# Better pictures...



## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

**WARNING LONG LOAD TIME... please wait for pictures to load**


EDIT, pics reloaded at smaller sizes.. 

OK I was thinking about what Seth last time I took pictures of my car, so I went out today and took some more... I actually white balanced this time (which I think was the problem last time) and I used manual focus also I played around a bit with depth and put some stuff in the foreground the lighting was pretty decent not too sunny, but some pictures came out a little dark... I didnt use a flash on any of them because I thought the natural lighting would be best... well heres my car, and PLEASE comment on the photography I want to become MUCH better at taking picture thanks -James

heres the link if the pages take too long http://student.plattsburgh.edu/cook7166/MyCar/may2803/


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hmm,
To start (and I'm not going to make any comments on clean vs. dirty) you should usually have the rim aiming at the camera, not the tire tread. There shouldn't be any unwanted shadows or reflections onthe car. Unless you are super close, when you are learning, and not used to 'depth of field', try to stick to 50-70 mm in terms of zoom range. That way you 'zoom' with the camera placement and height, and don't use the cuvature of the lens to distort the picture in an unwanted way.
If you have things in the foreground, make sure they are not in line of sight, in sharp focus, or take 'center stage' you sort of want them to either not be there at all, or just frame the shot, not be the shot.
The trick is not to be afraid to walk around, and take the same picture 3 times at three different zoom settings, or three different heights at the same place.
Picture two should be form about 12" off the ground. Picture 1 should be a few feet closer to the car. Picture 2 is ever so slightly too close too low.
Remember that the angle of the car on the ground makes a difference. Try to get an angle that correstponds with your shooting angle so that the car isn't 'falling off the picture' or lopsided.
Also take a shot of the car that shows the car and not a specific spot. Some people like just a tight quarter panel shot, but it dones't show the car, just the quarter panel.
The last shot is a classic. I have one. Matt4Nissan has one. Timbo has one. It should be our avatars.

Seth


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

so thats what our cars look like from the top!!!!


ya, i have one of those classic pictures of the passenger side lights.....looks nice


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## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

Thanks seth, I wasnt sure if anybody would actually wait for them to load being as large as they are... but I will heed your advice... about the rim facing the camera, I would do it, however I am kinda ashamed I havent yet put my real wheels on and the steelies dont look too good IMO... All the photos were cropped in photoshop but not resized, just in order to save some space, it would take me about a year to host up the real ones on my ftp site on this 28.8k connection... anyway yeah thanks for the tips, I'll keep them in mind


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

wow, that top picture is weird, I never realized our cars are that long. 

using that particular pic as an example, you want to center the car more. The pic looks unbalanced. 

I like how there's no direct sunlight in the pix, but for some reason, they look a bit dark, like it's going to rain. In the top picture, remember to use the 1/3 rule (imagine 2 horizontal lines going across the pic and spltting the pic into 3 equal 1/3s, you want the ground or horizon to line up with the one of the lines so the pic is 1/3 ground and 2/3 car/scenery)

make sure the scenery isn't too distracting and make sure objects infront of the car are not focused. Pic 3 is screaming "Look at these plants!" while the car seems to be part of the backround.


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## Shawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Whats with the wheel gap? Your sig says that you have a 2" drop.
With the rims and the drop listed in your sig, it should look killer.


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## whiteb14 (Jul 7, 2002)

Shawnsilverb14 said:


> *Whats with the wheel gap? Your sig says that you have a 2" drop.
> With the rims and the drop listed in your sig, it should look killer. *


he has all the equipment for the drop and wheels... just wasnt come around to do it yet

... dryboy, sick ride man... i love that stealth look.


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## dry (Oct 21, 2002)

yeah i have the springs and wheels and struts sitting in my GEE rage, I get paid friday so I will get the tires mounted and balanced and we'll work from there... about the plant picture I wanted it to look like the car was hiding  I like how that one came out, and about the rule of thirds, I cropped all the pictures in photoshop because of problems with that stupid date that come up on my digi cam, also I wanted to give the car a little extra lead room to give it the appearance that its moving... kinda the idea.

Thanks whiteb14, the rims will be on soon I promise and then I'ma go to the junkyard and find me some SEL skirts and front/rear bumper. I cant wait to get paid!


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## whiteb14 (Jul 7, 2002)

yo dryboy... let me know if u find 2 sets of SE skirts


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## Neil (Aug 13, 2002)

when you get all your stuff together you should get a pic of your car in motion, those shots always look sweet. Sorta like nissan does when you see a car zooming down twisty hills.


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## sr20racer (Jun 29, 2002)

Are those 18" Volks you have on there?


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## sentra94xe (May 6, 2002)

Old old thread dug up and buried again. Tsk tsk sr20racer... .

CLOSED.


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