This was my first car shoot and edit, I had done a bit of research before hand and had a good idea of how I wanted to shoot and edit the photos but I was going in totally inexperienced, I wasn't even sure what way you are supposed to turn the wheels. I'm really looking for any advice and I promise you won't hurt my feelings so be as brutal as you need to be.
Shot 1 - Driving to the first location, I was asking Todd if there was anything he really liked about the car. He responded with "I like to pass people" with a little smile. After a little more prodding he started telling me how much he likes his rims but every time he tried to take a picture of them on his phone it turned out crap. I'm pretty new to the car scene so we worked together to pick an angle for this shot and I took over from there. This is the shot I have the most doubt about so feel free to be a little mean :)
Shot 2 - Realizing my locations where not going to work, Todd suggested this back road for another shot. It's another composite, Car, Wheels, Windows and Background are all from their own photos exposed and edited slightly differently to get the look I wanted. I'm stuck between this shot and the first shot as my favorite. I love the backdrop and how clean everything turned out but I do really like
the sun flare in the third photo.
Shot 3 - I had originally planned to shoot under an overpass in this parking lot but we decided the car was too low to get over the potholes in the way. We decided to just park the car and try a few shots. This was a 3 photo blend, One for the car, one for the wheels and one for the windshield (with CPL filter). I tried to remove the sun flare from the photo but couldn't so I just leaned into it and masked in part of the flare from the over exposed photo used for the wheels.
Like I said before, this was my first ever car shoot so I'm just looking for any advice or critiques on the photos. Anything from locations, composition, positioning of the car, editing ect. I'm a very critical person, I can see mistakes in my own work so feel free to say what you think and don't worry if you have to be a little bit mean. I'd rather hear what's wrong so I can work on improving than get the typical 3 emoji response on instagram.
Nice, not bad for your first car shoot! - Adam ( also from Kitchener! )
Thanks Adam, Any advice on how to improve in the future?
The images have something to build on. I understand just what you mean about being self-critical. I'm the same way. And since you asked for critiques, I'll offer mine as from a fellow traveler still learning myself.
For Shot 1, I think there's too much space shown beside the car, especially since it's just a plain block wall. Maybe crop the photo, and next time leave less in the shot. I get what you were trying to do. I tried exactly the same thing at a car show this summer, and the space next to the car just didn't work, although if there was something -- or someone -- interesting in that space or visible in the background it might work. It's worth thinking about. The colors refracting in the headlight I think are distracting. Also, that there's a blank spot in the background of the side mirror needs something in it. As you mentioned, the location just wasn't helpful. Something I often struggle with when photographing cars is there always seems to be something reflecting in their shininess -- oftentimes, me! :-)
Shot 2 -- the near-naked trees on the left side detract from the shot. Maybe if the car was at about half the angle on the road but the camera was more to the left so that the dark green of the trees on the right side were the backdrop for the light-colored vehicle? And if you catch the sun at the right time of day (and year) you might be able to get good sun coming more from the front of the car without lighting up the line of trees, maintaining a darker background.
Shot 3 -- that the car is sitting on slightly uneven ground makes it look like the camera was just not held level. You might try a shot like that with the camera held at even more of an angle to put some drama into the image, but you need a better background too. The sun in all three is coming from a very high angle. I try to get quartering shots (I think that's what it's called) as yours are, but with the sun lighting both the front and the side. And about the sun flare: if you can't eliminate something like that, try to make it a *feature*!