out and shoot - think]/i] about it.

Take a long drive - find a spot! Go back at Sunset or Sunrise, park your car in a nice position and take a few pictures thinking about your composition...

 

[Michaelfoz]

first bridge photo - the iso must be at about 3000
second one - much better, if you uad taken the photo a bit lower down it would have been better.

you'll pic it up over time

 

[Tigger]

first bridge photo - the iso must be at about 3000

LOL @ f1.8 too?

 

[Šįk]

Here's some of my shots over the last year (were iv really got Into photography) my pics have come along way from just understanding a lot of the settings, never shoot out of "Manual". Also ever since I bought a decent lense - that made a huge difference. Camera is the same as yours the 1000D. But yea I mainly look for good/different angles, correct settings and a decent Background.

Knockhill BTCC 2012 by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

Knockhill BTCC 2012 by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

Knockhill BTCC 2012 by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

335d - 10hour detail, After. by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

ClioSport Shoot by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

Croft BTCC 2012 by PSJHodgson, on Flickr

Col's V6 by PSJHodgson, on Flickr


Piers.

 

[geordieracer]

first bridge photo - the iso must be at about 3000
second one - much better, if you uad taken the photo a bit lower down it would have been better.

you'll pic it up over time

If you are talking about my pics, it was on a camera phone, with everything on auto.

 

[Niall]

For me, unless the background is part of the photo, a fast aperture to blur the background is a must. I’m a fan of the pictures on Stanceworks, Lots of DoF gives a nice look to the photo IMO, and of course, the CPL is an absolute must as has already been mentioned.

 

[SamP]

Lots of depth of field = a clear in focus f**king background. No depth of field, means a blurred background. Really does my head in that.

 

[Niall]

Lots of depth of field = a clear in focus f**king background. No depth of field, means a blurred background. Really does my head in that.

Whoops my bad, always say that by accident, don’t worry I did know that, just its one of those things you get mixed up with.

I’ll make sure I check my post next time, save you getting all stressed about it

 

[Rob]

I can see I'm going to have fun learning.

 

[Wick]

I can see I'm going to have fun learning.

Pahahaha, I'm terrible mate. Now I finally understand a bit more of the tech stuff I CBA with taking pictures. Locations round here are crap (or my eye for composition is lacing somewhat).