Photos of my car with my new Nikon D60

[froubaby]

I took these last weekend of my car and have posted them on my car club forums, but I'm hoping to get some comments back from some actual photographers and not just car buffs.

Enjoy!


#1

#2

#3

#4

- Liz

 

[cosmoepic]

only post 3 or 4 for critique and please number each photo

that being said 3rd from the bottom looks pretty good, im not a huge fan of car shots but i like that one

 

[froubaby]

only post 3 or 4 for critique and please number each photo

that being said 3rd from the bottom looks pretty good, im not a huge fan of car shots but i like that one

Thanks! I've edited.

As for the pic you like, that is now pic #4 above. Thanks for the compliment on the shot.

 

[tsaraleksi]

What you've got is pretty nice in some ways but you need to work on lighting to make these images really stand out, either finding good light or making it with strobes or flashes or something.

 

[Curiosity Cosby]

Not sure why, #3 looks like it lacks in lead room for the car. Really like #4. #1 & #2 don't do a whole lot for me, but still nice pictures. Maybe show at least half the car in #2, depending on what you were going for. Overall, I like the pictures.

 

[TheUndisputed]

Tips for shooting automotives and improving your images:

1. ALWAYS shoot with the sun to your back. The Sun is a VERY useful tool for you when shooting an automobile. It makes wonderful effects on the paint, and a mild reflection will make the car look cleaner than it actually is.

2. ALWAYS shoot an automobile in the morning or the evening. looks like you did this shoot in the evening, just a little too late in the evening it looks like. Start shooting when you are about 2 or 3 hours away from sunset, not 1.

3. Make sure the focal point is on the car, and not on anything else. After all, it is the car you are intending the shoot, not everything else. Also, make sure the objects you are using as a background subject are not taking away from the vehicle. That train has got my attention, not the car.

4. Try angles that you think will make the shoot different. There are angles you can use right on the vehicle, that will emphasize the natural curves of the vehicle. Take this image I took about 3 weeks ago for example:

Sorry for the fuzziness, Image is uploaded to MySpace, which doesn't have the best resizing module. However, notice how the angle of the car makes it more aggressive? You should aim for the same principle in your shots. BTW, this is not a shoot. I was walking the dogs that night, saw the car, and snapped a picture of it. It's actually parallel parked by the guy's apartment building.

I am an automotive buff and a photographer, & I have to say, that is one CLEAN MKIII. Is that a 7M or 1JZ car?

 

[MiaS13]

damn liz your on here too. sweet. nice pics

 

[DavidElliot]

i agree with undisputed and tsaraleksi, having the right lighting and angle can really help make the car stand out and pop. for me, #4 seems to be leaning to the left. might be because of that traffic line not being even

 

[Lynnzora]

What kind of lens did you use for these shots? They are nice. I like the 1st shot.

 

[christm]

I like the last one, could you increase the depth of field on the others ? The backgrounds seems distracting.

 

[Ptyler22]

Those are great in my opinion, I'm not too picky about lighting and such, number 4 is awesome, 3 would have been my favorite if the car was facing the camera.
Keep up the good work!

 

[froubaby]

Thanks everyone for the compliments and for the feedback regarding positioning, lighting, etc. The one thing I did not do to any of these photos were any touching up in Photoshop. I wanted to get feedback on the raw images first.

TheUndisputed... You're correct in that I took these a little too late in the evening as the sun was already going down which made it quite difficult to get some shots that I really wanted. This weekend I plan to take my other car out to some other areas, but do it in the early morning hours so I will be able to see a difference. Thanks for all of your other tips as well. And right now the car has the 7m, but will get a 1j as soon as the 7m blows (knockin' pretty bad).

Emil... Yes! I just joined here last night and saw your thread.

 

[SHWELL]

I think you are on the right track.. Just keep going out and taking shots.....

For Auto Photos, try and avoid the appearance of trees growing out of the car.

 

[mrodgers]

...but I'm hoping to get some comments back from some actual photographers and not just car buffs.

Ok, if you don't want my opinion, I won't give it... :lmao:

Awe nuts, I'm giving it anyways... Awesome car. Big Toyota fan here and big fan of the older Supra. Love the targa top, probably my favorite.

Not a fan of the red. But the redline tires go very well with it as does the black wheels (that's wheels! Not rims but wheels! Big pet peeve of mine :mrgreen

There.

Ok, as for the photos. Here's my personal opinion without reading what others have said yet.

Number 1, too many reflections. It's distracting to me. Too many trees growing out of the car as well. I'm not fond of the shot.

Number 2, there's something lacking for me. I think it's the fact that although it follows the rule of thirds, the car doesn't seem to be the subject of the shot. It's just kind of sitting there over on the side. It's possible that the tire mark running through the center throws it off or the fact that the car is somewhat shadowed and my eyes are pulled away from it towards the brighter areas of the shot. I also don't like all the shadow on the bricks.

Number 3, I don't know. It doesn't work for me either. Maybe because it's just a bit too busy, I don't know what to look at. Is it the car? The rail cars? The bridge? What should I be looking at. Oh, look, there's a billboard back there.

And now we get to #4. Awesome! You hit it here. Minimal background but interesting. The bridge supports frame the car great. No distracting reflections on the car or glare. Good profile with the targa top removed. Putting the top back on would completely change it to the worse. About the only thing I can say about this one is there is some weird angle to the bridge surface making it not level. The road is slightly off level and that I think should be level. But that would make the bridge worse. I am thinking looking at the shot that this is just the way the bridge is and can't really be helped. Definitely a great shot, a great location, and great place to revisit again with friend's cars. I have been looking for a place like this for a background to car shots myself.

 

[Jaszek]

also to add on to number three you should have the car on the left side or turned the other way. Like you have it now the car is driving off the frame. And for number four it seems to me that it's crooked.