Obligatory parking garage shots in HDR

[shaunly]

My favorite would have to be #3... just wish the hood wasn't blown out.
I also like number #5 but the wall and SUV is distracting. The car is also out of focus. Your main focus point is at the floor.

 

[sunlou]

I like the portrait format, nice texture in the ceiling and differs from 100s of car pictures, I like unconventional stuff though. I am probably one of the only HDR fn out there too so...keep the pink purple gow... very trendy... might be nice with hue changes to... i'd like to see variations on number 5.

If i might ask, could you tell us how many exposures you merged, and did you use the merge to hdr from photoshop?... why can't I get nice results like you have?... we have the same gear and i read every tutorial on HDR out there...

anyways, I love them...

 

[lyonsroar]

# 1-4 seem blown out on the hood and front bumper and the shadows are pure black. The antithesis of what an HDR should achieve. The wheels are all turned the wrong direction for the "normal" car pose...looking at tire tread isn't exactly "stunning", but at least you turned the wheels, so that's good.

#5 is the best of the first batch. Still, get rid of the SUV, the purple color cast and frame it tighter and it'll be better. IMO the vertical orientation on this shot works.

#6 (few posts below the first batch) is the best of the bunch, but you still lost the shadows on the car. Also...why did you choose to include so much of the wall next to it? Is the exit sign and the light really adding anything to the photo? There's more of the wall and sky than there is of the car.

I think if you moved to your right a few feet, included JUST the edge of the wall, framed the car a bit tighter, and turned the wheels in the right direction, this photo would be a keeper.

I was under the impression the wheels were supposed to be turned towards the camera. I suppose I misunderstood.
How would I avoid blowing out the hood? Take another bracketed shot with a lower exposure range?
How do you suggest I remove the color cast? I can get a good majority of it out in post, but...
How would I remove the SUV in #5? I darkened it a lot in post. There was a light right above it so that made it even more noticeable. Should I attempt to darken it some more?

#6 I included a bunch of the wall because I thought the texture would be nice. I agree though, the EXIT sign is quite annoying.

I thought the idea of HDR was to not have extremely blown out highlights?

As has been addressed, there are some pretty considerable color-cast issues. The over head lights, mized with the tungsten headlights, make for a tough situation.

Also, remember that when shooting subjects that are non-human, many of the rules/guidelines for portraiture still apply. Mainly in this case, things growing out of the head. The rof of the car is now the head, and the concrete columns are now what is usually a telephone pole or tree. The compositions would have been much stronger if you had chosen to put the car in the space between columns, either acting as a framing device or just not even in the photo, rather than having the column behind the vehicle.

How could I not notice the column! Shame on me!:thumbdown:

My favorite would have to be #3... just wish the hood wasn't blown out.
I also like number #5 but the wall and SUV is distracting. The car is also out of focus. Your main focus point is at the floor.

I didn't sharpen this pic for online use and it's also hosted on Photobucket (I maxed out my Flickr for the month) It looks quite a bit sharper on my monitor with the full res. If I remember correctly I was attempting to focus right on the emblem.

I like the portrait format, nice texture in the ceiling and differs from 100s of car pictures, I like unconventional stuff though. I am probably one of the only HDR fn out there too so...keep the pink purple gow... very trendy... might be nice with hue changes to... i'd like to see variations on number 5.

If i might ask, could you tell us how many exposures you merged, and did you use the merge to hdr from photoshop?... why can't I get nice results like you have?... we have the same gear and i read every tutorial on HDR out there...

anyways, I love them...

Thank you for the comment. They are all three exposure HDR's (-2, 0, +2) merged in DynamicPhotoHDR with subsequent tweaking in Photoshop CS4 Extended.

My first HDR looked like this:

It just takes time and practice.:thumbup:

 

[lyonsroar]

Also people, my photos are OK to edit so if you want to try something, don't hesitate to do it!

 

[ChevyBaby]

I'm gonna respectfully disagree with the comment regarding the wheels being turned ''the wrong way'' the wheels facing as if they're driving toward the camera is dramatic, i imagine my cars as humans, if the wheels are facing away it's asif it's cowering.

I'm just saying, I can see the alloys on the back wheels while admiring the pristine tread on the front wheels, i love to see amazing, black, immaculate tyres. To me, this is a very important thing when I'm looking at cars, as a a buyer and a photographer.