A Girl & Her Mini: Photo Shoot Questions

behanana · Apr 29, 2011

As far as shooting the car, check out this web site, it's all about shooting cars. Tips, techniques, ect., good luck and post some stuff up afterwords. Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS

ASCSurveyor · Apr 29, 2011

molested_cow said:
Dude, you wasted my time reading your post by placing the word "married" towards the end.....!!!

Ok, what lens do you have? Wide angle? 50mm? Telephoto?

Well, obviously you got to pick a good place. She's married right? May be have her hubbie around just in case.
I'd also bring a ladder with you. You can then shoot from higher angles, say with an ultra wide angle down wards on her and the car ( sexy girl laying on the car drool drool...). Don't be afraid to use the flash to try some unconventional shots. Just remember to be aware of how you want the shoot to be after post processing, then plan backwards.

Also, consider some chase shots (you in a car shooting her driving her car), panning shots... whatever that is in motion.

Or, you may want to bring a fan to blow at her for some special effects! No kidding, it can be cool. Not to spoil your plan, but I can imagine purposely blowing the fan at her back wards while she's driving forward, creates a conversation piece.

Sh*t, I WANT TO BE THERE!!!

Yes now you've got an excuse to browse hot girls+car photos all night long.

I did notice while browsing through shots last night that a ladder might be a good idea. I'll look into borrowing my brother's ladder. Worst come to worst, I can stand on my truck.

I've got a Tamron 28-80mm that replace my old Canon lens that crapped out, and a Canon EFIII 75-300mm telephoto. Not the best glass, I know, but I just can't justify spending money on something I'm not that great at. It's not like I do these shoots a lot. For me, what I have works. Personally, I think I need to hone my skills more before dropping major coin on better equipment. Skills make good pictures, not equipment, IMO.

She IS married, but her husband is in FL right now, as he's military. Like I said, he's a good friend, and he's fully aware of what's going on. It's simply not an issue.

I'm not sure I could do chase shots. The roads are pretty open down there, but honestly, I'm not comfortable taking photos while I'm driving.

I'd use a fan and "fake" it, but I don' thave anywhere to plug the fan in. I'll keep that in mind for other shoots though, if it comes up.

behanana said:
As far as shooting the car, check out this web site, it's all about shooting cars. Tips, techniques, ect., good luck and post some stuff up afterwords. Car Photography Tutorials - A CHRONOLOGICAL OVERVIEW OF ALL OUR TUTORIALS

Thanks for the link. I'll browse through that tonight.

FWIW, here's a couple "test shots" I did with my truck a few weeks ago, to see if I could find a good angle.

No shots near the old warehouse buildings though. Sorry. Not sure if I'll use this area down by the water or not. I kinda feel like the ships are a little overwhelming.

tirediron · Apr 29, 2011

Way too much background detail. Also, work on fill light and get that polarizer on! You've got the watermark sorted though.

ASCSurveyor · Apr 29, 2011

tirediron said:
Way too much background detail. Also, work on fill light and get that polarizer on! You've got the watermark sorted though.

Well 1 out of 3 ain't bad, I guess.

Derrel · Apr 29, 2011

Four words: Mini Cooper, mini skirt...

ASCSurveyor · May 1, 2011

Unfortunately the local shop didn't have any polarized filters.

And I was so busy at the museum and with household chores yesterday, I completely forgot about getting some kind of reflector to use (I planned on using a piece of white posterboard). I really didn't plan well.

I've got everything else though. Tripod, broom, ladder, brush, detailing kit, oh... and meeting the model in about 15 minutes.

Temps are cool... mid 50's, and there aren't any clouds. Hopefully the light won't be too harsh. :-/ I'm also taking my GoPro camera to use it as a wide-angle lens. Lame, I know, but I use what I can. Maybe I'll get something decent from it. Maybe not. Doesn't hurt to try, I guess.

Wish me luck. If the pics don't suck that much, I might even be daring enough to post them on here to hear everyone rip them to shreds. ;D

ASCSurveyor · May 1, 2011

Finished the shoot about 930 with 200 pics. So far, I'm pretty pleased with the results, but still see a lot of "Crap... should have done this." spots. I guess that's normal.

I've quickly gone through about half the pics, and hopefully I'll be able to get done tonight, or at least mostly done. I'll be posting the pics up on the "Blak Krau Studios" Facebook page (Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More) when I do, but will probably re-post a few of them here.

The shoot went well. Nervous at first, and so was she. Kind of a "first" for both of us. But we ended up having a lot of fun. Some of it shows up in the photos, which I like. I think those tend to be the best ones.

She's going to talk to her friend, who has a bit more experience and know-how when it comes to modeling shoots, and maybe have her come down some weekend to give me some tips, and maybe do a shoot with my bike. Might be fun.

lyonsroar · May 1, 2011

Did you shoot some HDR's? HDR is to cars like butter is to popcorn or peas are to carrots.

MidnightGrimm · May 1, 2011

Which warehouse location did you go to? I'm in Newport News and still looking for a good industrial site where the cops won't give me grief. lol.

ASCSurveyor · May 1, 2011

lyonsroar said:
Did you shoot some HDR's? HDR is to cars like butter is to popcorn or peas are to carrots.

I didn't do HDR's. Maybe in time I'll change my opinion on them, but right now, I feel the whole thing is an over-played fad. Similar to the "B&W Background, Color Subject" trend that somehow, is still held onto by people.

MidnightGrimm said:
Which warehouse location did you go to? I'm in Newport News and still looking for a good industrial site where the cops won't give me grief. lol.

It's AMAZING what you can find at the East End of Newport News.

lyonsroar · May 1, 2011

HDR is like any other tool, like a ratchet and socket set for example. You can use a ratchet to undo bolts like it's made to do...OR you can use it like a hammer and beat the living snot out of things. It's up to you.

ASCSurveyor · May 1, 2011

Ok, finished the post processing. Although I'll probably go back in a few weeks and take another look, and maybe see something I didn't see before.

Again, I'm not a pro at this, but I think these came out pretty good. I'm pretty proud of a few of them, and got that warm & fuzzy feeling when I opened them up.

Here's a few of them.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

C&C welcome.

cabrosh · May 1, 2011

Looks like you had fun! #1 is too contrasty with burned out spots. Really liked #7, good lighting, nice pose, soft background. Loved the way the skirt in #2 echos the rear view mirror, but the brick is too busy. Maybe you could put the background on a separate layer and blur it. The girl is too hunched over in a couple shots. Would have liked to see her shoulders tipped back a bit or one higher than the other. Not a natural stance, but it photographs well. Bet her husband would like a copy of #6 for his office desk.