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Getting Professional Photo's Done Of My Car...


G6ET8U

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Hey guys...

Just had an idea to get some professional shots done of my car, only because it's the nicest car I've ever owned and I'm completely crap at taking photo's... and I shouldn't imagine that at any stage my car would be in a magazine... so the next best thing would be this...

I think it would be nice to have some really good photo's done for me to keep and put away in a photo album for posterity :spit:

Do all photographers do cars? Or should I use someone who specifically shoots cars? How much do you reckon it would cost?

Cheers

Jack :spoton:

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I wouldn't bother paying a pro Jack.

Taking good pics of a stationary car isn't that hard.

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Taking good pics of a stationary car isn't that hard.

Yeah it is if you ask my mates... I'm terrible at it... :spit:

Maybe need heaps more practice, and not have my car in the driveway at home... maybe somewhere else a bit nicer :spit:

Any thoughts where? Any hints or tips for nice shots?

Jack :spoton:

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  • Big Gun
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Jack,

I know Mark Pakula(www.markpakula.com) does some special phototraphy with peoples cars. MS700 might be able to provide you with some info on doing this.

Rob

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Ill take some if you want, im not a pro, but ive been doing photography for a few years now. Its not worth paying someone for, unless you have cash to throw around. I can do the prints too, as I work at CCH.

Deaks

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I didn't even think of you Deaks.

Jack I saw some of his shot from Calder Friday night and they were really good.

Bloody nice camera to!

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I'll be happy to take some for ya Jack ... got some great places in mind :laughing:

Rob... p.s send ya the bill in the mail :tease:

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An option could be to get in touch with Luke from Fullboost. He took my shots that were in PFM and has done lot of other cars too. To see some of his shots have a look at Fullboost.com.au. He's a great bloke and might even be able to get your car in a mag. :laughing:

Geea. :tease:

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Shooting cars is fairly easy.

1. clean the car, you dont have to be anal but hard work pays off

2. find a location (keep an eye out all the time) that is interesting but fairly uncluttered, places like old factories, jetties, boat ramps and even a quite bit of road somewhere are good.

Places to never take photos of your car are outside your house, it looks like you could not be bothered and unless its a mansion its going to detract from the photo. Grass, unless you are in full swing in that circle work action shot, stay off it. grass is not a natural place for a car and it looks cheap and nasty.

Things to watch out for in the background. Post, poles, trees and wires any thing that can stick up out off the car like an aerial, people and other cars can also detract from the photo.

3. Time of Day.

the best time is just before and just after sunrise and sunset. When the sun is still above the horizon you will get interesting shadows and great golden glow that will make any thing look good. Try shooting with the light coming from different directions and when the sun is almost set try having the sun in the shot (point and shoot cameras may have a problem with this) you can even have the car fully backlit buy the sun.

After the sun has set the light will be quite soft and with no hard shadows or harsh hi-lites it will realy set off a good paint job.

After dark you can use any sort of light to interesting effect , but a tripod is a must.

Things to watch out for are

Shadows, dont have the car half in and out of one and also watch your own shadow.

Refelections can also be a problem, a good shot can be ruined by a unnoticed objects reflected in the paint and glass, the sun can also give off putting Hi-lites on the car, if you spot these try moving a few feet to change the angle( dont forget up and down)

4 Angles.

try as many different ones as posible, people are used to seeing cars at eye height so mix it up. shooting from a low angle will make the car look more impressive you can also get some hight and shoot down on the car for a different view again. Go abstract and close up, look for interesting details on the car, badges are an often used one.

5 Get moving

Use a chase car to take photos as you cruise the streets. Low speeds are all that's needed and if you can control the shutter speed (slower the better but watch for camera shake)you can come up with some great effects.

Panning, drive past the photographer at a moderate speed, as the car goes past keep the car in the view finder , when the car is at its closest depress the shutter relase. The trick with this one is to treat it like a golf swing and to contuine to follow the car after it passes. Done right the car will be sharp but the back ground blured giving a feeling of speed. With this one again the slower the shutter speed the better the blur but it will be harder to keep the car in focus. pratice and find what works for you.

If you are short of ideas there are plenty of car mags out there to give you a few directions to go in

Last of all, grab a digi camera, empty the cards and then dont come back till they are full. Dont worry if you only get a few images you like, Pro photographers take hundreds of photos on a shoot and then only pick the best of those and you should do the same .

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