ruffgeezer
Posted a lot
Attracts french tat.
Posts: 1,252
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Well with the Smurf nearing completion, I'll finally have a car worthy of taking pictures of. Whilst I've had a bit of a fart about with my S9600, with some reasonable results, but I've not found any real decent guides on the net, so I thought you guys would be the best ones to ask, What are your tips for getting the best pictures of your rides? Some of mine: And some taken by people who knew which way to point the camera:
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Here's how ya shoot a car, little brother....
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Team Blitz Ford Capri parts worldwide: Restoration, Road, or Race. Used, Repro, and NOS, ranging from scabby to perfect. Itching your Capri jones since 1979! Buy, sell, trade. www.teamblitz.com blitz@teamblitz.com
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Have a look on www.demonvw.co.uk , my local waterpumper club, a lot of them are into clicking at cars and they have a photography board on the forum, might get some tips ;-)
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Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
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And here's my effort, not very good but god do I miss that car :-(
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Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
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Feb 23, 2010 11:07:39 GMT
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With photography there are no specific rules but there are some well known/practiced guidelines & principles. These don't always guarantee the best shot, but if used will certainly make your photos look more considered (well I think so anyway). Some of the best shots deliberately break these principles but to start with it helps to understand them before you go intentionally breaking them. Please note - I am no expert, pro or experienced photographer....but these are bits of advice I have picked up on since buying my first SLR camera a year ago. They have worked for me and I try and use them where possible. The most important one I use is to make sure the subject (in the case of us RR'rs - your CAR!) is placed in a specific part of the frame. More than anything, shots work better if the front of the car isn't too near the edge of the frame. Having the rear of the car near the edge works fine, but the front work better if it has the most space in front of it. Look at the shot you took of the Xantia and imagine it with the car moved to the other side (RHS) of the frame.....looking along the snowy road rather than out of the frame into ?? beyond. Filling the frame with the car is something that most people do, but sometimes just stepping back a bit and giving some extra space around the car can work wonders. Pushing the car right to the edges of the frame makes the photo looked almost cramped. Having space around the car gives a better viewpoint. A lot of people centre the car in the frame and this works well, but there is a principle called the 'rule of thirds' where moving the subject across from the centre makes the image more dynamic. Imagine the viewfinder/frame divided into three with a line 1/3 of the way across and another 2/3 of the way across. The same horizontally. If you can place the subject on or very near one of these lines - even better at the intersection of one horizontal and one vertical, then you will almost certainly create a more dynamic looking image (making sure the car is facing into the frame, not out of it ) Viewpoint: Why do so many people shoot images low down? Because they really work. They make the car look a lot more interesting than shooting from a standing position. Generally when you look at a car, you are standing to this is the 'normal' view you have of it. Taking a photo from normal standing height wil make the picture look 'normal' i.e. fairly bland. Shoot from low down and you change the whole perspective and give the car a whole different look. This works. It also works the other way....shooting from above head height. Not often used, but try it....get on top of a set of steps and shoot from above and you'll see your car in a whole different light. It's taking shots away from 'normal' viewpoints that makes them more interesting. As said, I am not trying to pretend I'm a pro or anything, but these are simple techniques that I have used since finding out about them and they work for me. That said however, and going back to my original point, there are no 'rules' so the best thing to do is get shooting, trying different angles and positioning and see what works for you. These principles work for any camera - point & shoots, camera phones and SLR's.....so try them out and see what you get ;D Here are some shots I took with my cheap but trusty point & shoot: Placed in the left 1/3 of the frame with the front facing into the frame, not out of it Similar shot but with the car facing out of the frame....do you think this works better or worse than above?? It's a bit dark, but here is the car in the centre (vertical plane) but lower third (horizontal). If I knew then what I've since learnt I would have stepped back a bit and given a little more space either side of the car. Left third of the frame looking into the frame Centred but in the lower third These are taken with my SLR recently but the principles are the same. I'll let you work out for yourself what positioning I was thinking of when taking the shots: This one was my point & shoot again! SLR Shooting from above head height
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Feb 23, 2010 11:10:32 GMT
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Then there is this shot of mine as an example of what I try and avoid doing....because it makes the subject look so 'normal'....
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Feb 23, 2010 11:23:45 GMT
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Feb 23, 2010 11:28:52 GMT
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get a camera that you can alter the settings on if you can afford it, ours is really simple to work on full auto so the whole family can use it, it has a load of predefined settings for things like portraits, sunsets, scenery, tracking shots etc, but you can also alter everything manually so you can blur the background or take long exposure pics.
Its the forst decent camera i've had and i still have hardly any clue how to use it but i'm learning, and even on auto it takes much better pics than my old point and shoot camera.
There must be loads out there but i bought a Casio Exilim fh20 for £220 refurbed and it was worth every penny.
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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Feb 23, 2010 11:31:19 GMT
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^ The Fuji S9600 'bridge' should be a good, versatile camera to learn on if my S5700 is anything to go by. Plenty of settnigs to fine-tune once you start to get more comfortable with your composition.
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Seth
South East
MorrisOxford TriumphMirald HillmanMinx BorgwardIsabellaCombi
Posts: 15,517
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Feb 23, 2010 11:41:16 GMT
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That's still a nice car show shot though Bruce, where getting an interesting photo can be more difficult. (The Lotus Sunbeam one) ruffgeezer, on top of the "technical" stuff that MM has written its worth keeping an eye out for suitable places that would provide a good atmosphere the photograph. The pictures of his Delica in a quarry (?) and the Fugitive on the pebble beach work really nicely I think because the surroundings suit the cars. Might be an industrial estate near you with some good clean buildings? An old disused factory can make great contrast to a clean shiny car. Maybe a building around the same age as the car? Often whats in the background makes the difference though you may not want something that is too fussy. Try to avoid lamposts/poles/trees etc sticking up from behind the subject. Lighting is the other important factor and it really depends on the kind of effect you are trying to acheive. I try and avoid using flash wherever possible as I don't really like it (though I'm sure I could learn how to use it more effectively). A tripod (or even just something solid to rest the camera on) and a long exposure give a more natural look. (Camera on a bollard for this one)
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Last Edit: Feb 23, 2010 11:42:33 GMT by Seth
Follow your dreams or you might as well be a vegetable.
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30psi
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,024
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Feb 23, 2010 11:41:22 GMT
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As Mystery Machine says, composition is key and thinking about the rule of thirds is a good way for you to think about composition. I'm fairly curse word at composition to be honest
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1962 Ford Thunderbird 6.4L
1981 Datsun Bluebird SSS CA18DET
1981 Datsun Bluebird SSS SR20DE
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Feb 23, 2010 12:19:54 GMT
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Also, learn the different effects you get from tweaking aperture and exposure. Depth of field is as big a part as composition (in my opinion).
Practice, practice practice, it's digital - you won't waste a penny getting 9000 practice shots in.
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Feb 23, 2010 12:45:08 GMT
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Rule of thirds! It's about all I know, but it makes a hell of a difference.
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stealthstylz
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 14,845
Club RR Member Number: 174
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Feb 23, 2010 13:02:54 GMT
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I have no idea about photography, but will you please change the title from "Learn" to "Teach" - I may have to hunt you down otherwise :-D
Matt
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Feb 23, 2010 13:04:39 GMT
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Feb 23, 2010 13:12:17 GMT
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Club Retro Rides Member
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Feb 23, 2010 17:24:41 GMT
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good tips in here.... a few Id forgotton from my A-level course (before digital too! god that's scary)
rule of thirds is the best. I ALWAYS forget it and it lets me down. Also, leigh, you've reminded me...I have a bunch of Diana rolls to process.
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Your car is not 'epic', this thread is not 'epic'....the OCEAN is epic, the UNIVERSE is epic.... please stop misusing this word!! It would appear Hotrods are the new VWs - aint fashion funny! '69 BUICK LESABRE 350
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Feb 23, 2010 17:59:31 GMT
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I know its been touched on, but post-production has almost as much to do with the final result as composition. Thanks to digital technology and a good selection of editing software, you have pretty much the potential to anything to your images! If the lighting is a bit off, you can fix that. Composition a bit out? Crop it! The possibilities are endless really. Now, although I'm a rubbish photographer, I'm pretty good at post-production and here's a few quick examples I just did (literally just now...went and shot the pics and edited a minute ago). Sometimes the best thing you can do is go black & white. I love B&W photography over every other kind and would happily shoot in nothing but...especially with proper film. Now, you have to be careful not to just 'convert to black and white' then walk away as B&W film acts differently to colour and the same applies to digital. Colour: B&W: Now, there;s been a few things Ive done to these two shots. Along with removing the colour, I tweaked the contrast, highlight and lowlight definition, and added some vignetting (black around borders). I also cropped the second one for better 'composition'. Now, I'm a fan of dark photos and heavy contrast - but this is just preference. You can use your software to make it go the other way. Stock shot: Personal preference: Sunny day option: ...As you can see, I used the same techniques but in reverse to make a dark photo appear to be shot on a sunnier day - brightened the highlights, contrast up a little, saturation up a touch. All of the techniques above are used as filters in Photoshop and only require a) finding in the program and b) adjusting until it looks 'right' to you. Finding the program that suits you is tricky, finding your way around it is harder...but once you've sussed it, your car shots can be sorted just how you like them!
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Your car is not 'epic', this thread is not 'epic'....the OCEAN is epic, the UNIVERSE is epic.... please stop misusing this word!! It would appear Hotrods are the new VWs - aint fashion funny! '69 BUICK LESABRE 350
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Feb 23, 2010 18:29:44 GMT
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Also, leigh, you've reminded me...I have a bunch of Diana rolls to process. Get to it JS, it's the only format to shoot!
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Club Retro Rides Member
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Feb 23, 2010 18:46:21 GMT
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something else i thought of that might help with composition, my camera can put lines on the screen like a noughts and crosses game so it has nine boxes on it, maybe if your practising with an old cheap camera you could draw some on to help?
I'm just trying to think of the stuff thats making is easier for me cos i'm a photo numpty, no eye for a good photo unfortunately, i wish i did have, got all photoshop but still ened up with cack mostly. lol
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Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
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