1) Color Photography is about LOTS of LIGHT--not shadow--LIGHT--and
2) V is BAD, H is GOOD.
That is to say:
Vertical light (e.g., high-angle, high-in-the-sky sunlight) is BAD.
Horizontal light (e.g., low-angle, rising/setting sun--AND your fill flash--is GOOD.
Color photography is about LIGHT. LIGHT. It is not, repeat NOT, about shadow. LIGHT. Light, dammit, light. And your camera needs MUCH MORE light to "see your car" than your eyes do. It needs lots of smooth, evenly-distributed, horizontal or low-angle light Once more: color photography is about LIGHT. You don't get photographs by shooting in harsh, glaring midday high-angle sunlight (you get color-faded paint on the top surfaces, harsh, murky shadows in the lower regions, and a thoroughly bleached-out cockpit), and you don't get photographs by shooting the shadow side of your car.
Once again: color photography is about LIGHT. Ideally, lots of soft, evenly-distributed, horizontal, low-angle, even upward-reflected (bounced off of white concrete pavement, for example) light. And your camera requires far more light than your eyes do. For photographing YOUR car, lots of light translates to LOTS of (dawn, dusk or overcast) sunlight.
Setting your camera controls: set your dial for "aperture priority" mode (anything but "AUTO") and for most of your shots, your camera's flash unit should be set on FORCED (lightning-bolt icon on most cameras) mode (again, not (repeat: NOT) "automatic flash." You're going to be using your flash for the lion's share of your motorcar shots.
Beware: some bargain-basement modern cameras do not offer "forced flash,"
and confusingly display this lightning-bolt icon to indicate "automatic flash."
When I advise you to "Use your flash," I mean "Force your flash to work." Forced flash (also referred to as 'fill flash' is perhaps the most photo-improving feature on your modern camera (whether it's a film or a digital camera).
Forced flash/fill flash is THE ONLY MODE of flash for you to employ out in the sunlight. If you insist upon relying upon "automatic flash" when you're outdoors in the sunlight, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200, and Do Not Expect Your "automatic" Flash to Work. IT WILL NOT.
Force your flash to work each time you're photographing
people or an automobile outdoors. Furthermore:
Force your flash to work for EACH AND EVERY ONE of your cockpit and engine shots.
Force your flash to work for EACH AND EVERY ONE of your cockpit and engine shots.
"But," you say, "I don't need to use my flash. I've got lots of overhead sunlight."
Force your flash to work for EACH AND EVERY ONE of your cockpit and engine shots.
For ALMOST ALL of your
midday (±9:00-5:00) photographs of your car, FORCE YOUR FLASH TO WORK.
Footnote: in spite of these redundant admonitions for you to FORCE YOUR FLASH TO WORK when you're shooting your car (or your family) out in the sunlight, hardly a single day passes that someone doesn't say to me
"I guess my flash worked... I had it set on automatic,"
-or-
"My flash is always 'on', and my camera decides when it's needed."
Wrong answers. "My flash is always on" translates to "automatic flash," which means it's not engaging/not working for your outdoor photography. Disregard "always on" and set your camera to FORCED/FILL flash when you're out-of-doors.
For your outdoor fill-flash photography,
you don't let your camera "DECIDE" anything.
YELLOW CAR ADVISORY #1: You cannot (repeat: CANNOT) shoot your yellow car out in midday sunlight. All you're likely to get is bleached-out top surfaces and murky/ orangish lower areas... gen'rlly makin' a mess of your gorgeous yellow paint job. If you insist upon shooting your yellow car out in the sun, you MUST time your photo session for either dawn or dusk... with the (low, unobstructed) sun at your back, and with your car properly rotated so that the sun's rays are illuminating all of your car facing your camera (in a 3/4 view pose, that means the sun MUST BE illuminating both the side AND the front of your car).
YELLOW CAR ADVISORY #2: Here's a piece of concrete advice: park your car on white concrete, so that you'll benefit from the upward-reflected sunlight and skylight; this strategy often works splendidly with yellow cars.
YELLOW CAR ADVISORY #3: Shoot your yellow car in the shade: although you can photograph your yellow car in direct dawn or dusk sunlight (i.e., near-horizontal sunrays) and get good results, your best game plan may be to take all of your photos (listen carefully!): at mid-morning or mid-afternoon, entirely within the "clean" shade of a building or other solid obstruction (not, repeat NOT in the uneven/splotchy shade of a tree, and NOT in your garage), on clean pavement, and use your flash on every single shot of 1) your entire car, 2) your engine, and 3) your cockpit.
Now once more: for your YELLOW car: wait until mid-morning or mid-afternoon, move your car entirely into clean shade of a building... or a mountain... Ayers Rock, Rockefeller Center or The Great Pyramid of Giza... and on clean pavement, preferably white concrete. And use your flash on every single shot.
If you follow those three simple guidelines, you're almost certain
to capture superb, richly-colored images of your yellow car!
The three worst mistakes a novice makes
when photographing his/her car:
Mistake #1: Bright overhead sunlight. Not good. Harsh overhead sunlight (and worse, the corollary harsh shadows caused by overhead sunlight) wrecks more motorcar photos than anything else. Solution: wait 'til near sunset and position (i.e., rotate) your car to take full advantage of that softer light. Direct sunlight as a light source improves steadily as those rays approach horizontal... as long as you rotate your car so that those horizontal rays are lighting up ALL of your car's surfaces facing the camera. Alternative: wait for an overcast day and take advantage of that softer light. Take each of your outdoor shots TWICE: once with your flash unit forced to work, and once without flash. You'll discover that, almost invariably, your best shots will be the ones with the complementary illumination provided by your flash. IF YOUR CAR HAS A METALLIC PAINT JOB, you'd do well to ignore "overcast day" light, and instead opt for dawn/dusk clear sunlight, since that direct/ low-angle sunlight will serve to "bring to life" the "glistening effects" of your metallic paint job.
Mistake #2: Park your car in Paducah, then back up to Baffin Bay to snap your shutter. Not good. Solution: back up the proper distance, then zoom-in and "fill the frame" with automobile. Your objective is to photograph motorcar, not real estate. If your photos come out 10% motorcar and 90% real estate... you're getting it all wrong. This is especially important to keep in mind if you're using a digital camera: as many as possible of those precious pixels MUST represent your motorcar, not the surrounding real estate. "Real estate" is defined herein as anything that is not motorcar.
Mistake #3: Stand up and "shoot down" on your car. Not good, and for several reasons. Are you listening? Don't stand up and shoot down on your car.
Clean your car and tires thoroughly; give your tires a rubdown with Armorall.
Park your car on (clean, unstriped) pavement. DO NOT photograph it parked on grass, unless perh
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I am so stupipd in my golden years. Of course, that is Dodgestang's beautiful ride. Here is a pic of Hiker's ride. You guys get ready for a showdown with the November voting. We have some incredible classics to present.
And here is a pic of 347stang's ride. We have about 8 more on the classic section that are just absolutely gorgeous classics. So, you 5.0, 4.6 and 05-06 guys get your act together if you want to compete with the classics.
Like Hiker said, light is important. Here is a different view of my old 65 in full sunlight with the sun behind me. No, I don't have an expensive camera, and you don't need one if you know some picture taking techniques. like Hiker said, the cement is light gray.
i know my flash wasn't working and like i said, not much camera experience.
But anyway, trust me.. the car looks better and shinier in low light than in bright light.. my car's paint is very old and not well kept through the years. I bought it about a year ago now and the guy before me didn't care much as to what it looked like
Still i wish i had flash, at least the tread would have shown O_o
I know my pic cant comete with those lol but still i think it's a nice one (ESPECIALLY for me hahaha)
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The back of my '89 GT is quite boxy looking, red, and has the name of a civic's worst nightmare engraved in the bumper
Tips on how to photograph your car....
my flash wasn't working and like i said, not much camera experience.
