Volkswagen Rabbit

[Michael Chu]

So I've been working on a new car and wanted to take a photo of it :)

I've never really been a fan of night shots...but I decided I should try it out and practice it more so I have more "tricks in my bag", if that makes sense.

http://mc-photography.net/_MG_0134_highres.jpg

ISO400, 1/8 @ f/4.0, 145mm

This was shot roughly around 7:15pm. It was pretty dark when shot.

My first thing I wanted to point out are the hot spots on the hood and roof from the street lights. I'm having a hard time deciding whether or not they take away from the photo or add to the photo. Leaning more towards taking away from the photo.

Please point out anything you like/dislike Thanks!

[Jacob Leveton]

i don't think that the hot spots work :( also, because the sky is still blue from the setting sun, but the street is yellow from the street lights, you have awkward coloring on the car.

Congratulations, you now officially have the hardest color of car to shoot. the good thing is that once you figure out how to shoot it, you'll be a car photography jedi master :)

[John Thawley]

I agree.. the hot spots are very distracting.

I'm also troubled by the turn-in on the front wheels... pretty freaky looking on the pasenger side. The car's location in the picture doesn't "work" with the background either. It just looks abandoned.

Did you artifically blur the background?

Sorry... this shot is just not working for me.

[Michael Chu]

Jacob:
Black IS hard to shoot! I guess I was correct in that the hot spots dont work =/. I also see what you mean about the sky and the car coloring.

John:
Thanks for the input! When you say the tire is freaky looking...you mean just basically sticking out of th fender? I gues I'm one of the few people who think it's fine, since it gives more aggressive of a stance to the car. Or maybe it's just me? :)

I want to ask where you'd put the car in the background so that it'd work better? I'm curious to see how it could turn out.

No artificial blurring was added. Shot in RAW and WB adjustment and minor levels/curves.

Thanks again and hope to hear more input!

[Mike Ditz]

I want to ask where you'd put the car in the background so that it'd work better? I'm curious to see how it could turn out.


There is almost a good location,but take a minute and just concentrate on the background and location.Look at the bg, there are trees and streetlights and yellow tape hanging on the fence. None of the extra space adds to the shot.
You parked the car about 100 feet away from a good spot! I like how the road slopes down into the underpass, maybe if the car was set up right at the crest of the hill and the camera was lower. By framing so wide, you aren't taking advantage of the agressive look that the long lens produces, while compressed, car needs to be more "in your face"
As far as the turning of the wheel goes, in addition to being a bit extreme, it looks odd to me as the car is on a straight road, parked parallel to the curb, so the turned wheel don't make no sense.:confused:

M

[Michael Chu]

Thanks, Mike!

I actually originally parked in the middle of the road (yikes!) pretty much exactly as you described...and then I had time for one or two shots before I saw a number of cars heading my direction.....so I rushed and those came out blurry =/ So I pulled over to let the cars park...and just left the car there and shot. But I thought it had turned out pretty cool =/

I have another shot in the same location but much tighter...I'll post that one up in a bit and maybe get some input on that one. Thanks again!

[Andrew Wheeler]

maybe turn the wheels slightly the other way? As if you're going away vs parking? But keep the angle subtle?

I like Mikes idea too..

Andrew

[John Thawley]

Yeah... Mike pretty much nailed my issue. The car is on the wrong side of a straight road, parked with the front wheels in full lock....... aimed into the curb. it's almost as if it were a reflection of something... it's just somehow mentally disturbing.

I was left with the sense that you had several ideas of what you want to see in a static shot... cool car, cool wheels, cool stance... cool background etc. etc. But you didn't bring them together into a cohesive look. So, not unlike buying a cool dress shirt, and some cool casual slacks and picking up a great pair of running shoes.... they may all be great hot new items... but they're not working together.

Hope that makes sense.

JT

[Jacob Leveton]

you're on the right track, mike.

ps - another option to try is to turn your hazards on. EuroTuner is well known for that shot ;)

[Michael Chu]

Thanks for the input everyone! I will keep them in mind! I really want to improve because it seems I'm lacking consistency in most shots...but that's what we're all here for. Thanks again everyone!