ATTN JON
Thread Starter
★★★★★
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,200
From: Banned Camp (Counselor)
ATTN JON
you should consider making this a tutorial:
HOW TO TAKE THE BEST PHOTOS FOR YOUR CARS:
i would like to explain some tips for photographing your car and getting the best picture possible (to save yourself the grief of bad pictures, and us telling you to reshoot).
THESE ARE FOR THE MOST PART TIPS THAT YOU WILL USE WHEN JUST "GOING OUT TO SHOOT YOUR CAR". THERE ARE MUCH MORE TECHNIQUES, BUT FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON GOING TO TAKE A FEW PICS OF THEIR CAR, THESE ARE (I BELIEVE) THE MOST CRUCIAL TECHNIQUES.
NOTE: some of this information came from Hiker's post in ROTM, but for more people to actually take the time to read it, i have summed up some of the points he stated, and may have repeated some of his material in my own words that he may have explained. so i would like to acknowlege Hiker and credit him with anything that you may find obviously taken from his posts.
OK LETS GET STARTED:
-The Basics-
the bigger the image the better the quality.
get the WHOLE car in the photo or else the pic is practially useless.
before taking the picture check out the lighting, dont snap the picture with a big glare on the car, and the same thing with a huge shadow on the car as you 1 will not be able to see the car (very well) and 2, itll throw off the whole sig.
if you can, take the pics in a parking (or any other open area, with pavement) lot rather than in a driveway where you have more room to maneuver to get the best angles.
-Choosing The Best Angles-
these are the most ideal views to shoot from, as they will give the best finished product.
-front 3/4 view
-rear 3/4 view
-front down low
-rear down low
*pretty much anything that makes your car NOT look 2 dimensional. stay away from straight side pics, shots looking down on the car, and shots head on that arent angled up or down, as they will give the most plain look.
-Advanced Techniques-
this a "sparknotes" version of techniques supplied from Hiker's post
THIS IS A MUST READ FOR OPTIMAL PHOTO TAKING, ON YELLOW CARS.
-YELLOW CAR ADVISORY #1: You cannot (repeat: CANNOT) shoot your yellow car out in midday sunlight. All you're likely to get is bleached-out top surfaces and murky/ orangish lower areas
wait until mid-morning or mid-afternoon, move your car entirely into clean shade of a building. and on clean pavement, preferably white concrete. And use your flash on every single shot.
-Flash-
"My flash is always on" translates to "automatic flash," which means it's not engaging/not working for your outdoor photography. Disregard "always on" and set your camera to FORCED/FILL flash when you're out-of-doors.
For your outdoor fill-flash photography,
you don't let your camera "DECIDE" anything.
-Mistakes-
Bright overhead sunlight. Not good. Harsh overhead sunlight (and worse, the corollary harsh shadows caused by overhead sunlight)
Solution: wait 'til near sunset and position (i.e., rotate) your car to take full advantage of that softer light.
Carefully position/rotate your car so that you've got evenly-distributed sunlight over ALL the surfaces of your car facing your camera (the grille, the "chin," the tires, the sides). The (dawn or dusk) sun should be directly behind you, warming your backside and illuminating ALL of the surfaces of your car facing the camera
Critically important for you to grasp:
When you use your flash in the "traditional way" (i.e., to provide EXTRA/ ADDITIONAL light in, say, a darkened room or at dusk or after dark outside), you're actually providing MORE light to your film (or to your sensor array in your digital camera), since there isn't enough ambient light to for you to capture a well-illuminated photograph.
ON THE OTHER HAND, when you're outdoors in the bright sunlight where there's ample natural light, your goal is entirely different: you don't need MORE light, you need to RE-DISTRIBUTE the light. Using your camera's FORCED flash (lightning bolt icon) feature, you're merely RE-DISTRIBUTING the light, so that MORE LIGHT (your flash) illuminates those pesky dark shadow areas... while simultaneously LESS SUNLIGHT is captured that otherwise results in harsh glare on your windshield and color bleachout on the painted surfaces. Voilá, with your flash you've "softened" all that harsh glare/harsh shadow! Put another way, essentially the same amount of light winds up on your film (or sensor array)... but the light is more evenly distributed, thus usually rendering a far better photograph, whether your subject is your motorcar or a closeup of your family on the beach (see photos directly below). You've taken a photograph instead of a crappy snapshot... and the only thing you did differently was to force your camera's flash to "soften" all that harsh shadow and harsh sunlight.
EDIT: FOR CHOPS, DO NOT POST PICTURES WITH CARS IN THE GRASS. ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS GOOD FOR A PHOTO SHOOT AND FOR A PICTURE DISPLAY, FOR CHOPPING, GRASS MAKES IT A NIGHTMARE
REQUESTING RIM CHOPS
When making a request for a rim chop:
-you must post a picture of your car
-you must post a picture of the rims you want
-PLEASE do not use pictures of rims that are just on a white background.
-get pictures of the rims you want THAT ARE ALREADY ON ANOTHER CAR (as it will make the chop look a lot better, and will be less agarvating to chop.
- YOU MUST find rims AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the angle of the car, so that the rims will fit on the picture evenly, without any major hassle.
HOW TO TAKE THE BEST PHOTOS FOR YOUR CARS:
i would like to explain some tips for photographing your car and getting the best picture possible (to save yourself the grief of bad pictures, and us telling you to reshoot).
THESE ARE FOR THE MOST PART TIPS THAT YOU WILL USE WHEN JUST "GOING OUT TO SHOOT YOUR CAR". THERE ARE MUCH MORE TECHNIQUES, BUT FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON GOING TO TAKE A FEW PICS OF THEIR CAR, THESE ARE (I BELIEVE) THE MOST CRUCIAL TECHNIQUES.
NOTE: some of this information came from Hiker's post in ROTM, but for more people to actually take the time to read it, i have summed up some of the points he stated, and may have repeated some of his material in my own words that he may have explained. so i would like to acknowlege Hiker and credit him with anything that you may find obviously taken from his posts.
OK LETS GET STARTED:
-The Basics-
the bigger the image the better the quality.
get the WHOLE car in the photo or else the pic is practially useless.
before taking the picture check out the lighting, dont snap the picture with a big glare on the car, and the same thing with a huge shadow on the car as you 1 will not be able to see the car (very well) and 2, itll throw off the whole sig.
if you can, take the pics in a parking (or any other open area, with pavement) lot rather than in a driveway where you have more room to maneuver to get the best angles.
-Choosing The Best Angles-
these are the most ideal views to shoot from, as they will give the best finished product.
-front 3/4 view
-rear 3/4 view
-front down low
-rear down low
*pretty much anything that makes your car NOT look 2 dimensional. stay away from straight side pics, shots looking down on the car, and shots head on that arent angled up or down, as they will give the most plain look.
-Advanced Techniques-
this a "sparknotes" version of techniques supplied from Hiker's post
THIS IS A MUST READ FOR OPTIMAL PHOTO TAKING, ON YELLOW CARS.
-YELLOW CAR ADVISORY #1: You cannot (repeat: CANNOT) shoot your yellow car out in midday sunlight. All you're likely to get is bleached-out top surfaces and murky/ orangish lower areas
wait until mid-morning or mid-afternoon, move your car entirely into clean shade of a building. and on clean pavement, preferably white concrete. And use your flash on every single shot.
-Flash-
"My flash is always on" translates to "automatic flash," which means it's not engaging/not working for your outdoor photography. Disregard "always on" and set your camera to FORCED/FILL flash when you're out-of-doors.
For your outdoor fill-flash photography,
you don't let your camera "DECIDE" anything.
-Mistakes-
Bright overhead sunlight. Not good. Harsh overhead sunlight (and worse, the corollary harsh shadows caused by overhead sunlight)
Solution: wait 'til near sunset and position (i.e., rotate) your car to take full advantage of that softer light.
Carefully position/rotate your car so that you've got evenly-distributed sunlight over ALL the surfaces of your car facing your camera (the grille, the "chin," the tires, the sides). The (dawn or dusk) sun should be directly behind you, warming your backside and illuminating ALL of the surfaces of your car facing the camera
Critically important for you to grasp:
When you use your flash in the "traditional way" (i.e., to provide EXTRA/ ADDITIONAL light in, say, a darkened room or at dusk or after dark outside), you're actually providing MORE light to your film (or to your sensor array in your digital camera), since there isn't enough ambient light to for you to capture a well-illuminated photograph.
ON THE OTHER HAND, when you're outdoors in the bright sunlight where there's ample natural light, your goal is entirely different: you don't need MORE light, you need to RE-DISTRIBUTE the light. Using your camera's FORCED flash (lightning bolt icon) feature, you're merely RE-DISTRIBUTING the light, so that MORE LIGHT (your flash) illuminates those pesky dark shadow areas... while simultaneously LESS SUNLIGHT is captured that otherwise results in harsh glare on your windshield and color bleachout on the painted surfaces. Voilá, with your flash you've "softened" all that harsh glare/harsh shadow! Put another way, essentially the same amount of light winds up on your film (or sensor array)... but the light is more evenly distributed, thus usually rendering a far better photograph, whether your subject is your motorcar or a closeup of your family on the beach (see photos directly below). You've taken a photograph instead of a crappy snapshot... and the only thing you did differently was to force your camera's flash to "soften" all that harsh shadow and harsh sunlight.
EDIT: FOR CHOPS, DO NOT POST PICTURES WITH CARS IN THE GRASS. ALTHOUGH IT LOOKS GOOD FOR A PHOTO SHOOT AND FOR A PICTURE DISPLAY, FOR CHOPPING, GRASS MAKES IT A NIGHTMARE
REQUESTING RIM CHOPS
When making a request for a rim chop:
-you must post a picture of your car
-you must post a picture of the rims you want
-PLEASE do not use pictures of rims that are just on a white background.
-get pictures of the rims you want THAT ARE ALREADY ON ANOTHER CAR (as it will make the chop look a lot better, and will be less agarvating to chop.
- YOU MUST find rims AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE to the angle of the car, so that the rims will fit on the picture evenly, without any major hassle.
Thread Starter
★★★★★
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 10,200
From: Banned Camp (Counselor)
RE: ATTN JON
yea yea, if i can get permission from ya (a forum mod), ill just make it a regular post in the major forums (gen tech, 5.0, 4.6, 6cyl & 2.3, and OT), hopefully everyone will read it then.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post