My first attempt at automobile photography

[DanOstergren]

Nice work.

I agree with UD... Getting all of the reflection may have added to your
already good shot.

Thank you. I see two sides to the coin. I personally feel that the reflections created in this particular location were a bit unflattering to the form of the car, but I'll be giving it a go again in a location which I'll take more time to consider how it would reflect on the car.

 

[DanOstergren]

Very nice.

Thank you.

Great photograph and a beautiful car

Thank you so much!

 

[Politically Incorrect]

Thank you. I see two sides to the coin. I personally feel that the reflections created in this particular location were a bit unflattering to the form of the car, but I'll be giving it a go again in a location which I'll take more time to consider how it would reflect on the car.

I thought that the reflection could possibly be unusable... hence "may have added" etc

 

[jeffashman]

Beautiful car portrait! Love the contrast between the bright red of the car and the dark muted blue tones of the background.

 

[smoke665]

I photographed my friend's car yesterday. I do portrait photography pretty exclusively and other than having photographed models with cars, I have never done an photo shoot that was focused on just the car, so I went into this feeling a bit green. I think I learned a lot. Controlling reflections is more difficult and much more important than I had considered. I'm going to pick up a polarizing filter and give this another try soon, but maybe in a natural location next time that doesn't create so many distracting reflections.

Canon 5D MKIII, Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 II lens, lit with available light.
View attachment 285935

So many angled surfaces, so many opportunities for reflections. How many are acceptable is somewhat dependent on the end use of the image. "Controlled" reflections can add to the aesthetics of the image, while "uncontrolled" can distract. You've done a good job controlling what you could under the circumstances. Most don't have a studio large enough to house a cyclorama wall, so about all you can do is embrace them in the image. I also like the staging for the shot, great location, adds to the drama.

Unless you have directional light, a polarizer isn't going to help much as the polarizing effect decreases, as the direction of the light moves away from perpendicular. I've used cross polarized lighting on small objects with good success, it would be difficult on a large object (not impossible).

The easiest (though not the most predictable) is to chose your ambient light time of day or weather conditions. Early morning/late evening seems to work better. Even better, a cloudy overcast day is like a giant softbox that bathes the car all over. Last year I had the opportunity to attend the "Mother's Route 66" car show in Springfield, IL. Middle of the day and heavy overcast, provided the ideal light, static subjects and no wind made Pixel Shift an option to pop the colors. Illinois Route 66 Mother Road Festival as you'll note it didn't completely kill the reflections, but the ones remaining blended well with the environment.

Another option I've used is to create a composite with multiple shots blended post. With camera and aperture locked on tripod you can adjust exposure (shutter), use reflectors or strobe to work individual sections of the car.

 

[DanOstergren]

So many angled surfaces, so many opportunities for reflections. How many are acceptable is somewhat dependent on the end use of the image. "Controlled" reflections can add to the aesthetics of the image, while "uncontrolled" can distract. You've done a good job controlling what you could under the circumstances. Most don't have a studio large enough to house a cyclorama wall, so about all you can do is embrace them in the image. I also like the staging for the shot, great location, adds to the drama.

Unless you have directional light, a polarizer isn't going to help much as the polarizing effect decreases, as the direction of the light moves away from perpendicular. I've used cross polarized lighting on small objects with good success, it would be difficult on a large object (not impossible).

The easiest (though not the most predictable) is to chose your ambient light time of day or weather conditions. Early morning/late evening seems to work better. Even better, a cloudy overcast day is like a giant softbox that bathes the car all over. Last year I had the opportunity to attend the "Mother's Route 66" car show in Springfield, IL. Middle of the day and heavy overcast, provided the ideal light, static subjects and no wind made Pixel Shift an option to pop the colors. Illinois Route 66 Mother Road Festival as you'll note it didn't completely kill the reflections, but the ones remaining blended well with the environment.

Another option I've used is to create a composite with multiple shots blended post. With camera and aperture locked on tripod you can adjust exposure (shutter), use reflectors or strobe to work individual sections of the car.

Thank you for all of the advice! I'm definitely looking forward to trying this again and applying the suggestions I've been getting.