Best angle to photograph a 928
06-12-2008, 07:30 PM
#1
Racer
Thread Starter
Best angle to photograph a 928
I cannot find the thread which discussed the best angle for photographing a 928. I wanted to submit this shot, which I think does a nice job of making the rear of the car look harmonious, and integrated with the front.
06-12-2008, 09:06 PM
#3
Nice shot Michael. 
Sleek. Looks fast even while standin' still!
Not sure what the "best angle" is, but that one certainly looks good!
Like the antenna upgrade too! How's the radio reception?
Sleek. Looks fast even while standin' still!
Not sure what the "best angle" is, but that one certainly looks good!
Like the antenna upgrade too! How's the radio reception?
06-12-2008, 09:10 PM
#4
Chronic Tool Dropper
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Mark, the view you should be promoting for your car is the one from the back.
Just a thought...
Just a thought...
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06-12-2008, 11:10 PM
#10
Addict
Rennlist Member
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It really all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. Sounds like you want to advertise the car. Take 4 exterior photo's showing all sides of the car and that is enough. You can get level with the car or lower. Standing taking photo's has to be at the proper angle or it just won't look right.. Want better pics, get a tripod and get way back and zoom your camera as much as it will zoom in. Fill the view finder with the car. The zoom tends to distort the car enough to extenuate its angles and makes it look wider. 20 pics of a cars fender is ridiculous and I see it all the time in ads. We always gravitate to the full car pics, so stick to that. If you find you have a few nice shots that are close ups of something, make sure it shows something off and enhances the car provoking the buyer (or viewer) to "wish" for the car..
Also, make sure your back ground evokes kind of a fantasy. In other words, you are giving the viewer a visual of a possible "dream" car. Taking pics in the street or your driveway is another thing that makes looking at cars boring. Choose a contrasting background or a blending background. Make the car the focal point though.
I am by no means a pro, just another guy with a camera. However, I DO know what I want to see in car pics and what I don't want to see. I can tell you 99% of the photo's I see are crap IMO. They don't do cars any justice and do not make for the "Wow" factor. This is extremely important if you are trying to sell a car.
Lastly, walk around the car looking in the view finder and finding what you think is the correct angle...and take LOT's of pictures. I usually take 10 or more pics of any angle I am trying to catch. You would be surprised what moving a few inches up or down, left or right will do. Try tilting the camera just a tad, that ALWAYS makes for a car to "look" fast.
Oh yea, sunset pics will make the car POP! Make sure the sun is behind you and it is about a half hour to an hour before the sun sets.
This is all my opinion, but it seems some guys like what I do when I take pics, so I will pass on what I look for FWIW. Good luck.
A few quick examples of what I mean
(ANGLE/BACKGROUND)
(BACKGROUND)
(FULL ZOOM/LOW SHOT)
(CLOSE UP/SHOWING CONTOURS)
(ANGLE/FULL ZOOM)
Also, make sure your back ground evokes kind of a fantasy. In other words, you are giving the viewer a visual of a possible "dream" car. Taking pics in the street or your driveway is another thing that makes looking at cars boring. Choose a contrasting background or a blending background. Make the car the focal point though.
I am by no means a pro, just another guy with a camera. However, I DO know what I want to see in car pics and what I don't want to see. I can tell you 99% of the photo's I see are crap IMO. They don't do cars any justice and do not make for the "Wow" factor. This is extremely important if you are trying to sell a car.
Lastly, walk around the car looking in the view finder and finding what you think is the correct angle...and take LOT's of pictures. I usually take 10 or more pics of any angle I am trying to catch. You would be surprised what moving a few inches up or down, left or right will do. Try tilting the camera just a tad, that ALWAYS makes for a car to "look" fast.
Oh yea, sunset pics will make the car POP! Make sure the sun is behind you and it is about a half hour to an hour before the sun sets.
This is all my opinion, but it seems some guys like what I do when I take pics, so I will pass on what I look for FWIW. Good luck.
A few quick examples of what I mean
(ANGLE/BACKGROUND)
(BACKGROUND)
(FULL ZOOM/LOW SHOT)
(CLOSE UP/SHOWING CONTOURS)
(ANGLE/FULL ZOOM)
06-13-2008, 01:00 AM
#11
Nordschleife Master
^^^^^^^
Nicole, when are you coming to Austin again so you can bring a full set of the clear lenses to install on my white '94 GTS! That looks SOOOOO GOOD!!
James
Nicole, when are you coming to Austin again so you can bring a full set of the clear lenses to install on my white '94 GTS! That looks SOOOOO GOOD!!
James
06-13-2008, 03:07 PM
#13
Chronic Tool Dropper
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I think a lot of the differences in style depend a lot on what your goals are. I've been digitizing some of my parents vacation slides from my childhood days. In each series, my dad managed to get a shot of at least part of the car; Great for identifying the years the pictures were taken. So at least one in each series falls into the "Here's a picture of our car at the Grand Canyon. Here's a picture of our car at Niagara Falls." genre.
the point? Decide if you are taking a picture of the car, of the background, or both. Keith's examples are excellent where they prominently feature the car as the primary subject. Standing a little further back and using zoom minimizes a little of the fisheye effect, so the proportions of the car and the curves stay in better perspective. At the same time, that lens setting means that background objects are brought forward in the photo. The total depth is compressed, so you need to be particular about what's in background to make sure it isn't too busy, and make sure that there isn't anything that will draw the viewer's eyes from your primary subject.
Some 'rules' that apply to portraiture also apply to car pictures. If the car is your primary subject, it should fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the final frame. If you are shooting the engine bay, for instance, you want to get close enough that you can see the engine bay itself in at least 75% of the frame, with just enough fender, hood, bumper, windscreen etc included to give you reference to what car it is. But don't shoot the pictures in a cluttered garage where 'stuff' shows up at the edges past the fenders. Find a neutral or maybe contrasting background that shows off the contours without drawing the eye from the subject. Like any hard picture frame, the surrounding border stuff should enhance but not distract from or overwhelm the artwork, such as it is.
Spend time on lighting, As others suggest, getting the angle and intensity of your lighting is critical. Sharp single-source lighting shows off the finish, softer helps show off the contours, indirect or reflected allows the eye to take in the whole frame at once. Use shadows sparingly. Fill them in with lighting or maybe a flash unless you really want the change in light to be apparent.
Oh yeah-- Use a good camera. There are cheap cameras with lots of pixels behind some pretty sucky lenses. Spend on a good lens system, with more optical zoom, then go after pixels as your budget allows. "Digital zoom" is a fancy way to have the camera do your photo cropping for you in advance, and gives you the same reduction in total pixels as cropping in even the most basic photo editing software. If your shot "requires" digital zoom, move closer to the subject instead so your final frame will still be at max resolution. If that's impossible, still stay away from digital zoom; Do your final composing with software when you get home.
Shoot LOTS of frames. I'm not that great a composer, so I rely on luck and odds to get a good picture now and then. Maybe one in ten is a real keeper, one in a hundred is worth a frame. Maybe. Shoot a ton of frames, and a few are bound to turn out well.
There are a few pro car photographers around this forum. Ron Perry's credits list includes Road and Track features, and a pretty significant number of promo shoots for car manufacturers' literature, car events, etc. I didn't realize that there's such a thing as a 'motor drive' for pro digital cameras until Ron explained how it helps with slow write speeds to flash memory and large images. Cool stuff!
the point? Decide if you are taking a picture of the car, of the background, or both. Keith's examples are excellent where they prominently feature the car as the primary subject. Standing a little further back and using zoom minimizes a little of the fisheye effect, so the proportions of the car and the curves stay in better perspective. At the same time, that lens setting means that background objects are brought forward in the photo. The total depth is compressed, so you need to be particular about what's in background to make sure it isn't too busy, and make sure that there isn't anything that will draw the viewer's eyes from your primary subject.
Some 'rules' that apply to portraiture also apply to car pictures. If the car is your primary subject, it should fill 2/3 to 3/4 of the final frame. If you are shooting the engine bay, for instance, you want to get close enough that you can see the engine bay itself in at least 75% of the frame, with just enough fender, hood, bumper, windscreen etc included to give you reference to what car it is. But don't shoot the pictures in a cluttered garage where 'stuff' shows up at the edges past the fenders. Find a neutral or maybe contrasting background that shows off the contours without drawing the eye from the subject. Like any hard picture frame, the surrounding border stuff should enhance but not distract from or overwhelm the artwork, such as it is.
Spend time on lighting, As others suggest, getting the angle and intensity of your lighting is critical. Sharp single-source lighting shows off the finish, softer helps show off the contours, indirect or reflected allows the eye to take in the whole frame at once. Use shadows sparingly. Fill them in with lighting or maybe a flash unless you really want the change in light to be apparent.
Oh yeah-- Use a good camera. There are cheap cameras with lots of pixels behind some pretty sucky lenses. Spend on a good lens system, with more optical zoom, then go after pixels as your budget allows. "Digital zoom" is a fancy way to have the camera do your photo cropping for you in advance, and gives you the same reduction in total pixels as cropping in even the most basic photo editing software. If your shot "requires" digital zoom, move closer to the subject instead so your final frame will still be at max resolution. If that's impossible, still stay away from digital zoom; Do your final composing with software when you get home.
Shoot LOTS of frames. I'm not that great a composer, so I rely on luck and odds to get a good picture now and then. Maybe one in ten is a real keeper, one in a hundred is worth a frame. Maybe. Shoot a ton of frames, and a few are bound to turn out well.
There are a few pro car photographers around this forum. Ron Perry's credits list includes Road and Track features, and a pretty significant number of promo shoots for car manufacturers' literature, car events, etc. I didn't realize that there's such a thing as a 'motor drive' for pro digital cameras until Ron explained how it helps with slow write speeds to flash memory and large images. Cool stuff!
