Need honest opinions on shots for upcoming feature!

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

First that's an oil cooler not an intercooler. Second the exhaust is not missing he's just converted to a single exit.

Originally Posted by Shadow_

The car is designed to have two. It's missing. Get over it. That's not the point of the thread. I didn't say it looked bad.

I say it looks bad. OP has not specified what his feature is or what the target demographic is.
If it's going to be pretty pictures of a pretty car then neither the gaping hole in the rear fender nor the missing grille looks good.
If it's going to be a presentation of these specific mods it's a different story, of course. Then I'd recommend shooting the rear from the other side, where there is an exhaust tip.

[extrashaky]

These photos by no means look bad, but I'll tell you what I see. These are my opinions, so take 'em or leave 'em.



Nice sky. Nice use of the sunset halo around the car, but I think you can tweak it more to set off the lines of the car better. Also, take out the pinpoint of the sun on the horizon. That bright spot doesn't look right. It looks like you were trying to catch the sunset and missed it. Also, something bothers me about the trees growing out of the roof line and spoiler. I think they spoil your halo effect and dirty up the lines of the car.

The framing on this shot is odd. It looks like you are using a fairly wide angle lens. That, coupled with the angle of the car, distorts the rear and makes the car's ass look fat. I understand the dramatic look you were going for, but I don't think it works on the rear, especially with that huge, red, featureless area of the bumper right in the center of the shot. (There's a reason so many of the shots you see of the rear of this car are from straight on.)

As has been mentioned, the tail light glare on this one is very distracting. It's the first thing I noticed. It looks like you have a light just off to the left of the camera that is reflecting right back into your lens. You're also using hard lighting. Your lights would benefit from some soft boxes (or bouncing into foam core), and your lighting setup would benefit by getting them more off-axis to better set off the details of the car. In particular, getting off axis would give you some much needed detail in that huge fat bumper corner.

Check out this shot, where the photographer used the sun to light the car. Notice they positioned the car so that the shadow helps define the curve of the bumper. See how much more squared off the bumper looks? You can actually see the turn. You have it easier, since he couldn't move the sun, but you can put your lights where you want them to achieve the same effect.




Now to the other pic...




Again, I find the reflection in the headlight here distracting. It's not as bad as the tail lens, but it looks a little strange.

Again, I'd like to see a little more of the side of the car. The wide angle actually works here to pop out the front end, since the front of the car has more detail to pop forward. However, we're just not seeing enough of the side of the car. Someone mentioned the wheel not looking right turned, but it doesn't look right because with the car sitting at that angle, the wheel sticking out interferes with the car's lines. If you angle the car so that we can see more of it, the turned wheel will look right.

I think you missed a great opportunity here to use the sunset halo around the car. I would also want to get rid of those trees growing out of the fender.

Also, in this shot, I think you might find it beneficial to play around with a 3/4 back light to give a subtle rim along the car's left edge. A hard, dim light way off to the left so that it just glinted along the a-pillar might look nice. You might need to flag it off to avoid a lens flare.

And finally, the reason people are making a big deal out of your oil cooler is that you have a light shining right down the mouth of your car like you're inspecting its tonsils. If you get your lighting more off axis, that clutter will fade back some and not be as distracting. Getting your light off to the side will also help accentuate the frown lines around the emblem and the curve of the bumper.

And one other thing. This is nitpicky, I know, but the airplane light or contrail on the right of the pic actually looks like a mistake, like a bug or something flew through your frame as you clicked the shutter. It either needs to be much longer or not there at all. You can shop that kind of thing out, though.

Photographing cars is not that easy. Damned shiny surfaces with reflections everywhere. Good job so far!

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Shadow_

I quoted someone who said it was an intercooler. I don't care if it's a fucking exhaust cooler. It looked awkward to me at first glance. What's your problem dude? Is OP's **** too big for you to shut your mouth?

Whoa getting a tad excited on the internet are we? Time to relax.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

Whoa getting a tad excited on the internet are we? Time to relax.

Bickle get a new profile already? The timing and responses are right on point!

[raven1231]

We have a hard ass!!!

[Shadow_]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Bickle get a new profile already? The timing and responses are right on point!

Wait...Matthew Bickle?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Shadow_

Wait...Matthew Bickle?

Well he went by "Travis" As the movie Taxi Driver

[ogrowup]

You asked...
My mentor shreds my work with ruthless efficiency, so I'm used to this sort of thing...I am a full time professional photog with a studio and four full time employees.
I used to shoot for Ol Skool Rods. Did shoots at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Have gazillions of car shots, and I made all the mistakes I see here, and then some...

You are shooting with a short lens and you are way too close, hence all the distortion. The back looks like J-Lo's ass and the front looks like a fat kid sticking his tongue out. Look at any legit car mag and they never use short lenses up close on the exterior.

Stop squatting down so low. Use a long lens. Shoot at a 3/4 angle. Watch your background.
The background is as important as the foreground. Look at your roofline in the shot of the rear. Looks like fur growing out of the roof. The vast majority of shots I see in the forum have bad backgrounds. Bad backgrounds kill good shots. Establish the background first, then work the foreground.

Way too much post production. What's the subject here? Is this a shot of the aurora borealis or of a car? People try to cover up shitty shots with effects. ( your shots are not shitty but if I were the photo editor I would not select them for the reasons above.) If you want to be published you have to give them something to work with. Do these pictures show the soul of this car? If not, why not? These shots do not convey what this car is. The FRS has magnificent lines. Show the lines, not distortion...

The good news is there is no sign of a babe in bathing suit sticking her ass out. Don't get me started on that...

If you want to see the BEST car photographer check out Steve Coonan of the Rodders Journal. Different types of cars, but same rules apply. His work is so clean you can love the car for what it is. His angles are always spot on. If you want to excel at this, look at the work of masters like Coonan. Practice practice practice.