Figured out what I enjoy photographing

[SCullet]

Hey all,

Photography beginner here. I went out this morning and this evening to take some shots of my truck. Had a total blast. I know it's not really very "artistic" but let me know what you think.

EDIT: this probably isn't the right forum. If a mod wants to move this to a better place, go right ahead.

 

[SnappingShark]

#6, I like.

I don't generally enjoy photographs of cars, however, I like the reflections.

 

[SCullet]

To each his own, certainly. Here are a few other random shots I took that aren't truck-related.
View attachment 62342

 

[Derrel]

You are doing pretty well so far. I think you will become good some day. Just a gut feeling.

 

[robbins.photo]

Ok, great. Step two, get on google and look for the next car show coming to your area. Bang! Instant fun.

 

[TheFantasticG]

Always goes to the next level when you find what you love to photograph. That's the way it was with me and my macro.

 

[Shipman]

I also find my passion is automotive photography. As far as these go, theyre ok. Some of them have a slight angle issue which is annoying. The best of the whole set is the one you posted last with the leaf and others. Do you edit at all. I think some of these can benefit from some slight tweeking. I also think one of the issues with them is that the subject is very blah, to me its just a generic truck. If the truck itself was something cool then it may help. Overall theyre not bad, just could use a little work which will come with experience.

 

[minicoop1985]

You've got some promise. The Force is strong with this one.

I do like your truck shots, but another thing you can try is backing off a bit on the crop. Stand further back, allow for a bigger background. Just play around with all the stuff you're learning-you're bound to find some style that suits you. And remember this: don't worry too much about pleasing your internet overlords-just make yourself happy.

 

[amolitor]

Pay more attention to backgrounds!

Which backgrounds give better visual separation of truck versus background? Which backgrounds have strong lines that cut across the truck, where do they cut across, and how do you feel about that?

There are standard answers to what's "better", some of which I know and some of which I don't, but I don't much care. What matters if whether you like it or not, and it looks to me like "paying more attention to backgrounds" is a natural next step for you.

 

[Designer]

You've picked a subject that is not easy. Automotive photography is fraught with problems and pitfalls. The sheer size of the subject. Specular reflections. The venue. Good luck!

Be sure to check out:

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/photo-themes/39751-automotive-your-car-photography-99.html

 

[sashbar]

Finding what exactly you love photographing is probably the second most importat thing is photography ! So it is great you have figured this out.

I am not into cars myself (honestly I consider them mechanical city rats that are able to spoil any street photo - and I have a lot of such photos). But I probably have just a couple of casual car shots which I will take the liberty to share here wth you - just to give you some hints.

The thing with cars is that they represent a design. So in some ways shooting a car is like shooting an object of art. If you just shoot a canvas or a statue - they may be beautiful, so what? Where is the photographer's contribution, apart from documenting someboby else's wonderful work? What does he/she add to this beauty?.. So you have to ADD something to this design, not just make a copy of it, OK? You need to figure out how to do it, then your photos will have some aestetic value, independent from the car you shot... If you catch my drift.... If, for instant, you have created an image of a car with the sense of motion, drive etc, you have already added something. So if you are photographing an object of design, in order to create a good image it is useful to think in terms of "added value" : "What {aestetic} value do I add here?"

One thing to have in mind - as amolitor rightly says - the background. Clashing colors, lines etc can create an appealing image. I took this exactly because I liked the blue garage door and the way the blue color clashes with the red Mini and the straiht vertical lines contrast with the car curves. It is not a masterpiece by any stretch of imagination, but to give you a direction:



Another thing you can play with is reflections. Reflections are often bad with cars, as already mentioned. But sometimes it may be fun and can explore your creative side. That was a reflection of a house on the hood of a beautiful Audi TT:




So my advice - go beyond obvious, try to be creative and if you really love shooting cars, you will do much much better than these two images

 

[SCullet]

Thanks for all of the kind words and the advice! I'm keeping a notebook of all of the tips and tricks that you've all been gracious enough to give me. Paying more attention to backgrounds is definitely the next step. Could anyone elaborate a little more on on what amolitor said about "having backgrounds with strong lines that cut across the truck?" I understand what is meant, exemplified in sash bar's photo with the Mini. But where would you find strong lines in nature? I'm not much interested in urban auto photography. Taking the truck off-road to find beautiful landscape backgrounds is half the fun for me.

 

[ronlane]

#6, I like.

I don't generally enjoy photographs of cars, however, I like the reflections.

You're still good with not enjoying photos of cars, since this is a truck. lol

I agree I like #6 the best.

 

[Derrel]

I'm not 100 percent sure of what amolitor was referring to either. In this type of photo, the "background" plays a HUGE part in the photo, since the concept is showing the truck in.....an.....environment. It's not like a portrait of a human, it's an entirely separate genre. A pickup truck is very often shown as it relates to the "background". In these lakeside shots, you have the strong lines of the elevated roadbed, and the far shore. Those are very often going to cut through the truck's shape--which is the way we show three-dimensionality using strong line. It's an ancient way of showing which object is in front of which object--the item that overlaps is the foreground object, the object that is obscured is obviously, the more-distant object.

Automobile photography is a tricky business. For a beginner's shots, with a brand new camera, I think these show HUGE promise. I have no idea of what amolitor is going on about, specifically, but in a general sense, yeah, sure, watch the backgrounds. But I will say that, as a beginner, your subject/background choices on these photos looks pretty good to me. I've seen some absolutely God-awful stuff here on TPF WRT car and truck photos...you at least picked an few good "truck-like" locations, and showed the truck from good angles. A ton of people do "car photos" and do them poorly. Yes, watch the backgrounds, that's like saying "Stay in your lane on the danged highway." You have been staying in your lane for the past 50 miles.

 

[amolitor]

I didn't mean anything specifically, except "pay attention" to tone and line in the background. Tone and line relative to the subject are going to affect the result. Be cognizant of that.