Critique a Couple Please

[Brandon Williams]

Thank you for bringing a site like this to life!!!
Anyways, can you guys give me some thoughts about these shots? I hope I didn't go way overboard on th post process side!
http://fast4doors.com/images/smolies/z06docksmall.jpg
I was seeing what I could do about faking a really warm shotwith this next one...
http://fast4doors.com/images/misccars/350zsunsetsmall.jpg
Your thoughts?
THANKS GUYS!!!!

[Todd Corzett]

I don't really think the car fits the location in the first shot. I like the composition, but I wish the background was more than just a couple of chairs stacked on-top of each other. Also, having the top of the car at the same level as the loading-dock clashes a bit. The reflections in the windows of the car is a bit distracting, but the exposure of the car is quite good (nothing is too dark).

The post is a bit overdone with the second one. The sky is too yellow... it creates an interesting tone, but it's a bit much for my tastes. The blacks also seem a little muddy to me and the hood is overexposed. I'd like to see more room in front of the car (it's not bad as it is, but you have a great environment... I want to see more of it). The crack at the left is a little distracting, as are the weeds on the right by the water.

I think the owners would love them... I like the second one overall more than the first, but it's not spectacular (I hope that didn't sound too harsh).

-Todd...

[Matt Kowalchyk]

to elaborate on todd's response...

you could make it work at that location... just would take some recomposing. the top of the car at the same level at the loading dock would be considered a "tangent". try to avoid them when composing if you can as the eye will never like them. and yes the reflections are very distracting.

the second one imo could be better if the lower part aka the ground and car was left at normal color correction and just make the sky yellow like you did. if done a similar shot where the sky was originally orange and i made it more of a red.

id have to agree with todd about the overall c&c

-mk

[Jeff Wilson]

I think the car is lost in the background on the first one. Everything is in the same field of focus without a clear subject for the image. I also feel that the background is a bit too dark for the black car.

A bit more separation between the car and background, combined with a shallower depth of field and a slightly lower shooting POV would have done wonders. The background would have become less distinct, the height of the roof relative to the height of the dock would have changed and the reflections might have changed to a less distracting or more controllable position.

I like the second one much more, and my taste differs from Todd in that I actually like the tone of the sky. I agree that you seem to have gone a bit far in post on the car. The highlights are blown out and the shadows have gone muddy and indistinct while the midtones seem flat. I would leave the scene alone and reprocess the car only. As for the composition I think a bit less sky and a bit tighter crop on the car would have helped.

Of course this is just based on my style and preferences. Overall I think the second image works more than the first, and both would make the owners happy. I hope this helps.

[Jeff Boerio]

For me, the Corvette is a little under-exposed (or my monitor isn't properly adjusted). The tires seem to blend straight into the car without the wheel wells being visible. The body side moldings on the car are also barely discernable.

There's other artifacts reflecting off the car that take away from it.

However, I like the backdrop (with the caveats of what others have said about the level of the loading dock).

- Jeff

[Brandon Williams]

Thanks guys! I will pay more attention to WHERE the background is from now on!
I wasn't able to get the gradient filter "smaller" in ps for some reason. I wanted the car to be more like it's original color but couldn't pull it off. I'll try again...
Thanks again!!

[Jeff Boerio]

Thanks guys! I will pay more attention to WHERE the background is from now on!
I wasn't able to get the gradient filter "smaller" in ps for some reason. I wanted the car to be more like it's original color but couldn't pull it off. I'll try again...
Thanks again!!

For me, this is among the most difficult of things to do ... "stage" a picture and make sure that everything in the frame is exactly the way it needs to be. I discover so many thing when I'm "zoomed in" on an image in PS that it just makes my skin crawl. For example, I recently took pictures of a race team with the drivers standing at their cars. What I didn't notice during the photo shoot (for which we had very little time) was that one of the drivers had flipped their shoulder harness over the head rest of the seat. Not very easy to adjust that! Other things are more difficult to control. Like a flatbed trailer way off in the background that your eye just gets drawn to. Grr.

- Jeff