New Photographer, New Camera, C+C please!

[cdino88]

So a few of my friends have dslr cameras and whenever they would bring them out I would never stop taking pictures. I realized I really like photography and went out and bought the T2i. Thus far I am having an absolute blast with the camera. These pictures are with the kit 18-55mm lens. Just looking for some C+C please.

friend's turbo is300


pics from home

 

[bitteraspects]

keep an eye on your WB settings. or shoot raw and PP

 

[cdino88]

keep an eye on your WB settings. or shoot raw and PP

I'm sorry but could you explain what that means and why. I am quite the "noob" when it comes to the whole dslr thing. All I have used for the past 4 years were a point and shoot.

 

[bitteraspects]

WB = White balance
PP = Post Processing (ie. photoshop)

your second photo is really yellow which means the WB was not set correctly.
while 'auto' usually does the trick, it doesnt always get it right. try to manually adjust your WB to each lighting scenario

 

[Tulsa]

The WB is fine in the first one, but the second its off.
WB= white balance.

I think the first one is good. The last two are pretty boring, even for snapshots, if you want to do around your hometown stuff, focus on the details, there is too much going on in both those shots

 

[cdino88]

WB = White balance
PP = Post Processing (ie. photoshop)

your second photo is really yellow which means the WB was not set correctly.
while 'auto' usually does the trick, it doesnt always get it right. try to manually adjust your WB to each lighting scenario

Oh gotcha, ok. I do mess with the white balance a bit. What would be an advantage to shooting RAW than...not RAW? Also the reason it is yellow is because the spot where we shot was yellowish. It was a night shoot in a parking garage.

 

[bitteraspects]

yes, but your camera can adjust for the yellow lights , making them more neutral.

shooting RAW will give you the option to change the WB in PP, without effecting the rest of the picture.

 

[cdino88]

The WB is fine in the first one, but the second its off.
WB= white balance.

I think the first one is good. The last two are pretty boring, even for snapshots, if you want to do around your hometown stuff, focus on the details, there is too much going on in both those shots

I took this one as well, simpler.

 

[FattyMcJ]

keep an eye on your WB settings. or shoot raw and PP

I'm sorry but could you explain what that means and why. I am quite the "noob" when it comes to the whole dslr thing. All I have used for the past 4 years were a point and shoot.

Look at the 4 photos you posted, see how they all have a different "color" to them?

More specifically, the first shot of the is300...it's good, but I would personally crop out the bottom drainage grate and a bit off the top. Right above the trailer, which would take out the distracting first light and the blank sky.

Maybe do a re-shoot and instead of standing on the loading dock bay, get down on the ground, level with the bumper (the same advice given to me when I began photographing my own car). Angle the car a bit less perpendicular to the wall and a bit more parallel and crouch down closer to the trailer, using the nice white wall as a neutral background. It's obviously well lit, use it! Don't be afraid to move the car around.

The second shot of the is300 is WAY too rotated counter clockwise. Being a "car guy" myself, I understand the desire to rotate the photo's like they do in magazines sometimes...but this is overdone. Also, the WB on it makes the car appear champagne in color, instead of the metallic gray which it's supposed to be. With the front of the car being so close to the wall, turn the lights off, they blow out the wall and cause distraction.

The is300 (or Toyota Altezza as it's known in Japan) is known for it's tail lights, having them on in this type of light only serves to overpower the the look of the design and the urban parking garage feel you're going for.

Also note, his side skirts are either dirty as hell or scuffed up badly.

BUT...I like how you actually had him turn the front wheels in the right direction for rear 3/4 shots!

The street shot is...boring...to me. And it looks like the horizon isn't level.

The guard tower (?) with the flag is nice. Maybe get a bit closer to it and take out the ground, angle the camera up for the "heroic" shot that would be nicely complimented with the flag atop the tower.

Keep shooting, that is300 is a beautiful car and worthy of photographs! :thumbup:

 

[FattyMcJ]

Something like this, for #1...

Adjusted the curves to lighten up the car a bit on the near side, and the obvious crop.

EDIT: Bah, the light pole in the back was bugging me.

 

[bitteraspects]

.

 

[FattyMcJ]

:scratch:

 

[reznap]

Are you shooting on automatic? The ISO for #1 is 3200 and #2 is 6400. Although you're getting a decent picture as an end result (amazingly there's not THAT much noise) you could be getting a better image with a longer shutter speed and a lower ISO.

I like the tilt on #2 but I think it's a little too much angle. #2's definitely my favorite picture here, but the yellow is a bit overpowering as well as the light at the bottom left of the image (maybe should have just used the parking lights...).

Your friend has a nice car though, liking the blacked out theme.

Did a quick edit on your pic... nothing great just trying to get it looking more natural.

Notice though how the noise is more noticeable with some added contrast. 6400 ISO will even show noise on a 5D II... Try to watch that in the future.

 

[luckyss]

Good luck with the new camera - glad to see another local Newbie...

 

[cdino88]

Thank you everyone for the criticism. Mostly all of the shots will not have a straight horizon since i shoot without a tripod right now. If I had a tripod I would definitely shoot with a lower ISO and longer shutter speed. But the obvious problem I have there is the blur I get with the longer shutter speed when going hand held.

luckyss - Where in nJ are you from?