2001somws.6

iTrader: (1)

So do i. I take a bunch of pics from all sides and move the wheel around to see what comes out better. I take around 50 to 60 pics and then delete what sucks. Trial and error.

bastien

iTrader: (1)

That looks better. Now find a better a place for a photoshoot and work a different angle. This angle is kinda boring. If you want some real constructive criticism, sign up on accessphoto.com and post in the automotive showcase. These people are brutally honest, and if your picture "sucks", they will tear you a new one.

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

Great post, I'm glad this has finally gotten front page attention.

A couple things for Josh...

All your work is awesome, but I do notice a lot of jagged edges on some shots. How are you resizing your photos and what was the original size? If you aren't, stick with multiples of 2. For example a "high res" shot of mine will be 1/2 of its original, and one that I intend on posting on the web is 1/4 of its original size with a 6mp camera. I never see any jagged edges on my car using this general rule.

And may I also recommend Photobucket - Imageshack is painfully slow these days

www.photobucket.com

bastien

iTrader: (1)

I believe some are over sharpened.

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

Here is one I did. I know I need to keep at it to make them look good.

bastien

iTrader: (1)

^^ not bad, kinda dark though. Also, try to clone that white stripe out on the red wall.

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

I know when I see over-sharpening and his look pretty good. It's the jagged edges (aliasing) that's the problem and I wonder where it is coming from. The initial resizing is the only thing I can think of. If the picture isn't divided by a power of 2 it has to scrunch pixels in wierd ways to make it work.

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

I retried. I asked my gf how to clone so here it goes and made it lighter.

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

Looks great, the only thing I can see is the car isn't centered in the pic but all you can do about that is to crop off some of the right side.

bastien

iTrader: (1)

^^ looks better, I agree with blackhawk about cropping. You should see less rear and more hood. Also, If I wanted to be picky, the tires are too dark.

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

So should the car be centered or off centered with more space in the front?

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

I guess it's personal preference. I like the tires to be real dark, it always sets off the wheels more and helps hide any fender gap.

bastien

iTrader: (1)

try not to center it. I like more space in front for car pics. You can use the rule of thirds too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_thirds

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

Sweet thanks for the help man. Other than resizing images in photoshop I really have never messed with it. Thanks for the links you guys have been providing. I appreciate it .

Louie83

iTrader: (3)

Okay guys, you've motivated me. I know the original shot is awful, but I figured it would cool to get a wet picture, which I took while inside the garage not to get my camera wet. I just got my camera, and just got photoshop after reading this thread. I know it's probably amateurish, but you can be honest with me.

Original:


1st Ever Photoshop:

DopeFedZ

iTrader: (34)

Here is another two.

WhiteRabbit22

iTrader: (3)

1st pic = I like the rain effect, but the car looks grey now
2nd pic = looks nice, might wanna crop some off the top though
3rd pic = HAWT!!!! (cept the front wheels could be turned to the right so we can see more of the wheel.)

Nice job though! (I know, I'm still learning)

BlackHawk T/A

iTrader: (3)

This one is awesome.



What were the changes from the original? What are the things you normally do to a picture...for example here is the order I use:

1. Crop (if needed)
2. Resize
3. Curves
4. Touch-up (if needed, such as lighten, darken, clone, heal, etc)
5. Smart Sharpen - I used to use Unsharp Mask but found that it tends to over-do some pics
6. Border, if border-worthy

Usually that is all that is needed. Sometimes I play with filters for an artistic look but not usually. Sometimes I may also need to adjust the color but its pretty rare, if the original shot was fine. Some things I do depending on the shot and location are warming/cooling filters (warming filters are good for some woods/outdoor pictures) and exposure but that tends to make things grey.

I have yet to play with HDR pics but I want to. I think I spotted an HDR pic in Bastien's sig (am I right?).

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

GO CARLOS!!! Thats what I'm talking about. Great pictures.

I dont know exactly what you're talking about regarding jagged pixels. I dont sharpen too much and I only sharpen on the luminocity channel so its alot easier to sharpen and not have any adverse effects on the quality of the picture. As for resizing I always resize first before any editing. I crop, then resize to 950 pixels wide by whatever the height comes out to be.

josh99ta

iTrader: (1)

Care to explain smart-sharpening? I never apply an Unsharp Mask to the whole picture, only the luminocity channel. Usually 150-200%, 0.3 pixel radius, 0 threshold. I feel its worked well for me.