My Photography Skill Progression
03-27-2006, 03:10 AM
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My Photography Skill Progression I've always had an interest in nice pictures of cars and recently decided to sharpen my abilities a bit. Back at the start of the year I went on a photoshoot to see what I could do since I hadn't shot in a while. I wasn't happy with the results so I read up on some tips and went back out a week later to shoot more pictures. Recently I had a buddy of mine who knew what he was doing take some good pictures for me and I watched and learned, and continued to read up. I'm still using a little 4MP $150 point and shoot, but I'm learning and progressing. This was my first shoot out after picking up some tips from my buddy who knew what he was doing and after reading up on alot of information so I'm still trying and learning new things. Here are a few pics...
December 31, 2005 Shoot sample
Note: Buddy's 2000 SS, first time shooting in a while, obviously the colors are off and I didn't use the lighting very well at all
January 8, 2006 Shoot sample
Note: Brushed up a bit but still working with the camera, had alot of noise in the pic, thats why it's small
March 27, 2005 Shoot samples
Note: Girl I know just got this car, still learning but did the best I could do given my equipment and the lighting
And for reference, one of the good shots from a great camera and someone who knows what they are doing using it...
Thoughts, opinions, tips, and constructive criticism are all welcome.
December 31, 2005 Shoot sample
Note: Buddy's 2000 SS, first time shooting in a while, obviously the colors are off and I didn't use the lighting very well at all
January 8, 2006 Shoot sample
Note: Brushed up a bit but still working with the camera, had alot of noise in the pic, thats why it's small
March 27, 2005 Shoot samples
Note: Girl I know just got this car, still learning but did the best I could do given my equipment and the lighting
And for reference, one of the good shots from a great camera and someone who knows what they are doing using it...
Thoughts, opinions, tips, and constructive criticism are all welcome.
03-27-2006, 08:58 AM
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Just need to work on more angles, also having photoshop hels A LOT!
You can actually change the exposure of the photo to give more/ess brightness, edit single colors, etc...
You can actually change the exposure of the photo to give more/ess brightness, edit single colors, etc...
03-27-2006, 12:55 PM
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Thanks for the comments and constructive criticism. On the angles and exposure, alot of that comes from the equipment. Having a camera that you can adjust exposure value on helps alot (as I found out from using a dSLR for a few shots) and also having a memory card so you can get alot more shots and experiment more.
Obviously I was working with a white car on these last shots, and a white car fresh from the dealership at that. A nice, clean, reflective colored car (and something that was lowered a little bit wouldnt have hurt either) would have looked more impressive in the shots. White is a tough color to shoot, especially on a overcast day with a crappy camera.
Obviously I was working with a white car on these last shots, and a white car fresh from the dealership at that. A nice, clean, reflective colored car (and something that was lowered a little bit wouldnt have hurt either) would have looked more impressive in the shots. White is a tough color to shoot, especially on a overcast day with a crappy camera.
03-27-2006, 02:54 PM
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Looks like you are progressing nice. I too am attempting to improve my phototaking ability...I think it takes ALOT of practice. I think the pic you took of your car near the brick building is the Best of yours.
03-27-2006, 04:21 PM
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Thats definitely a good angle and a good looking subject if I dont say so myself 
but if it would have been the size of the other pics it wouldn't look half as good. I still like that picture quite a bit though. I'm learning alot about getting quality images with good color and nice sharpness. I was working on angles and sharp pictures this last shoot out with the Eclipse.
but if it would have been the size of the other pics it wouldn't look half as good. I still like that picture quite a bit though. I'm learning alot about getting quality images with good color and nice sharpness. I was working on angles and sharp pictures this last shoot out with the Eclipse.
03-27-2006, 04:29 PM
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Here ya go, you can see how grainy it is at a larger size (the noise really shows on the car's paint). Thats me not knowing my equipment. With the techniques I used to get the color nice in that picture, with the right angle, and the new things I know about location and sharpness the next shoot out should turn out pretty good.
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03-27-2006, 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted by josh99ta
Here ya go, you can see how grainy it is at a larger size (the noise really shows on the car's paint). Thats me not knowing my equipment. With the techniques I used to get the color nice in that picture, with the right angle, and the new things I know about location and sharpness the next shoot out should turn out pretty good.
BTW, dont feel bad about your equipment, all the pics I have taken have been with my 3.2mp canon.
03-27-2006, 08:59 PM
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I majored in architecture, with a minor in photography. Between both of these disciplines, I learned a LOT more about properly using a camera. I'm trying to be as honest as objective as possible, so here goes:
This is probably the best. Most balanced, good background, nothing conflicting....however, there isn't enough going on on the left hand side...it's all negative space....need to center it more.
Good picture, but it needs work. It's too tightly cropped, and the background definitely overpowers the car. The tight crop with that background makes it very hard to focus.
The background is too busy...the windows are distracting, because the car is very rounded, and you have these strong linear elements crossing behind it, makes it hard to notice that the car is the subject.
Too much sky....plus, the sky is grey enough where it doesn't stand out from the car...plus the grass attracts a lot of attention because of pure contrast. If you want that much sky, you need to open it up horizontally.
Same deal. The background is too busy. It's dark, murky, undefined. That would work if the car was brighter, but the lighting doesn't bring it out enough.
I don't want to sound all bad, these are MUCH better than the first, and show the desire to progress as a photographer...always awesome.
This is probably the best. Most balanced, good background, nothing conflicting....however, there isn't enough going on on the left hand side...it's all negative space....need to center it more.
Good picture, but it needs work. It's too tightly cropped, and the background definitely overpowers the car. The tight crop with that background makes it very hard to focus.
The background is too busy...the windows are distracting, because the car is very rounded, and you have these strong linear elements crossing behind it, makes it hard to notice that the car is the subject.
Too much sky....plus, the sky is grey enough where it doesn't stand out from the car...plus the grass attracts a lot of attention because of pure contrast. If you want that much sky, you need to open it up horizontally.
Same deal. The background is too busy. It's dark, murky, undefined. That would work if the car was brighter, but the lighting doesn't bring it out enough.
I don't want to sound all bad, these are MUCH better than the first, and show the desire to progress as a photographer...always awesome.
03-28-2006, 03:46 PM
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Thanks for all the input guys.
Spuds, I do check autolevels, and if that doesn't make it look good I fiddle with levels myself or just leave it alone. Levels do help quite a bit more on cameras without an EV setting though so it usually does make the picture better.
8banger, one photographic technique is called The Rule of Thirds. Basically split the picture into nine sections like a tic-tac-toe. Placing objects of focus on those lines rather than directly in the middle usually makes pictures more interesting to the eye (and I agree). The car is the subject, but the primary focus is the overall composition.
Here are my thoughts personally on the five new pics I posted...
1: I like this picture alot. It's not a great picture, but it is pretty good IMO. The line on the wall, the word "WEST" on the left side of the picture, the car offset to the lower right. I think tightening the shot in more and using a different colored car would really make this a great shot.
2: I like the red contrasting with the black and white of the car. It is tightly cropped though. Note to self, bring a small step ladder next time to get better downward angles.
3: That was my test shot. I do agree that too much is going on in the background and I dont really like that picture that much. I think it's by far the worst out of all the pictures and was wondering if someone would be subjective enough to say so.
4: I really REALLY like this picture. The car IS NOT ON GRASS, it's on a road and there is a small roll off that I stepped down to take an upward shot at the car. I like that the shot is "layered" in a way. The grass is obviously closest and in sharp focus, the car itself is also well focused and obviously back a bit from the grass in front, and the sky is another dimension. I think the white of the clouds compliments the car's color (but would also work VERY well to contrast against a car like my own) and the blue adds enough contrast in the sky to set it off. Whites, blues, and greens are the colors and it makes the picture very "cool" feeling (as opposed to a "warmer" picture with reds, oranges, and yellows).
5: The lighting sucked but I liked the location. White is kind of bland in photos (especially a dealership cleaned car) so I wanted to add something that made the overall composition a bit more interesting. I liked the wall in the background as it added another dimension to the photograph and added some contrast to the white of the car while complimenting the black accents on the car with the shadows in the spaces on the back wall. Not a great picture because of the lighting, but an early morning shot with the sun in the right spot could make for an interesting photo IMO.
Those are just my opinions though. I like the locations of most all of the shots (except the third one, way too busy) but they all could use some slight tweaking to really make them great shots.
Going to continue to keep working at it. Hopefully going to shoot in another weekend or two, and I'm going to try to snag my grandfather's Nikon D50 digital SLR for the next shoot as well. That should help me out a little bit.
Spuds, I do check autolevels, and if that doesn't make it look good I fiddle with levels myself or just leave it alone. Levels do help quite a bit more on cameras without an EV setting though so it usually does make the picture better.
8banger, one photographic technique is called The Rule of Thirds. Basically split the picture into nine sections like a tic-tac-toe. Placing objects of focus on those lines rather than directly in the middle usually makes pictures more interesting to the eye (and I agree). The car is the subject, but the primary focus is the overall composition.
Here are my thoughts personally on the five new pics I posted...
1: I like this picture alot. It's not a great picture, but it is pretty good IMO. The line on the wall, the word "WEST" on the left side of the picture, the car offset to the lower right. I think tightening the shot in more and using a different colored car would really make this a great shot.
2: I like the red contrasting with the black and white of the car. It is tightly cropped though. Note to self, bring a small step ladder next time to get better downward angles.
3: That was my test shot. I do agree that too much is going on in the background and I dont really like that picture that much. I think it's by far the worst out of all the pictures and was wondering if someone would be subjective enough to say so.
4: I really REALLY like this picture. The car IS NOT ON GRASS, it's on a road and there is a small roll off that I stepped down to take an upward shot at the car. I like that the shot is "layered" in a way. The grass is obviously closest and in sharp focus, the car itself is also well focused and obviously back a bit from the grass in front, and the sky is another dimension. I think the white of the clouds compliments the car's color (but would also work VERY well to contrast against a car like my own) and the blue adds enough contrast in the sky to set it off. Whites, blues, and greens are the colors and it makes the picture very "cool" feeling (as opposed to a "warmer" picture with reds, oranges, and yellows).
5: The lighting sucked but I liked the location. White is kind of bland in photos (especially a dealership cleaned car) so I wanted to add something that made the overall composition a bit more interesting. I liked the wall in the background as it added another dimension to the photograph and added some contrast to the white of the car while complimenting the black accents on the car with the shadows in the spaces on the back wall. Not a great picture because of the lighting, but an early morning shot with the sun in the right spot could make for an interesting photo IMO.
Those are just my opinions though. I like the locations of most all of the shots (except the third one, way too busy) but they all could use some slight tweaking to really make them great shots.
Going to continue to keep working at it. Hopefully going to shoot in another weekend or two, and I'm going to try to snag my grandfather's Nikon D50 digital SLR for the next shoot as well. That should help me out a little bit.
03-29-2006, 08:39 AM
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I agree. It's awesome that you can see your work objectively enough to judge it. Don't take me too seriously though, I haven't picked up a camera in like 2 years.
03-29-2006, 10:10 PM
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I personally think you're coming around nicely. THe pictuere you took of the red & black TA looks damn clean. Keep it up man, and i'm sure in no time you'll be takin pics for magazines. My homeboy has the same passion like you do, started small like in HS and now hes working on his portfolio and stuff. Good luck man.