Carmens first official photoshoot!
#11
08-21-2010, 10:22 PM
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Appleton, WI
Posts: 618
Thanks guys for the comments!, Brittany, you do take a lot of pics... so yes you should and might as well lol. Montelicious... Yes I guess crooked is in haha, but so is photshop so I guess its all about the comp work now a days and the camera is what you make it! The rest of the pics to be taken tom at the race track :-) How fitting of a place!
#12
08-21-2010, 10:56 PM
Monte Of The Month -- June 2010
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Wentzville, Missouri
Posts: 4,528
Thanks guys for the comments!, Brittany, you do take a lot of pics... so yes you should and might as well lol. Montelicious... Yes I guess crooked is in haha, but so is photshop so I guess its all about the comp work now a days and the camera is what you make it! The rest of the pics to be taken tom at the race track :-) How fitting of a place!
#13
08-22-2010, 02:19 AM
Beautiful car. The photographer did an excellent job, a real pro with an eye for detail. Cant wait to see more.
#14
08-24-2010, 12:43 PM
Monte Of The Month -- August 2009
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Highland, IN
Posts: 5,827
#15
08-24-2010, 01:32 PM
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Staten Island, New York
Posts: 1,035
Hey, Car looks great, and photoshoots are ALWAYS fun and a learning experience...
If I may add some advice, by no means am I a professional, so please take this just as advice or ideas perhaps for next time...
1.) Many Professional Photographers do not like using Photochop in anyway, they like the original look. Others like to use it to really make there subjuct "Pop" out at you. To me as long as your using photoshop to really accent your subject (In this case your car) I like to utilize it. Honestly in photos 1-3 the photochopping is taking away from the car rather then accenting it.
I Typically like to Accent color cars (Red/yellow/etc) By turning the background black & white and blurring it. With Black/silver/white cars, I ussually like to keep the color and just blur the background. Also black borders around the entire pic help. Some Cameras have these features built in, if not a simple photochop programs helps.
2.) Night time photos. I think one of the reasons photochop was used so much in those pics is because they are low light/night time pics which are hard to take without blurying them. It is almost impossible to take clear pics with a Point & Shoot (Small) Camera at night or in low light. If possible I recommend anyone going into photography to save for a SLR, even an older one (Like a Nikon D40) Could be had for a bit cheaper then newer ones (D90/D3000/Rebel) and could give a photographer the expereince they need, till they can afford a newer one.
If the only thing you can afford at the time is a Point & Shoot, I recommend getting a tripod. Doesn't have to be expensive, I think mine cost $15. Set the camera on the tripod, most cameras have a timer, set it to 10 seconds and take the pic that way. Why? Cause when you go to hit the button to take the pic without a timer, that causes a slight vibration, and yes even that can cause bluryness....setting the timer gives the camera time to settle and not have any movement, which results in a clearer picture.
Also NEVER use Flash at night when taking pics of cars, they rarely come out better, and ussually just accent the fender or a part of the car directly in front of the camera and leaves everything else (Like the rest of the car) in the dark.
3.) Adding your name to the pic, this is always good if you want to get your name/website out there as a photgrapher. Kinda trade mark the pic as your own, and gets more people to check out your site to see who you are and get business. Just have to be cautious of where you put it on the pic. Most put it on the lower right hand corner, to keep it consistant, others try to incorporate it in the picture somewhere in the background. All good ideas, but the one thing you should steer clear of is putting it right on, or to close to the subject. To me, that's what happened in your picture number 4, there are so many places it could have been put on the picture (I'd have put it in the top left corner) but it seems she put it right on the car...again taking away from the primary subject of the picture ( the car).
4.) Using your surroundings, placing the car by the burnout mark (pics 11 & 12) is a great idea, one of my favorite shots, I did something similar with my Monte, next time perhaps put it right on the mark to make it stand out even more. (I really had to look twice to realize it was a burnout mark)
5.) Angled shots. Taking pics from different angles is always a great idea, really shows off the cars aggressiveness...so Putting the camera on the ground and facing it up is always a plus, making the angled shots again makes the car more aggressive, only thing I'd change about photo 15 is to turn the front tire so the rim is showing, I'd rather see a nice shiney rim, then a black tire. This is a headache cause I ussually have the owner turn the wheel about 10 times in a shoot to always include the rim on the side I'm facing a PITA but it does make the picture turn out better.
Remember the more pics the better, max the memory card out if you have to, I ussually like to go around the cars 3 times, once on the low end, once in the middle for head on shots, and once holding the camera above my head to take shots from the top (Sometimes tricky to get the whole car in the photo) But you'd be surprised sometimes a picture that is just slightly angled then the one before it comes out 100 times better....You may come up with 500 shots, but only 10 that take your breathe away, sometimes even just 1, but those are the ones that are worth it.
6.) The Sun. While you can't control were the sun is sometimes, it's always good to be aware of where you will get the best light. Obviously it's always good to have the sun behind you facing the subject for best light. If it's behind the subject you will only get a dark silhoutte, sometimes that's bad (Like in pic 16 I can't even see the car) other times it can bring cool effects (like in Picture 17). This brings us back to even more an inch for a photo can completely change the aspect of it. I like everything about pictures 24 & 25, the angle the location etc, just not a fan of the car being half in the sun and half in the shade, I think if it was fully in the sun, the car woulda "Poped" out more to the viewer....again difficult to work with the sun, but either the subject could have been moved all the way into the sun (Again a pita to keep moving the car) or if possible come back the next day a lil earlier to have more sunlight to work with.
7.) Close up shots. I always like the detailed shots of a particular subject like the engine, interior, or parts of a car, so to me shots 14, 19, 20,21, and 22 are great. 23 is cool, but I would have included all of the lettering on the ground effect to make it flow better. Shot 10, is a cool close up to accent the rim, but again over use of photochop kinda took my attention away from it, as did the photochopping in shot 8 of the taillight, I honestly think the original picture of 8 would look far better then the photochoped version.
8.) Location, Location, Location Sometimes this could be the hardest part , there are days I literally drive around looking for a good spot...and sometimes they just pop out at you....sometimes it's awkward to pull up to a location where there are lotsa people all looking at you taking pics of your car...but once you get passed that, you get some pretty cool shots. I think you did an excellent job with the locations...under the lights of a gas station are cool at night, in front of the building is way cool! and on the roof top is amazing....Always good to find a place of contrast, if you find a place with a light background like white/slate like you did on the roof top that always makes cars of any color "pop" out more....sometimes that easier said then done, by me almost everything is black ashphalt which doesn't make the cars pop as much.
9.) Zoom, although many cameras come with high out put zoom that can reach the far reaches of the universe, I tend to steer clear of using zoom. Instead cameras take such big pictures these days, I prefer taking a picture without zoom, then once you get home, Cut out the area you want and paiste it on a new canvas the same size as that area. For Instance my SLR Takes something like 4000X 2800 Pixels which gets three or more cars in a row at a Car show, then I Highlight around the one car copy that image (Say 800X600) and paiste that on a new canvas that sides....keeps the quality of the pic and gets the car at the same time.
9.) The Camera, again if possible try to save for a slr ...even a cheaper older (But still brand new) one. you can really see the difference in pics, believe it or not red is what shows the most, it is the color that "Bleeds" the most (No pun intended) with an SLR colors are clearly defined and have an end point, with a Point & Shoot they typically bleed and look "smudged" for lack of a better word. NOW I know were all on a budget so if a slr is not doable, You can still take awesome pics with a Point & Shoot and learn things from them that you can carry over to an SLR when one is affordable. I used my Point & shoot for years and still do, and have taken incredible pics with it, even some that rival my SLR So by no means are they a bad camera.
Hopefully those reading this take away the ideas and use them, and are not offended by my ideas etc. So go out there and take some pics, keep them coming, and post them up for all to see!
Joe
If I may add some advice, by no means am I a professional, so please take this just as advice or ideas perhaps for next time...
1.) Many Professional Photographers do not like using Photochop in anyway, they like the original look. Others like to use it to really make there subjuct "Pop" out at you. To me as long as your using photoshop to really accent your subject (In this case your car) I like to utilize it. Honestly in photos 1-3 the photochopping is taking away from the car rather then accenting it.
I Typically like to Accent color cars (Red/yellow/etc) By turning the background black & white and blurring it. With Black/silver/white cars, I ussually like to keep the color and just blur the background. Also black borders around the entire pic help. Some Cameras have these features built in, if not a simple photochop programs helps.
2.) Night time photos. I think one of the reasons photochop was used so much in those pics is because they are low light/night time pics which are hard to take without blurying them. It is almost impossible to take clear pics with a Point & Shoot (Small) Camera at night or in low light. If possible I recommend anyone going into photography to save for a SLR, even an older one (Like a Nikon D40) Could be had for a bit cheaper then newer ones (D90/D3000/Rebel) and could give a photographer the expereince they need, till they can afford a newer one.
If the only thing you can afford at the time is a Point & Shoot, I recommend getting a tripod. Doesn't have to be expensive, I think mine cost $15. Set the camera on the tripod, most cameras have a timer, set it to 10 seconds and take the pic that way. Why? Cause when you go to hit the button to take the pic without a timer, that causes a slight vibration, and yes even that can cause bluryness....setting the timer gives the camera time to settle and not have any movement, which results in a clearer picture.
Also NEVER use Flash at night when taking pics of cars, they rarely come out better, and ussually just accent the fender or a part of the car directly in front of the camera and leaves everything else (Like the rest of the car) in the dark.
3.) Adding your name to the pic, this is always good if you want to get your name/website out there as a photgrapher. Kinda trade mark the pic as your own, and gets more people to check out your site to see who you are and get business. Just have to be cautious of where you put it on the pic. Most put it on the lower right hand corner, to keep it consistant, others try to incorporate it in the picture somewhere in the background. All good ideas, but the one thing you should steer clear of is putting it right on, or to close to the subject. To me, that's what happened in your picture number 4, there are so many places it could have been put on the picture (I'd have put it in the top left corner) but it seems she put it right on the car...again taking away from the primary subject of the picture ( the car).
4.) Using your surroundings, placing the car by the burnout mark (pics 11 & 12) is a great idea, one of my favorite shots, I did something similar with my Monte, next time perhaps put it right on the mark to make it stand out even more. (I really had to look twice to realize it was a burnout mark)
5.) Angled shots. Taking pics from different angles is always a great idea, really shows off the cars aggressiveness...so Putting the camera on the ground and facing it up is always a plus, making the angled shots again makes the car more aggressive, only thing I'd change about photo 15 is to turn the front tire so the rim is showing, I'd rather see a nice shiney rim, then a black tire. This is a headache cause I ussually have the owner turn the wheel about 10 times in a shoot to always include the rim on the side I'm facing a PITA but it does make the picture turn out better.
Remember the more pics the better, max the memory card out if you have to, I ussually like to go around the cars 3 times, once on the low end, once in the middle for head on shots, and once holding the camera above my head to take shots from the top (Sometimes tricky to get the whole car in the photo) But you'd be surprised sometimes a picture that is just slightly angled then the one before it comes out 100 times better....You may come up with 500 shots, but only 10 that take your breathe away, sometimes even just 1, but those are the ones that are worth it.
6.) The Sun. While you can't control were the sun is sometimes, it's always good to be aware of where you will get the best light. Obviously it's always good to have the sun behind you facing the subject for best light. If it's behind the subject you will only get a dark silhoutte, sometimes that's bad (Like in pic 16 I can't even see the car) other times it can bring cool effects (like in Picture 17). This brings us back to even more an inch for a photo can completely change the aspect of it. I like everything about pictures 24 & 25, the angle the location etc, just not a fan of the car being half in the sun and half in the shade, I think if it was fully in the sun, the car woulda "Poped" out more to the viewer....again difficult to work with the sun, but either the subject could have been moved all the way into the sun (Again a pita to keep moving the car) or if possible come back the next day a lil earlier to have more sunlight to work with.
7.) Close up shots. I always like the detailed shots of a particular subject like the engine, interior, or parts of a car, so to me shots 14, 19, 20,21, and 22 are great. 23 is cool, but I would have included all of the lettering on the ground effect to make it flow better. Shot 10, is a cool close up to accent the rim, but again over use of photochop kinda took my attention away from it, as did the photochopping in shot 8 of the taillight, I honestly think the original picture of 8 would look far better then the photochoped version.
8.) Location, Location, Location Sometimes this could be the hardest part , there are days I literally drive around looking for a good spot...and sometimes they just pop out at you....sometimes it's awkward to pull up to a location where there are lotsa people all looking at you taking pics of your car...but once you get passed that, you get some pretty cool shots. I think you did an excellent job with the locations...under the lights of a gas station are cool at night, in front of the building is way cool! and on the roof top is amazing....Always good to find a place of contrast, if you find a place with a light background like white/slate like you did on the roof top that always makes cars of any color "pop" out more....sometimes that easier said then done, by me almost everything is black ashphalt which doesn't make the cars pop as much.
9.) Zoom, although many cameras come with high out put zoom that can reach the far reaches of the universe, I tend to steer clear of using zoom. Instead cameras take such big pictures these days, I prefer taking a picture without zoom, then once you get home, Cut out the area you want and paiste it on a new canvas the same size as that area. For Instance my SLR Takes something like 4000X 2800 Pixels which gets three or more cars in a row at a Car show, then I Highlight around the one car copy that image (Say 800X600) and paiste that on a new canvas that sides....keeps the quality of the pic and gets the car at the same time.
9.) The Camera, again if possible try to save for a slr ...even a cheaper older (But still brand new) one. you can really see the difference in pics, believe it or not red is what shows the most, it is the color that "Bleeds" the most (No pun intended) with an SLR colors are clearly defined and have an end point, with a Point & Shoot they typically bleed and look "smudged" for lack of a better word. NOW I know were all on a budget so if a slr is not doable, You can still take awesome pics with a Point & Shoot and learn things from them that you can carry over to an SLR when one is affordable. I used my Point & shoot for years and still do, and have taken incredible pics with it, even some that rival my SLR So by no means are they a bad camera.
Hopefully those reading this take away the ideas and use them, and are not offended by my ideas etc. So go out there and take some pics, keep them coming, and post them up for all to see!
Joe
Last edited by Montess2k; 08-24-2010 at 01:46 PM.
#18
08-24-2010, 06:39 PM
Can't spell PIMP without an MP
Monte Of The Month -- November 2010
2010 Monte Of The Year
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Grove City, Ohio
Posts: 2,626
Wow. Great shots of the car. Also, a lot of valid advice that can be used in future shoots. The sum of experience presented by a community such as this, can definitely be used for personal gain. Keep up the great work.
#19
08-24-2010, 08:01 PM
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Georgia
Posts: 4,861
Joe, I have to meet up with you at one of these cruises/shows. I would love for you to do some cool shots of The Black Rose like Carmen! I love your work! Thumping, are the pics of Carmen at the track ready yet?
Lisa
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