Newbie needing help

[Ryan J Hall]

Take it easy on me guys Im fresh to photography but need critique on making my shoots better and ways to brighten them up. This is my car which is a 95 Eagle Talon tsi AWD. I don't have much to work with equipment wise. I want to get as good as i can with what i have now and if im worthy purchase a good camera. Thanks in advance.
camera:5MP Panasonic lumix DMC-LZ3

http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/4428/sigik0.th.jpg (http://img388.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sigik0.jpg)
http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4575/p1000034xd1.th.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1000034xd1.jpg)
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/8748/p1000056wn9.th.jpg (http://img154.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1000056wn9.jpg)
http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/9215/p1000031do5.th.jpg (http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1000031do5.jpg)
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/4379/p1000036editedya8.th.jpg (http://img217.imageshack.us/my.php?image=p1000036editedya8.jpg)

[Drewe Zanki]

Hey there.., I am just a beginner to auto photography too - but some basic feedback for you - I have been doing normal photography a bit longer....

- Lighting - The car in all is either not consistently lighted (harsh shadows 1 and 4) or is not the lighted object (2 and 5)
- Focus - see lighting, but in 2 and 5 the car is not the focus - it is a dull part, and the trees are lighted. Were you taking photo's of the scenery or the car?
- In photo 3 the car with the red shrub behind is a great concept - but then there are ultra bright trees above which draw my eye up - away from the car - see focus.

I don't think there are many issues with location, etc of where you have taken - but if you are taking the photo for the car's sake, then keep the car as the focal point.

Lastly, apart from #2 (which I like best), the car is basically 'central' to the photo. Do a google on the 'rule of thirds' - not a hard and fast rule, but image #2 has some natural 'drama' about it - the others being central seem to loose some of that. I guess there is value in the old textbooks :D

Hope this helps you!

Drewe

[Tiny Malone]

Ryan, welcome to APN!! We are always glad when someone comes to learn and grow! You won't get harsh critique here until you are ready for it and request it. So come in unafraid to learn and participate.

As for being worthy of better equipment, if your heart is in photography, then you are already worth it. A prudent investment in tools is always wise. However, I must tell you that even if you had a $10,000 Camera with a $3,000 lens, your images would look just about the same way they do now. I know this from personal experience. So learn to use what you have so that when you do make the investment in better tools, you will know how to make those tools work for you.

You have a nice car here. I remember the Talon AWD back in the day and really liked them!

IMAGES:

1. You see some pretty cool looking light and shadow play on the car there. In most cases, reflections and such strong shadows are not the best idea. That hides the lower half of the car. Further, with the shadow created by the car on the garage door turns into a distraction. Personally, I think it is important to keep your surroundings very simple and away from things that will detract from the subject of the image...the car!

2. In this tail end image, the first thing I notice is that the background is too busy, and all of those trees show up in the paint along with light reflections. Personally, I always look for an almost open area to shoot to avoid all of that. Second, bend your knees more. A lower angle will make the cars stance appear more aggressive.

3. Guess what I notice first in this image?? The spectacular foliage! Wow! However, the red car gets lost in the red bush. Check the ISO setting on your camera too...a bit of noise there. Also, look at the curb in the bottom right of the image verses the bottom left. No level huh?

4. Same issues as #1. Bend your knees more too.

5. Same as #3

These basic pointers will get ya started. There is alot to learn, but let’s start here (p.s. I am still learning!!!!). My advice to you is two fold. Start your image creation with an end in mind. Think about what you want the image to look like. If you are not seeing that through the view finder in your camera, you are probably not going to get what you want. Second, go to the Gallery here on APN and look at what some of the pros are doing. Compare that to what you posted here and make note of the differences. That can help form some better ideas in terms of composition (how you lay out the car) in your photos. Take some more images and post them on here! Glad you are part of the team!

[John Jovic]

Hi Ryan

As Tiny has said we won't chew you up and spit you out unless you want that kind of critique.

I think the single biggest problem common to every one of your images is that you really haven't considered the light and how it affects the various parts of the image. For example, having any kind of shadow on the car is basically a bad idea (but there are always exceptions where it is intentional and a part of the composition or where the shadow area is otherwise lit or filled with a reflector or flash). Most of your images have parts of the frame which are quite a lot brighter than the car (subject) so they take the viewers attention rather the the car (the subject).

Next time try to keep the light in mind with the aim of an evenly lit or exposed image, at least where the car is concerned. You might also try shooting just after sunset (with the camera on a tripod) or even on overcast days when the light is much more even, but the colour tends to be quit flat under these circumstances.

The colour balance in some of the images is a bit blue, easilly fixed in photoshop.

This is just my personal taste here but I don't really like to see much foliage in car shots. There are many cars that look great in an 'estate' or magnificent garden but I personally haven't photographed any in the last few years. Consider the car and the kind of location that suits the cars character. You'd consider shooting a Rolls Royce at an estate or garden but not an American muscle car, do you know what I mean? Your car might be better suited to an interesting modern background rather than a garden.

It pays to keep an image as simple as possible, whilst still putting the car in an interesting background or context. Busy backgrounds are distracting and take attention away from the car.

Keep it up.

JJ