Composition of automotive photography

[J-specCb4]

get away from the driveway....

find a background that is flattering to the shiny car but not distracting... a lot of industrial areas work really well for automotive photoshoots... the lighting in the shots looks good as there arent any harsh shadows... for panning try and be even with the side of the car as angles will cause the front of the car to be blurred do to the camera turning.... for distant shots where the background doesnt detract from the car try and shoot with a large dof(smaller aperture) and for close up shots and shots with a lot going on in the background particularly when u want one thing to stand out open the aperture all the way for some nice bokeh...

good shots overall i cant really complain about them technically other than the background... and even the composition would be decent in a different atmosphere... just remember the rule of thirds

[i'm the girl]

A lot of what I've embraced as a photographer over 12 years of practice has been mentioned here already, except for one major thing that is often missed in this digital age:

The best way to train your eye to always find the best shot is to shoot as if you can't crop the picture.

Using the whole view to compose the picture will train your eye to find the right shots quicker and quicker. That also helps to retain the integrity of proportion in the shot, too.

The rule of thirds is absolutely no good if you find yourself cutting out 10% of the space in the image.

[starchland]

Your technical competence is there, its just your scenery is way to complicated for your subject, and the driveway shots are always so lame imo. Also, overcast is the best weather to shoot in, so thats not an excuse. find another location and use a simple backdrop, and work with lighting to bring the focal point to the car. Also, manual white balance please!

[i'm the girl]

Your technical competence is there, its just your scenery is way to complicated for your subject, and the driveway shots are always so lame imo. Also, overcast is the best weather to shoot in, so thats not an excuse. find another location and use a simple backdrop, and work with lighting to bring the focal point to the car. Also, manual white balance please!

I agree on choosing a better backdrop, however I don't believe that overcast is the best weather. A little cloud cover to diffuse the sun and act like a giant softbox can be great, especially in a very bright situation like a beach or snowy area, but too much cloudy makes the picture itself tend to stay in the midrange as far as shades of color go - remember, photography is all about light and you miss the most well-balanced shots as far as contrast goes without something to push your brightest brights and darkest darks away from each other (i.e. the sun). And even in small amounts, a black black and a white white are VERY important to visually balanced shot. This is a concept that is a little harder to grasp when you're shooting in color, but it affects the interpretation of the image just the same. I don't want to get into the whole 17% gray thing right now, but basically too much overcast can wash out images. There's always digital correction and manipulation which is fine, but photography is like prepping for paint: once the foundation is laid theres only so much you can do to make it turn out the way you want it. And digital is much less pliable than film negatives.

[Accord R33]

I agree on choosing a better backdrop, however I don't believe that overcast is the best weather. A little cloud cover to diffuse the sun and act like a giant softbox can be great, especially in a very bright situation like a beach or snowy area, but too much cloudy makes the picture itself tend to stay in the midrange as far as shades of color go - remember, photography is all about light and you miss the most well-balanced shots as far as contrast goes without something to push your brightest brights and darkest darks away from each other (i.e. the sun).

Thank you! iv read over and over again how overcast weather is so great to shoot in, but i never get the results i want. There is so little contrast and saturation when its 100% overcast. you definitly need a "mostly cloudy" day, with a little bit of sun.

The pics i took of this car were in complete overcast, no sun at all

[owequitit]

Thank you! iv read over and over again how overcast weather is so great to shoot in, but i never get the results i want. There is so little contrast and saturation when its 100% overcast. you definitly need a "mostly cloudy" day, with a little bit of sun.

The pics i took of this car were in complete overcast, no sun at all

Overcast can work, but you have to be careful.

Personally, I would take a good sunrise/sunset over an overcast sky at any time.

IMO, the color brilliance is much much better, and the light angles really highlight the details.

Although if you are really skilled, you can get good effect mid day as well.

Some of the coolest shots from my dad's Rebel are some baseball shots he took on a warm summer day in Denver.

The are so nice, because with the color contrast of the grass, and the uniforms, you just can really imagine being there on that beautiful day.

It makes me want to go outside to play baseball, which was the intention.

[i'm the girl]

Overcast may be considered "best" because it's safe. Because point-and-shoot and disposable cameras are happiest without direct light due to the limitations on their shutter performance. Because 400 ISO film, which is a long time standard, is happiest in overcast weather; it does not necessarily like bright points of light if you don't know how to set your camera to correct for it. Also remember this, just because it "looks bright enough" to you doesn't mean your camera will react the same way. THis is as true for digital as it is for film, because digis are programmed to behave like a film camera would (in theory) which is what makes it so easy for us to adapt to the new technology.

SHooting in overcast is also a LOT easier to deal with when you have the flexibility of film. Push processing and even water temperatures can help you pull more contrast out of a roll of negs you know are going to suffer from the weather. For all SLRs you also have the option of filters for your lens that can pull out more contrast to a point. But without the light in the first place, there's only so far you can work.

I personally prefer midday because I can manipulate my angles and location to find good shadows and depth of shade as far as my colors go, but I will work in any light.

Also, I am a buit of a B/W whore, but when I shoot color, I try to only include 2-3 colors in the frame, which makes the image much cleaner and brings more focus onto the subject rather than all the pretty hues in the rainbow.

By using less colors you can also create more of a mood for your image as well, but I'll save color theory for another post .