MathWiz
Registered Member
I was sitting at my desk reading PM from a member who wants me to clean up a terrible picture of their car.
In the design world, we have a term called "turd polishing", I can clean up something only so far but some things can't be fixed.
Whether you are selling your vehicle, or just want to show off your new ride to your friends and family, taking pictures of your car is not as easy as point-and-click. There are several things that you must remember when you are taking pictures of your car. Below are several steps that you will need to make sure you follow in order to capture the best picture of your car.
I did a little searching on the internet and found some good resources to help
How to Take Pictures of Your Car
Motorcar Photography
Some Excerpts:
Curt's motorcar photography proverb:
Before you go any further, compare these two images:
This is a snapshot.
A "For Sale" Cobra shot: this is the same Cobra as the one below... and the same camera was used. Note the harsh, murky shadow (resulting from shooting the shadow side of the car in hard midday sunlight), the high camera position, the car parked on grass, the apparently purloined sidepipe. This image isn't likely to inspire anyone to purchase.
This, folks, is a photograph.
The owner got serious with his camera the second time around--he decided to read/heed these photography tips. Soft, evenly-distributed, smoothly-flowing dusk sunlight, perfect positioning of his car and low camera position made for a marvelous image. Note the soft, gentle shadows on and beneath the car... and compare it to the harsh shadows in the photo at left. This photo sold his car.
Charles
In the design world, we have a term called "turd polishing", I can clean up something only so far but some things can't be fixed.
Whether you are selling your vehicle, or just want to show off your new ride to your friends and family, taking pictures of your car is not as easy as point-and-click. There are several things that you must remember when you are taking pictures of your car. Below are several steps that you will need to make sure you follow in order to capture the best picture of your car.
- Wash it first. If you have a dirty car and you take pictures, guess what you have? - Pictures of a dirty car!
- Take a look at the background. Many people make the mistake of taking a picture of their vehicle with a "busy" background. An example of this is having other cars behind yours, or having too much of the background showing, this will cause the viewer of your photograph to look at the background first, instead of your car. Ensure that when you are setting up the background you do it in front of a stone wall, brick building or even in front of foliage. Anything that is not too "noisy" or "busy." Scenic landscapes work best, but make sure you are not too far away from your car.
- Work the angles. Your car can come across in different ways depending on what type of angle you use. An extreme angle, or one that is abstract, can give your car an aggressive look, which works well for sports cars. However, the best angles for shooting your car are lower ones. Having the camera at eye-level with the car will allow you to obtain a higher-quality appearance. A good rule of thumb is, if you aren't on your knees the viewers won't be pleased. To boil it all down, take various angles of your vehicle, however, make sure that most of them are low to the ground (eye-level with the front of the car).
- Change the position of your car. The biggest mistake you can make when you're taking pictures of your car is only shooting different angles, and not different car positions. Make sure that you shoot the front, side, angle/side, back and other side of the vehicle. If you are selling your car, potential buyers will want to see what the car looks like all over, not just the front or sides. You can use different backgrounds if you choose; however, make sure you stick to rule #1 when doing this.
- Choose your lighting carefully. The lighting you choose is really important. You can have a beautiful car, but if the lighting conditions aren't right, your picture will turn out less than desirable. Your goal in finding the perfect light is taking your picture either right at sunrise or right at sunset. The sun will create a "warm" lighting glow, which will accent all of the colors within your car. Also, remember when you're taking pictures of your car you keep ALL shadows at a minimum, this includes your own. If the sun is behind you, rotate your body, and the car, at an angle so that your shadow will not be in the picture.
I did a little searching on the internet and found some good resources to help
How to Take Pictures of Your Car
Motorcar Photography
Some Excerpts:
Curt's motorcar photography proverb:
A picture may indeed be worth 1,000 words,
but one good photograph of your car is worth 10,000 crappy snapshots.
but one good photograph of your car is worth 10,000 crappy snapshots.
Before you go any further, compare these two images:
This is a snapshot.
A "For Sale" Cobra shot: this is the same Cobra as the one below... and the same camera was used. Note the harsh, murky shadow (resulting from shooting the shadow side of the car in hard midday sunlight), the high camera position, the car parked on grass, the apparently purloined sidepipe. This image isn't likely to inspire anyone to purchase.
This, folks, is a photograph.
The owner got serious with his camera the second time around--he decided to read/heed these photography tips. Soft, evenly-distributed, smoothly-flowing dusk sunlight, perfect positioning of his car and low camera position made for a marvelous image. Note the soft, gentle shadows on and beneath the car... and compare it to the harsh shadows in the photo at left. This photo sold his car.
Charles
