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Tutorial - How To Take Better Car Pictures

34K views 47 replies 28 participants last post by  econtentSsixpl 
#1 · (Edited)
How To Take Better Pictures
by: Joshua Gull

Let me preface this write-up by saying if you're looking for a quick and easy way to follow a few instructions step-by-step and think you're going to go out there and create some amazing photographs you can think again. Good pictures dont take themselves. It doesn't matter whether you have a $200 point-and-shoot or a $2,000 digital SLR you can still get solid, quality photographs if you follow some basic guidelines and hone your skills and techniques. This is a very basic guide to get you started down the right road but no write-up will take good pictures for you. You have to experiment with lighting, camera settings, technique, and post-processing to improve your pictures. Practice truly does make perfect when it comes to photography. With that said lets get started.



WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR CAMERA (Settings):
Check your owner's manual for all of these features as they are good basic settings for most any camera...

File Size and Quality: This needs to be addressed first and foremost. Make absolutely sure you're shooting at the absolute highest file size and the absolute highest possible quality. If it doesn't offer you many pictures, get a bigger memory card. This is something alot of people miss and without the quality, no matter what else you do, your pictures will not look good.

Shooting Mode: Aperture Priority. Set the aperture (sometimes refered to as f-stop) to lowest possible numerical value. This creates the in-focus subject and slightly out-of-focus background, or a shallower depth of field (DOF). The camera will automatically adjust shutter speed to properly expose the picture according to the camera's internal light meter from here.

ISO: Set this to the lowest numerical value possible. Anywhere between 50-200 will work well to begin with.

White Balance: Auto is always a safe bet, but playing with this never hurts. Experiment if you'd like and see how it effects the end result. Its always good practice that when you first start shooting in any light to try auto, daylight, and cloudy/shade. When the light changes dramatically or you go to a new location play with the white balance again.

Flash: CUT IT OFF! No camera's built-in flash is adequate enough to evenly and properly light a car no matter the lighting (yes, even if you're using it as a fill-flash in daylight it's still not up to the task). Circumstances where the flash is useful are very few and very far between (I've taken thousands of pictures of cars and I dont think I've ever turned out a picture I was proud of where I used the camera's built-in flash). If its dark enough to need a flash just to light the subject, you need to adjust the exposure accordingly through shooting in fully manual mode, not through a built-in flash.

Exposure Value (EV): Dont adjust this now, but make yourself familiar with it. Once you get out there and start shooting, review the image and if it looks to light or dark this is what you can adjust without touching anything else to make things easier on you. If the picture is too dark, adjust the EV to the positive side a bit and shoot again. If its too bright adjust the EV lower and shoot again. If you get the other basic settings down, then get your white balance set on the first few shots to see which looks best in the light you're shooting in, this will be the only thing you need to adjust as you continue to shoot at a location to try to get the best quality pictures.



WHEN TO SHOOT (Lighting):
Lighting is the most critical element of capturing a good picture. Maybe you didn't catch that the first time so let me repeat myself. Lighting is THE most critical element of capturing a good picture. Its also the one thing we cant really control (without getting strobes, soft boxes, diffusers, and other complicated and expensive photography items). But we can choose what light to shoot in. You never, ever, ever want to shoot in the middle of the day under harsh daylight. For beginners the easiest times to shoot are early in the morning just after sunrise (you get more useable light than before sunset), in a completely shaded area, or preferably on a heavily overcast day when the light is more diffused. The most critical thing is to have the car well lit, so you generally dont want to be shooting at dusk, but without the light being so harsh that it screws with your colors and blows out your highlights.

Everyone loves to spend all morning cleaning up their car then go out and snap pictures. That harsh afternoon light washed out colors, creates harsh shadows, and freaks your camera's internal light meter out completely. When it's that nice out forget the pictures, grab your keys instead of your camera, and go cruising... perhaps to scout out some locations for taking some pictures later when the lighting is better.



WHERE TO SHOOT (Location):
There are places to take picture everywhere. You can find a lot of good locations by driving around the backside of your local Sam's, Home Depot, etc. Just keep your eyes open. You dont want backgrounds that are too busy. Keep things simple. Alot of times if you're just trying to get a good picture of your car find a solid colored brick wall to shoot against. Pay attention to pictures you see in magazines and what backdrops they use.



HOW TO SHOOT (Composition):
Now that you have good camera settings, are working in good light, and at a good location it's time to work on your composition. This is where thinking comes into photography. What you're trying to do with your composition is to create a picture that is visually interesting. Photography is about the artist displaying a point of view that the viewers may not normally be accustom to seeing. This makes pictures interesting. First and foremost lets talk about the position of the car within the frame.

http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/rule-of-thirds/


Now that you understand how to place the vehicle within the frame, its time to position the car where you want it in relation to the backdrop and start snapping. Generally speaking front and rear quarter shots show cars off well. Tire tread isn't interesting so make sure your wheels are straight or turned where the face of the wheel is facing the camera. Lower angles tend to work well also. Try kneeling, squatting, or even laying on the ground to take your shots. If you have a step ladder or can use some of your surroundings to climb on top of to get a higher angle do so. Taking pictures at standing height is boring because thats how we see cars every day. Use your photography to present a more artistic, interesting vantage point.

The most important thing is to pay attention to everything within the frame. Dont use the display to frame your shot. Looking through the camera properly forces you to pay more attention to everything you see within the frame. Make sure your shadow isn't in the picture. Make sure there are no light poles or trees directly behind the car as it detracts from the car and distracts the eye to them instead of your subject. Watch for things laying on the ground around the car. You dont want any distractions. There is no set rule to composing a proper shot, it's something you're going to have to experiment with and refine on your own. Again, pay attention to other pictures you see and like and use them to get ideas from.

The most important thing is to truly think about the pictures you're taking with a goal in mind. Dont just start snapping and hope to get a good shot. You need to think about what you want the end result to look like.



TIPS AND TRICKS:
Keeping the camera steady is key in making sure your pictures are sharp and in focus. Compose your shot, take a deep breathe in, breathe out slowly and smoothly and press the shutter button. If you just cant get a sharp shot pick up a tripod. You can get them cheap online or at your local camera shop. Most people never think to get one because they think they dont need one or that they are too expensive. If your shots are suffering, $20 or $30 for an affordable, quality tripod with a decent level of adjustment is priceless. No matter how steady of a hand you have it'll never be as steady as a stable tripod.

Angles and tilting the camera can help to create more interesting images, but everything in moderation. You dont want people needing a chiropractic alignment after looking at your pictures because they had to tilt their head see what you were taking a picture of.

Filters can do wonders for your photography. Circular polarizers are considered a must when shooting automotive photography in natural light and outside of a studio setting. If you have a dSLR pick up a circular polarizer for it immediately and try adjusting it as you shoot to see how it effects the color of the car and the reflections on the glass. If you're shooting with a point-and-shoot and have a pair of sunglasses with polarized lenses hold one of the lenses over the front of the camera's lens for a similar effect.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR PICTURES (Post-processing):
Just like how cameras dont take good pictures by themselves, good pictures dont "photoshop" themselves either. Work is involved but putting a little in can get a lot out of your already solid photographs. No decent picture in any reputable magazine got put in there straight out of a camera. There is a reason models are airbrushed and there is a reason photographs are edited and touched up. Photography is just like painting cars. A good, solid photograph straight from the camera is a lot like a quality basecoat on a car. You can definitely see that there is quality there, but you wont really see the true "shine" and "gloss" until the clear coat, or in this case the post-processing, it added. So now that you understand that you'll need to do some work after the pictures have been captured lets get started.

Editing Program: Adobe Photoshop is king and if you purchase it or have access to it most of your guides online and most users who you can get input from use it as well so it'll make life easier if you have it. If you dont though there are freeware programs available. Programs like "The GIMP" have all the same tools that Photoshop utilizes, you just go about using those tools in a slightly different manner depending on what you're trying to do. If you dont have Photoshop, go to http://www.gimp.org/ and download the latest version of The GIMP. Now that we have the means to process the pictures lets cover some basic editing processes.

First and foremost you need to decide whether you want to crop the image at all. You want your composition as close as possible out of the camera but this is where you fine tune it. Remember the rule of thirds and pay attention to your overall composition in this step. If your initial composition is solid you may not have to crop at all.

Next, you need to resize the image. You dont want to do any exposure or color management until the image has been resized to its final size because if you do this at the full size then downsize it you run into quality loss. Choose the size you want the picture to be and resize it.

Now that you have your composition and image size set, I could write out some basic adjustments but its easier if you actually see whats going on in each step so go here and read this...

http://tutiki.nikoncafe.com/w/index.php/Basic_Photo_Adjustments

IMPORTANT NOTE: Sharpening is the absolute last thing you need to do when editing photos as you want the photo to be done before sharpening to avoid your adjustments affecting the image causing it to be oversharpened and/or adding noise (visible as grainy looking areas in pictures). You may also want to play with the Brightness/Contrast adjustment as well. Again, less is more here and you only want to add a little if you do because it degrades the overall quality of the image. Once you have all your basic adjustments taken care of, do your sharpening and you're done. If you want to add a border you can do so at this point.

Adding a basic border in Photoshop: Select the rectangular marquee tool, mouse over the image, and hit Ctrl+A to "Select All." Right click the image, go to Stroke, and set your pixel width and color.

Adding a basic border in The GIMP: Go to Script-Fu, Decor, Add Border. Set your pixel values for the height and width of the border, select your color, and select your value (a value of 1 will make a black border solid black whereas a higher value will make it more transparent).

Now all you need to do is upload and post your pictures. Be aware of your host and if they resize the pictures or not. I'm a big fan of Imageshack as you dont need an account to upload pictures (but you can create one to store the pictures and go back to them later), they offer plenty of bandwidth, and they do not resize the pictures. Photobucket is another popular host but they do resize pictures and it can really kill the quality. No matter the host you choose just make sure they aren't degrading your pictures with any resizing.



So now you have all the tips and tools at your disposal to turn out some very high quality pictures. Get out there and start sharpening your skills and techniques so you can get the most out of your pictures and be sure to post your progress as you start getting better results. While it may seem like a lot of work putting a little extra time and effort into your shots can yield some truly amazing results. I hope this helps some of you guys and I look forward to seeing your progress. Thanks for reading.

Joshua Gull (josh99ta)



USEFUL LINKS:
Another write-up with a little bit more advanced information towards the basics of car photography - http://www.mattwatkinson.com/tutorial/

A great write-up by PHR on car photography - http://www.popularhotrodding.com/features/0506phr_get_your_car_phr/index.html

Incredible tutorial page with a ton of good info on a number of topics - http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials.htm

Understanding photography and why its not just about the camera or "photoshopping" a picture - http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=702260



FORUMS DEALING WITH CAR PHOTOGRAPHY AND PLACES WHERE YOU CAN GET INPUT AND CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM ON IMPROVING YOUR PICTURES:
AccessPhoto - http://www.accessphoto.com/forum/index.php?showforum=10

DieselStation - http://forums.dieselstation.com/index.php?showforum=11



BOOKS ON AUTOMOTIVE PHOTOGRAPHY WORTH CHECKING OUT:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/07...3356/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-0072508-2739904?ie=UTF8

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/18...3415/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-0072508-2739904?ie=UTF8
 
#6 ·
I've read just about all of your post and I am trying the things that you are telling us to do. I must say I have gotten better at this picture taking thing. I'll get there one day. Here is one I took this evening. I think the sun had gone down too far.

 
#43 ·
HRJ, as far as I know they went down and never came back around. I was on over there and it was a pretty good site. Nothing quite like it out there now. I tried to hit all the points, but I left out one point that the picture posted brings up. NO FLASH! An in-camera flash isn't enough to do anything when you're dealing with a subject as big as a vehicle. You need to adjust exposure to do that.

Its a decent picture. There is a tree and a lightpole coming out of your car and the lighting is a little weird on the side of the car and overall not well lit enough but it is a good start. Keep on experimenting and practicing and you'll continue to see your work improve.
He's right on this one picture dont use the flash Natural light and your F stop (apature) and a slow shutter speed would make this picture a lot better.Also always use a Tripod and the shutter timer if you have one.
 
#7 ·
HRJ, as far as I know they went down and never came back around. I was on over there and it was a pretty good site. Nothing quite like it out there now. I tried to hit all the points, but I left out one point that the picture posted brings up. NO FLASH! An in-camera flash isn't enough to do anything when you're dealing with a subject as big as a vehicle. You need to adjust exposure to do that.

Its a decent picture. There is a tree and a lightpole coming out of your car and the lighting is a little weird on the side of the car and overall not well lit enough but it is a good start. Keep on experimenting and practicing and you'll continue to see your work improve.
 
#8 ·
catch phrase of the day

Kill the Clutter!!!

before you press the button, say this phrase and look at what you are shooting as if it was a print. Look for trees growing out of the roof, soda cans in the gutter, etc.

If you have to, put a sticky note on the back of your camera so you see it everytime you go too take a pic.

Bob
 
#9 ·
Very nice. Thank you.
 
#10 ·
Wow...this is all the photo taking information I've always wanted, but been afraid to ask for.

BobthePhotoGuy...you rock!! :hail:
 
#11 ·
WOW!!! One hell of a writeup Josh. Thanks alot dude. I'll take what you say and apply it to my camera, and myself.

Oh, BTW, STICKY!!!!
 
#15 ·
Reminds me of another little 'words of wisdom' quote

"99% of a good image is what you do before you press the shutter. The other 1% is not accidently deleting it!"

Remeber that the camera does not make a great image, the photographer does. The difference between a good image and a great image is usually determined before the shutter is pressed. There is a very highly paid fashion photographer by the name of Terry Richards. He has sold photo stories for six figures that were photographed using disposable film cameras.

Patience and practice is the key and with digital it costs you nothing but time.

As you get better, another trick that helps is to use the EXIF data. If you have a shot that you really like, look at the EXIF data to see what the settings were.

A very good resource for learning different terms and techniques is www.luminous-landscape.com There are some really good tutorials on there and it is free.

Bob
 
#16 ·
Quick question for all the pros. I have a relatively basic POS camera. I was previously told that I should leave the flash on because it will set the shutter speed to a faster rate.

In essence, everytime I turned the flash off I received a blurry photo, but everytime it was on, quite clear. Is there normally somewhere on a POS that you can see the shutter speed?
 
#17 ·
You can see the shutter speed by looking at the EXIF data attached to image. As for seeing it on the camera, that depends on the camera (check the owners manual).

As for the blurry without flash and not blurry with flash.

Two things can be happening. The shutter speed maybe increased, but also, the actually flash takes place quicker than your average shutter speed. So the flash is freezing the image. Try shooting with a tripod, it should help quite a bit. Heck, even a monopod can work if it is braced well. Even setting the camera on a hard surface and firmly holding it down while pressing the shutter can help.
 
#18 ·
For those of you that would like a little more info regarding whne to shoot and why, here is an interesting little article. It is talking about lanscape photography, but a lot of automotive photography uses the landscape as a backdrop, so it is very relevant.

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/theartof.shtml
 
#19 ·
MBM GTO Photos

I took some photos today after installing Exclaim UHP 275s on the rears, washed with tropicare and did a turtlewax quick wax for maintainence as it is a daily driver. Came up with some decent shots as I am still learning about my camera. Here is the gallery:

SmugMug GTO Gallery
 
#20 ·
Lookin good Kinley.

A couple of suggestions.

Don't take pictures standing up flat footed at eye level, that is the way everyone sees the car. You got some nice shots from down low, try going even lower. To the point of laying on the ground. It is almost always more interesting to see the car in a way you normally don't.



The result:


This shot I actually had the camera resting on the ground with me laying behind it to look through the viewfinder.



Another trick, wide angle shots work best if you are shooting the car from an angle. Using as much telephoto as you can helps to kind of compress the image a bit and give it a more 3 dimensional feel.
 
#21 ·
Thanks for the useful tips, I'll work on those unique angles and use the rule of thirds. Maybe I should find some models to shoot in front of the cars, too! hahah
 
#24 ·
Models typically start at about $75/hour and go up. Unless if you have connections, price will usually reflect the models abilities and experience.

So, a $75 model might look great, but you might have to tell her how to pose. Where as a $150 model should be able to snap the poses off and all you have to do is take the pics.

Some girls are naturals and will pick up poses very quickly, but you will still have to tell them how to pose.

Checkout www.modelmayhem.com and www.garageglamour.com. www.onemodelplace.com has a very good variety of models, but they charge photogs for membership (but not the models).
 
#26 ·
Do you really want a critique of your avatar? LOL

See my previous post (#8?) and watch the overexposure of the sky.

Also, you cut the top of her head off!! Now her brains will leak out!!!

Keep at it, you'll only get better!!

BTW This was meant as corrective criticism. Please take it as such.
Bob
 
#28 ·
I got a quick question for you, my camera's (Konica-Minolta DSLR) highest quality is called "raw". When you take pictures in this setting, it saves them into their own format which you then have to convert into something else. Would it be better to take them in the "raw" setting or the "extra fine" setting? Once converted, the file size is similar to an "extra fine" picture and it appears the same to me too.
 
#30 ·
Sorry I just now saw this. RAW is a format which allows you to make adjustments with zero degradation to file quality. When you adjust things in JPEG format or even view the file it loses a little quality each time (whether this is noticable or not is up for debate). The biggest advantage of RAW is if you have a program that can adjust white balance. In Adobe CS2 I can take a RAW file and play with white balance before opening and converting the file to another format (TIFF for uncompressed and JPEG for compressed is what I normally use). It can be VERY beneficial if you shoot on auto white balance because you can tweak it later when you have it on your computer where you may not have been able to see the difference on the review screen. If you dont have a program that can adjust white balance then just shoot in extra fine JPEG format.
 
#29 ·
Just an amatuer shot I took a few years ago. Pretty neat shot from laying down. 1997 30th Anniversary Camaro SS.


 
#31 · (Edited)
Josh just barely touched the benefits of RAW.

Look at the RAW file as being similar to a film negative. It is the straight data with no adjustments applied. You can make as many prints as you desire, with as many setting and editing changes without effecting the original negative.

Look at a jpg as being similar to a paper print. Sure you can make as many prints from it as possible, but you basically are changing that print with any editing and then when you scan it to make another print, you are losing some quality. Each time you save a jpg file, it recalculates and recompresses the file. After so many times, the image quality just starts going to crap.

There are many, many pros that shoot jpg. The trick is that you should first burn the original jpg to CD/DVD, that way you always have as clean of a copy to work with. Then after editing, you can save the edited files and still have the originals.

Here are the benefits to shooting RAW:
* No quality loss from image compression
* It is the RAW image data, with any modifiers (ie white balance,saturation, contrast, sharpness) saved as a tag. These can be changed during the conversion without changing the original data.
* All in camera processing can be done during conversion, so you are not locked to the in-camera processing. ie, you accidentally select hi sharpening in camera, this can be changed to a lower sharpening, this can't be done to a jpg.
* A RAW file has much greater leeway with regards to exposure compensation. Most cameras have around -1.5 to+1 exposure compensation without a degradation in image quality. This is a big benefit if you happen to under or over expose an image. You have a much better chance of saving an image with RAW conversion.

I hope this helps, there are some good tutorials and such at www.luminous-landscape.com that may be of some help with this.

Bob
 
#32 · (Edited)
nice definition and analogy bob ;)

but personally i never shoot RAW anymore. i started of doing that because people said it was "better" but after awhile there as was no need.

for me (and that is just me) there is no need to do it. it is a waste of card space, loading time and speed. besides and you can get a clear printable print not to menation a tear sheets in a magazine or any other publication. all images i have shot that have made it to pubications were shot in jpeg. but then again like josh said is "this is noticable or not is up for debate"

but my another analogy is this.....

its like MP3s. if you have a clean format in a 192 KBPS vs. WAV file and you play them back the human ear can't tell the differance. same goes for a RAW vs JPEG. you really can't tell ;) not to meantion about 99% of the general public IMO...lol!
 
#33 ·
For me the main benefit to shooting Raw is the ability to fine to the WB and to have more leeway with exposure.

Sometimes you want a text book exposure and sometimes you might want a dramatic under exposure. When doing these things to an image, RAW makes a big difference in image quality.

Now if you are just shooting stock publication types of imagery, than yes jpg is great. I have a tendency to go a bit more towards the artsy side so I prefer RAW.
 
#34 ·
I shoot both at the same time. Nikon NEF RAW format + JPG format at the same time. Usually shoot JPG fine quality. Rarely need the RAW files, but when you do need them in the event of dialing in the white balance it certain helps to have it.
 
#35 ·
I have shot in RAW several times, and I just don't like it. I got a cover shot with a RAW image once, but I felt that focusing on JPEG only would allow me to become a better photographer. I rarely use RAW now. I feel that if you can get the shot you want in JPEG, there is no need for it, and I agree with Maverick Man in that it's a waste of card space. I am shooting thousands of images at road racing events. I'm not about to fill my card with RAW images unless it's toward sunset, and I want to be a little creative when I get them on the computer. A 2GB card will fill up in no time when you are enjoying your time watching a Porsche or Ferrari streak through your lens.

Some good tips here. Kudos guys. Josh, you have some amazing work, my friend.
 
#36 ·
I'll throw in another two pennies on the RAW vs JPEG thing...

I don't shoot RAW much anymore either, but I know when it would be advantageous to for my particular setup. I've found it to be a more camera specific thing. The downsides are that it sucks up card space and computer space like no other. My computer is maxed out from past shoots and I just had to order a 500GB external hard drive before I can do another shoot and dump it on my computer.

The main benefit to RAW as I see it is white balance adjustment once you get the file on your computer. My D300 does great in sun, great under off camera lighting, but it does auto white balance on the cool side when shooting in overcast light or in the shade. There are obviously other ways around having to shoot RAW here. I try to keep a white balance card with me to do a custom white balance on the spot so that I won't have to shoot in RAW. You can also cycle through the white balance settings and something that boosts the reds/yellows/oranges more like a "cloudy" setting will usually even it out pretty close. Finally if you don't want to shoot RAW, trying the white balance settings doesn't get it where you want, and you don't have a white balance card or a way to do custom white balance, once you get it on the computer in Photoshop you can add a photo filter. Usually a warming filter or one of the three selectable shades, along with adjusting the percentage of intensity, will remove the blue cast quickly and easily (there are other ways to do this such as working with the levels and curves of the individual blue channel but if a photo filter fixes it it's a lot easier).

Also, people swear taking a top from a Pringles can and putting it over the end of your lens like a filter is a perfect way to do custom white balance settings on the spot. I haven't tried this myself though.
 
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