Feedback on my first automotive shoot
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floatingby
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The same advice given for kids and pets apply to cars IMHO, if you want an exciting shot that get emotions from the viewers, get down to the level of the kid-pet-car to take the shot. I'm sorry, I'm gonna go on a limb here and guess you want honest opinion, this is a gorgeous car but this shot is from the least flattering angle I could think of.
dxqcanada
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I am not fond of the background, I would rather see pavement than brush.
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Nice car. I have been taking a lot of shots of my car lately for the local club so I have a few comments but, I'm just a hobby photographer so take them for what they're worth:
Agree with taking shots from a lower perspective
Shots of the left side of a car look better IMO with the wheels turned a little to the left.
The Jag is a long, sleek car so if there are other lines in the photo (the parking lines) they should run parallel to the car so they don't intersect the length of the car.
I think you can find a more flattering background. Maybe something with horizontal lines would accentuate the length of the car and set off it's curves a little better.
All that being said, the car looks good. it would be hard to take a bad photo of a car like that
Agree with taking shots from a lower perspective
Shots of the left side of a car look better IMO with the wheels turned a little to the left.
The Jag is a long, sleek car so if there are other lines in the photo (the parking lines) they should run parallel to the car so they don't intersect the length of the car.
I think you can find a more flattering background. Maybe something with horizontal lines would accentuate the length of the car and set off it's curves a little better.
All that being said, the car looks good. it would be hard to take a bad photo of a car like that
soufiej
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This seems to be a consistent theme in c&c requests. In that respect, you are not alone, however, ...
You can't take a photo that ignores all the values of good photography and then apologize for just not doing what it takes to have a good photograph.
Let's set up a little scenario I see as similar to your post.
Your wife comes home after a day at work where she's not been given a gold star for effort. The ac in the car is on the fritz and she caught every red light and then some on the way home. Traffic was near suicide inducing. She stopped at the store to pick up something for dinner and the check out guy couldn't figure out how to make the change from the $20 bill she handed him despite the fact the right amount was showing on the cash register.
She's rather hot and tired and not in the mood for BS.
As she walks in, the first thing she sees is the kitchen is a mess from the PB&J sandwich and chocolate milk you made for breakfast. Even more so from the frozen pizza you heated for lunch. Crap is everywhere and the dog has pooped and peed on the carpet. Then thrown up the pizza crust you gave him.
You forgot to walk him or even just open the door to the backyard so he could go out. The house is a disaster and hasn't been dusted or vacuumed as you promised. She finds you laying on the sofa in your shorts and watching Three Stooges films you've seen a hundred times before.
You greet her with, "Honey, you just missed the one where Curly gets his head stuck in a ... "
You notice the scowl.
"He gets his head stuck between the pipes and Larry can't find the big wrench so he grabs a hammer which Moe takes and ... uh, ... whassup?"
"You didn't take out the garbage."
"No, not yet, it isn't full."
"It stinks!"
"Can't, it's not full."
"You got Cheetos all over the white sofa."
"I haven't finished the bag yet."
"Why is the kitchen such a mess?"
"I haven't finished the bag yet."
"Where are the kids?"
"Which one?"
And so it goes.
If you have to admit you know you screwed the pooch when you took the shot and ignored the advice you have seen in how to guides, then, what was your purpose for taking about 100 shots? 100 bad shots taken in a location that is doing nothing but distracting from the photo.
You see some of what is wrong with the shot, so do we. You can't apologize it away just because.
Your reasoning for "blurring" the background - which you didn't accomplish - is because the background was "detailed"? It would have been much simpler to place the car further away from the bushes so the dof of the shot was more likely to create a real blur. It would have been better if you would have reversed your thinking and realized you wanted the main subject to stand apart from the background.
Lines are a part of the composition you create. You don't say, "Too bad the parking space markings detract from it. Quite reflex heavy on the windows, as I didn't have the right lens." The lens is not the problem here, you need a filter if you are going to take a shot such as this. Or don't take that shot, move the car. And the lines are more than "too bad".
There's not much to say about the shot IMO. You've pretty much shown us more than enough ways to not make a good shot and how to use a boring background with distracting elements.
Saying you kinda knew you did it wrong but didn't care enough to do it right and would we please ignore the fact you don't have a very good photo out of 100 shots doesn't leave much to go on.
You can't take a photo that ignores all the values of good photography and then apologize for just not doing what it takes to have a good photograph.
Let's set up a little scenario I see as similar to your post.
Your wife comes home after a day at work where she's not been given a gold star for effort. The ac in the car is on the fritz and she caught every red light and then some on the way home. Traffic was near suicide inducing. She stopped at the store to pick up something for dinner and the check out guy couldn't figure out how to make the change from the $20 bill she handed him despite the fact the right amount was showing on the cash register.
She's rather hot and tired and not in the mood for BS.
As she walks in, the first thing she sees is the kitchen is a mess from the PB&J sandwich and chocolate milk you made for breakfast. Even more so from the frozen pizza you heated for lunch. Crap is everywhere and the dog has pooped and peed on the carpet. Then thrown up the pizza crust you gave him.
You forgot to walk him or even just open the door to the backyard so he could go out. The house is a disaster and hasn't been dusted or vacuumed as you promised. She finds you laying on the sofa in your shorts and watching Three Stooges films you've seen a hundred times before.
You greet her with, "Honey, you just missed the one where Curly gets his head stuck in a ... "
You notice the scowl.
"He gets his head stuck between the pipes and Larry can't find the big wrench so he grabs a hammer which Moe takes and ... uh, ... whassup?"
"You didn't take out the garbage."
"No, not yet, it isn't full."
"It stinks!"
"Can't, it's not full."
"You got Cheetos all over the white sofa."
"I haven't finished the bag yet."
"Why is the kitchen such a mess?"
"I haven't finished the bag yet."
"Where are the kids?"
"Which one?"
And so it goes.
If you have to admit you know you screwed the pooch when you took the shot and ignored the advice you have seen in how to guides, then, what was your purpose for taking about 100 shots? 100 bad shots taken in a location that is doing nothing but distracting from the photo.
You see some of what is wrong with the shot, so do we. You can't apologize it away just because.
Your reasoning for "blurring" the background - which you didn't accomplish - is because the background was "detailed"? It would have been much simpler to place the car further away from the bushes so the dof of the shot was more likely to create a real blur. It would have been better if you would have reversed your thinking and realized you wanted the main subject to stand apart from the background.
Lines are a part of the composition you create. You don't say, "Too bad the parking space markings detract from it. Quite reflex heavy on the windows, as I didn't have the right lens." The lens is not the problem here, you need a filter if you are going to take a shot such as this. Or don't take that shot, move the car. And the lines are more than "too bad".
There's not much to say about the shot IMO. You've pretty much shown us more than enough ways to not make a good shot and how to use a boring background with distracting elements.
Saying you kinda knew you did it wrong but didn't care enough to do it right and would we please ignore the fact you don't have a very good photo out of 100 shots doesn't leave much to go on.
soufiej
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Here's the other thing your wife really, really, really hates, when you make your problem her's.
"Well, you're the one who wanted that white sofa in the first place. I never have liked it."
At that point she's weighing just how painful lethal injection might be.
Do this first, place "how to take criticism" in a search engine and read.
One of the first things you SHOULD learn is, once you ask for a critique, you have to accept what is said.
You accept it as the opinion of the writer - who doesn't know you and you don't know them so there's absolutely nothing personal in the comments. You asked for a critique of a pretty bad photo, which you admit - I suppose that's what you're doing - is pretty bad.
Telling someone their work is fine when it really sucks doesn't get anyone anywhere. And it is not my problem that you took 100 shots and could only find a few you thought were good enough to post.
It's not my problem the one you did post is not a good photo.
I didn't stand there and tell you to take a shot in a location you say you knew was boring. I didn't tell you the lens would cut reflections. I didn't tell you lines don't matter when they intersect your subject.
It is not my fault you didn't put together the advice you have read about avoiding parking lots with the reality of what a parking lot looks like in a photo.
Time to tough it up.
One of the very first lessons I give anyone asking for advice with their new camera is how to look at what is actually in the viewfinder. If you can't do that and you apologize for the pole sticking out of the kid's head, the car passing in front of your wife, the dog pooping in the background, then you really need to step back to square one.
Rules are rules because they work. Take that as a critique of your shot. Forget the BS about rules being bent or broken. Until you know how and why to apply the rules, you can't bend or break them creatively.
I saw one photographer the other day say his working theory was sheer luck. If a photo turned out, it wasn't his fault. In the end, none of his photos turned out. He too didn't care for the criticism he had requested.
I'm all for taking plenty of shots of the same subject. Never take one shot and walk away thinking you've nailed it. Certainly not as a student photographer. But 100 shots and you could only come up with a few bad shots isn't making progress. That's a simple fact.
No one is telling you to "STFU and GTFO". If you can't see that, then you need to understand what criticism is all about. If you are discouraged, then that should be used to make your next 100 shots better than this group of 100.
You have a long way to go and it begins with accepting that your work isn't automatically great just because you've read a few how to's. You have to apply what you've learned. You'll get praise when praise is due your effort.
You don't know me and I don't know you so there's nothing personal going on. Accept that.
And most of all, accept that you are responsible for what you do. Don't blame me for what you've not done or have done.
"Well, you're the one who wanted that white sofa in the first place. I never have liked it."
At that point she's weighing just how painful lethal injection might be.
Do this first, place "how to take criticism" in a search engine and read.
One of the first things you SHOULD learn is, once you ask for a critique, you have to accept what is said.
You accept it as the opinion of the writer - who doesn't know you and you don't know them so there's absolutely nothing personal in the comments. You asked for a critique of a pretty bad photo, which you admit - I suppose that's what you're doing - is pretty bad.
Telling someone their work is fine when it really sucks doesn't get anyone anywhere. And it is not my problem that you took 100 shots and could only find a few you thought were good enough to post.
It's not my problem the one you did post is not a good photo.
I didn't stand there and tell you to take a shot in a location you say you knew was boring. I didn't tell you the lens would cut reflections. I didn't tell you lines don't matter when they intersect your subject.
It is not my fault you didn't put together the advice you have read about avoiding parking lots with the reality of what a parking lot looks like in a photo.
Time to tough it up.
One of the very first lessons I give anyone asking for advice with their new camera is how to look at what is actually in the viewfinder. If you can't do that and you apologize for the pole sticking out of the kid's head, the car passing in front of your wife, the dog pooping in the background, then you really need to step back to square one.
Rules are rules because they work. Take that as a critique of your shot. Forget the BS about rules being bent or broken. Until you know how and why to apply the rules, you can't bend or break them creatively.
I saw one photographer the other day say his working theory was sheer luck. If a photo turned out, it wasn't his fault. In the end, none of his photos turned out. He too didn't care for the criticism he had requested.
I'm all for taking plenty of shots of the same subject. Never take one shot and walk away thinking you've nailed it. Certainly not as a student photographer. But 100 shots and you could only come up with a few bad shots isn't making progress. That's a simple fact.
No one is telling you to "STFU and GTFO". If you can't see that, then you need to understand what criticism is all about. If you are discouraged, then that should be used to make your next 100 shots better than this group of 100.
You have a long way to go and it begins with accepting that your work isn't automatically great just because you've read a few how to's. You have to apply what you've learned. You'll get praise when praise is due your effort.
You don't know me and I don't know you so there's nothing personal going on. Accept that.
And most of all, accept that you are responsible for what you do. Don't blame me for what you've not done or have done.
minicoop1985
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I started out similar to you in automotive photography. You have a nice model to work with. The second shot, you did get lower. Now here's your next challenge. Give the car some room to breathe. Get out of the parking lots (garages are definitely OK though). Find some great backdrops. Deserted roads. Industrial areas. Graffiti. Do what you can, experiment with bokeh and shooting wide open. Find details. There's millions of ways to do this. Here's a couple samples of my own automotive work:
IMG_5874 by Michael Long, on Flickr
Focus test... get it? by Michael Long, on Flickr
Meow by Michael Long, on Flickr
IMG_5874 by Michael Long, on FlickrFocus test... get it? by Michael Long, on FlickrMeow by Michael Long, on FlickrMost reactions
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