The Car Photography Thread

[mercphoto]

Friend of mine took his Z06 to Austin's 360 Bridge and we took some snaps. I took several variations on the composition but I'm wondering what can be done (likely at time of capture) to make this type of image more dramatic or appealing.

http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/153111853-M.jpg

[pyroPrints.com]

A good trick with cars is shooting low angle. get close to the ground and shoot up.

[Nikolai]

I'm wondering what can be done (likely at time of capture) to make this type of image more dramatic or appealing.

Plenty of things:

add a girl or two
use the CP to control the reflections
change of location to control your background
wet pavement
wide angle
high vantage point (bring the 6ft ladder)
low vantage point (get real low, use the dual axis level to control camera tilt and avert b/g distortion)
ALWAYS have the front wheels turned to expose the rimHere's the sample I did in January (http://nik.smugmug.com/gallery/2336889) (found it in under 1 sec with my new S*E full text search feature:-).
Check the resulting collage. This one item bought me half of the tripod:-).
Sorry, no girls this time. They are in other galleries.

HTH

[mercphoto]

Plenty of things:

add a girl or two
use the CP to control the reflections
change of location to control your background
wet pavement
wide angle
high vantage point (bring the 6ft ladder)
low vantage point (get real low, use the dual axis level to control camera tilt and avert b/g distortion)
ALWAYS have the front wheels turned to expose the rim
Girl, check. :) CP was used and was set to make windshield as clear as possible at the expense of the door. Background here was intentional, as that bridge is an Austin landmark. Vantage point was reasonably low (was on my knees to see through the viewfinder). How much water would you bring in order to wet that much pavement? 5 gallons?

[Nikolai]

Girl, check. :) CP was used and was set to make windshield as clear as possible at the expense of the door. Background here was intentional, as that bridge is an Austin landmark. Vantage point was reasonably low (was on my knees to see through the viewfinder). How much water would you bring in order to wet that much pavement? 5 gallons?

Bridge: I remember a few magazine shots with the cars and the bridges, car being the primary subject. Bridge was always at an strong angle, creating a vanishing point effect.

Low point: I meant L.O.W. :deal I was on my belly or simply holding the camera with my hand just a couple of inches from the ground (hence the need of level). You don't need VF that much: shooting that wide you can't miss and a little crop in post can always save the day.

Water: Can't tell really, I was using a hose :-) Besides, it only works on solid pavements (concrete/asphalt), not on the dirt toads.

HTH

[RogersDA]

A few things at the shoot that could help:

1. Get a broom and clean the debris from the curb.

2. Get rid of the sticker in the window (though this probably will have to happen in post-processing)

3. The boat, in this image, is distracting. It's not big enough to complement the car.

[pyroPrints.com]

Shooting at dawn/dusk always helps, get some nice lighting going.

[mr peas]

I say, get the c6 z06 by itself, it doesnt need no fancy bg. lol

shoot low at an angle, walk/crawl around until you find a frame that goes 'bladdaaaw!'.

like pyro said, look out for sweet light, sun-up and sun-down are perfect times. try not to shoot when the sun is directly overhead, they provide the least interesting lighting.

if you have a long zoom lens, set up on a tripod at full zoom, manual focus, then zoom back to make sure your subject is in focus. lastly, bracket your shots just in case you want to pull an HDR effect or to correct a miscalculated exposure.

remember, the car is your subject, not your bg. you want to accent your subject, not the otherway around. ;)

happy shooting!

[mercphoto]

Good point about the broom. That teaches me for driving my tiny Honda to the shoot! (but we were shooting my car too). Stickers are an unfortunate consequence of driving in Texas. At least Paul doesn't have a front license plate (unlike me). We could probably arrange a more extreme angle between the car and the bridge if we were quick about it. The road is technically private property (shhh!) and does get some traffic, so we can't really block it. Background elements, like light poles and boat ramps, hinder the available angles to a large degree. Time of day was a bit past 7pm, so sun was getting reasonably low but probably not low enough yet.

I'm wanting to try this shot again, but this time with a Lens Baby or a tilt/shift lens and see what interesting effects I can get.

All good points. Not everything can be controlled but its nice to know what would be NICE to do different and then try to work that into the reality of the possible directions of sun, possible angles that could actually be posed, working around possible traffice, etc.

[wxwax]

There's nothing dramatic about the shot, and the car's not especially interesting.

The light's wrong and the composition is wrong.

:dunno I think you got some decent suggestions. I'd strongly suggest you look at car magazines and car print ads to learn what works best. They've been at it for a very long time.

[mercphoto]

There's nothing dramatic about the shot, and the car's not especially interesting. The light's wrong and the composition is wrong.

:dunno I think you got some decent suggestions.
Only thing I can change about the light is to wait an extra 30 minutes for the sun to get lower still, but the driver's door will always be shadow-side. Can't change the alignment of the sun and this might mean this location is just not ideal. Can only change the alignment of the car with respect to the bridge so much as the road is only two lanes wide and does get traffic, so it can't be blocked. No way to roll onto the grass, either.

This location is one of compromise. Nik's suggestion of a wider angle lens and a lower vantage point is probably the best solution. I might try to fill-flash the driver's door with an off-camera light.

http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/153112691-M.jpg
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2854550#153111139

[mercphoto]

http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/153111853-M.jpg
I posted another shot from this session in my prior post which I think is better in terms of a photo. But, for the above shot, what if that shot was used as the cover shot for a photo book? The idea being that the photo becomes the front and back cover, wrapping all the way around? The right-half is the front, so imagine a crop that way. The left-half becomes the back cover of the book.

I'm also going to play around gingerly with shadow enhancement to get an idea how fill flash might help the driver's door.

[Nikolai]

Nik's suggestion of a wider angle lens and a lower vantage point is probably the best solution.

And here's the proof :-)
http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/41741644-L.jpg

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/145630638-L.jpg

[wxwax]

Only thing I can change about the light is to wait an extra 30 minutes for the sun to get lower still, but the driver's door will always be shadow-side. Can't change the alignment of the sun and this might mean this location is just not ideal. Can only change the alignment of the car with respect to the bridge so much as the road is only two lanes wide and does get traffic, so it can't be blocked. No way to roll onto the grass, either.

This location is one of compromise. Nik's suggestion of a wider angle lens and a lower vantage point is probably the best solution. I might try to fill-flash the driver's door with an off-camera light.

http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/153112691-Th.jpg
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/gallery/2854550#153111139

Already, this is stronger. Turn the wheels. Use a flash or reflector as fill. That sort of thing.

And yes, later in the day, get a deeper blue in the sky, squeeze some life out of it with curves.

Layer, use a gradient to bring down the bridge, focus attention on the car. Lots and lots of things to do.

All of which are in the magazines and ads. :deal

:lol3

[wxwax]

And here's the proof :-)

The first one's nice, Nik.

But you're ignoring his wish to incorporate the background in some way.

[mercphoto]

But you're ignoring his wish to incorporate the background in some way.
Correct, its the whole point of that particular location, even given the not-so-desireable direction of the sun, the traffic, limited available angles of car versus bridge, etc. Good comments wxwax about curves, gradients, etc. though. There's a way to make this work. :)

[HiSPL]

Watch lots of Top Gear for ideas on how to use graduated ND filters and such to make it look SO pretty....

http://www.finalgear.com/shows/topgear/

This site lists bit torrents of top gear and final gear episodes. You will become addicted!

[Nikolai]

The first one's nice, Nik.
But you're ignoring his wish to incorporate the background in some way.
And that's exactly where PS comes handy. Cars are extremely easy to mask out and bring into any scene you want, all you have to do is to watch the reflections and light direction/angle...

[speedracer04]

i agree with some of the stuff here but not all of it. dont get to low low or dont use it alot, it gets old pretty fast. and it makes it so you can not really see the shape of the car. i am not saying dont do it or dont get low but the camera on the ground can make cars look like there trucks. when you do get low watch out for making the car look like it only have 3 wheels, photos dont look right most of the time when that happens

for the first photo you took the boat takes my eye away from the car, im not sure if it was moving but you could either wait for background objects to move or just cut it out of the image and change your postion a little bit.

the main thing that i notice is that it looks like you were walking down the street and found a vette so you took photos, what i mean is that it looks parked and not like you set it up for a photo. it is still a nice photo and i like the background. i know it is in the road but maybe there is a different spot. or just block the road if there is not much traffic and be ready to move it if you have to

track day tomarrow:)

[mercphoto]

i agree with some of the stuff here but not all of it. dont get to low low or dont use it alot, it gets old pretty fast. and it makes it so you can not really see the shape of the car.
EXACTLY! Plus while much of the advice here is helpful, everyone is forgetting this is not a picture of a car, it is an environmental picture of the car. So the background is integral to the photo because it is a landmark of this town that the owner resides in. Get too low on this shot and the bridge will intrude on the roof of the car. Move the car too far back or too far forward and distracting background elements start to intrude. Its a private property road with reasonable traffic, so blocking the road is not an option. Its a live lake back there, so there will be boats (again, environmental).

I guess my questions are not "how to improve this shot at all costs" because that isn't that hard to figure out. My questions are "given the compromises of the real world what would you do differently?"

[Bayer-Z28]

A good trick with cars is shooting low angle. get close to the ground and shoot up.

Yep..

I would have gone from the other angle itself. From the bridge looking thru the ties down to the car.. Or some thing along those lines..

Or park on the bridge (if possible) at an angle to the centerline... Gte a shot of the car and the road/bridge itself.. Just me tho...

Here's my latest. -I'm quite proud of it.. And the second one is hard to believe it came from THIS POS camera..

http://aycu26.webshots.com/image/17705/2000265092238118055_rs.jpg

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/17360/2003753620172484117_rs.jpg

[wxwax]

My questions are "given the compromises of the real world what would you do differently?"
Park the car on the grass, so the bridge is closer and stronger, and use a wider angle lens. Have the bridge loom over the car. Make the car aggressive, at an angle and wheels turned. Be low, shooting up a bit. And get the light right (a huge issue and challenge.)

[speedracer04]

cars are meant to be on the road unless for if there in a show on a golf course

[Cr4zYH3aD]

I'm going to photography a car show in June, I will try those tricks, thanks !

[mercphoto]

Park the car on the grass, so the bridge is closer and stronger, and use a wider angle lens. Have the bridge loom over the car. Make the car aggressive, at an angle and wheels turned. Be low, shooting up a bit. And get the light right (a huge issue and challenge.)
Will move car further back, will get bridge closer and at more of an angle to the car. Will watch the background intrusions as the car is moved. Getting onto the grass is a neat idea that cannot be done. :( Will turn wheels, get a bit lower, go to around 35mm focal length.

Details on how you want that light "right". I can wait until later in day so that it is lower. But, driver's door will always be shadow-side. Can't change the geography. :)

I did decide to try that out-of-border trick I saw in another thread on this photo just to see what would happen.
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/154211144-M.jpg

[Nikolai]

Bill,
I like the effect, but you need the bring the shadow, too, or keep the whole undercarriage intact:

http://nik.smugmug.com/photos/105479912-L.jpg

[mercphoto]

Bill,
I like the effect, but you need the bring the shadow, too, or keep the whole undercarriage intact:[/img]
I'll try bringing the shadow along for the ride. Also, I had trouble with some of the instructions. At one point they tell you to left-click with the magic wand. What is the Mac-equivalent to a left-click? I was not able to get the back-drop shadow of the white frame because of this.

[Nikolai]

I'll try bringing the shadow along for the ride. Also, I had trouble with some of the instructions. At one point they tell you to left-click with the magic wand. What is the Mac-equivalent to a left-click? I was not able to get the back-drop shadow of the white frame because of this.

Bill, you got me :dunno Mac is the last thing on Earth I would know anything about..:lol3

[mercphoto]

Bill, you got me :dunno Mac is the last thing on Earth I would know anything about..:lol3
Wow am I a dummy. :) left-click is normal old click. Its a right-click that I can't do. Anyway, I replaced the photo. Check up above a post or two for the new version, drop shadow on the white frame, and including more shadow of the car. Now to figure out how to get the shadow to cross over the white frame...

[Nikolai]

Wow am I a dummy. :) left-click is normal old click. Its a right-click that I can't do. Anyway, I replaced the photo. Check up above a post or two for the new version, drop shadow on the white frame, and including more shadow of the car. Now to figure out how to get the shadow to cross over the white frame...

Better... But watch for the reflection of the grass in the passenger-sde part of the fron grill/bumper. If nothing else it's always easy to apply a masked duotone...

[StevenV]

Its a right-click that I can't do.

hold the Control key down when you click.

[mercphoto]

I would have gone from the other angle itself. From the bridge looking thru the ties down to the car.. Or some thing along those lines..

Or park on the bridge (if possible) at an angle to the centerline... Gte a shot of the car and the road/bridge itself.. Just me tho...
Neat ideas that would work on a different bridge. That is a very major road in Austin so parking on it would cause an accident or result in a ticket. :) But I think there is a walking lane on it, so your first idea might work with a long lens. Worth a try. :)

[mercphoto]

I think this thread ended up working rather well. Lots of advice on how to do the shot "properly", assuming you can control everything. And rebuttals about what to do when something is out of your control and you have to compromise. Such as the orientation of a bridge with respect to the path of the sun, or to the direction of the road, or to relative distances, dealing with traffic, etc.

This shot I had more under my control because the road is very nearly completely desolate. I can (and did) park across it for nearly 20 minutes and could have probably stayed two hours if I wanted to. Time of day was shortly after sunrise. The road crests rather sharply which can be nice. Shoot one direction and you get a small amount of trees in background but mostly sky. Shoot the opposite direction and you get a sea of trees very far away.

This one was shot "the wrong way". By that I mean the sun was behind the car, not behind me, but I think it worked. Looking for feedback on this one, what was good, what needs to change.
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/151850649-M.jpg
At home I know I have a shot from the same time period but 180 degrees around for comparison.

[Nikolai]

Pros:

vantage point (although for the convertibles a high one could be a major bonus)
angle (good, not perfect, I'd move a bit to the left)
tilt (I'm not crazy about it, but it's OK)
wheels (yay, you get them turned:-)Cons

pavement is dry :wink
light is w.r.o.n.g. :dunno
windshield is half-transparent, half-reflecting. CP to the resque! :dealHTH

[mercphoto]

Cons

pavement is dry :wink
light is w.r.o.n.g. :dunno
windshield is half-transparent, half-reflecting. CP to the resque! :dealHTH
I need to get a friend to come along with my Tribute and gallons and gallons of water in the car.

I was using a CP but on a shot like this you have a compromise. Do you get rid of the reflections on the windshield or on the side of the car? They are at right angles and you can't clear them both. This shot was a compromise between reflections of the forest off to the right reflecting in the driver's door, which looked bad, and reflections in the windshield. But I probably need to bias it more to the windshield.

Please explain "light is wrong". Do you simply not like the fact it is back-lit? Is there something else?

[Nikolai]

I need to get a friend to come along with my Tribute and gallons and gallons of water in the car.

I was using a CP but on a shot like this you have a compromise. Do you get rid of the reflections on the windshield or on the side of the car? They are at right angles and you can't clear them both. This shot was a compromise between reflections of the forest off to the right reflecting in the driver's door, which looked bad, and reflections in the windshield. But I probably need to bias it more to the windshield.

Please explain "light is wrong". Do you simply not like the fact it is back-lit? Is there something else?


You don't need that much of water is you disperse it effectively (manual pump/sprayer?)
take two shots, one with CP engaged, one with CP disengaged and blend in PS
Dunno... It's just wrong... All that haze in the b/g :dunno

[mercphoto]

You don't need that much of water is you disperse it effectively (manual pump/sprayer?)
take two shots, one with CP engaged, one with CP disengaged and blend in PS
Dunno... It's just wrong... All that haze in the b/g :dunno
Will try points 1 and 2. Point 3, I guess I see the haze as separating the car from the background but that's a rather subjective call. I'll dig up a photo tonight at home where I was shooting 180 degrees different at that same spot and time.

[mercphoto]

I'll dig up a photo tonight at home where I was shooting 180 degrees different at that same spot and time.
But this is close. Same location, same direction, but different car and different time of day. Those background trees look rather different due to the direction of light but is it better?
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/147846244-M.jpg
Notice what I was saying about the reflections of the trees on driver's side on this photo.

[Nikolai]

But this is close. Same location, same direction, but different car and different time of day. Those background trees look rather different due to the direction of light but is it better?

Notice what I was saying about the reflections of the trees on driver's side on this photo.


Light is better :thumb
Tilt is better (not an uphill battle:-)
Angle is good
Vantage point is good (it's not a convertible)
Reflection in the side windows - need dual shot :dunno

[mercphoto]

Light is better :thumb
Tilt is better (not an uphill battle:-)
Angle is good
Vantage point is good (it's not a convertible)
Reflection in the side windows - need dual shot :dunno
Ok, I think I know what to do now. :) I'll still post the other direction later tonight though to show what that vantage point's background looks like. Though personally, for some reason, I like the trees.

[mercphoto]

Same location, same time of day, shot from opposite direction.
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/154967424-M.jpg

[speedracer04]

i have a question and i hope it does not sound rude but why are all your photos at such a strong angle

[mercphoto]

i have a question and i hope it does not sound rude but why are all your photos at such a strong angle
Its purely a personal preference. I think its more interesting than a level horizon. But if you are going to tilt a photo it needs to be obviously tilted. If the tilt is small then it simply looks as if you were lazy with how you held the camera.

A not-tilted shot:
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/127297385-M.jpg

[mercphoto]

The green Jeep in the background is a bit of an issue but this is a much more dramatic angular difference between the bridge and the car, which some were suggesting. The only problem with this is that parking lot behind the car that is usually quite crowded. Under this bridge is a very popular boat ramp.
http://mercphoto.smugmug.com/photos/153109671-M.jpg

[ChrisJ]

One tip I've seen is to turn on the parking lights. I think that might really help in the first S2K pic. Adds a little excitement. Nice car, btw!

[speedracer04]

you should have a look at http://community.automotivephoto.net/forums/ there is alot to learn there

[mercphoto]

you should have a look at http://community.automotivephoto.net/forums/ there is alot to learn there
Thanks. :thumb