Shadows etc

[rico]

On the way home today I saw a Tuscan, literally 2mins from my flat. So went home, got camera and took a few pics.

The car was parked up with some of the car in direct sunlight and other bits in the shadow from a building.

Are there any rules or tips as to how to get the photo looking better? I'm not sure about the pic below. The front right wheel just looks boring... anything I can do? Or should i just photograph it from other angles?



Cheers


>>> Edited by rico on Monday 28th March 17:22

[dcw@pr]

in a word - "Flash"

[FourWheelDrift]

dcw@pr said:

in a word - "Flash"

You can get arrested for doing that in London in broad daylight you know

[Graham.J]

dcw@pr said:

"Flash"

AAAaaaaaaaah

[woody]

Graham.J said:

dcw@pr said: "Flash" AAAaaaaaaaah

Saviour of the universe! (cue Brian May guitar solo....)

[Paul.B]

You are not being very helpful there chaps!



Use a flash to fill in the darker areas. Any shot with shadow and or flare makes life hard. Over exposure then becomes a problem. I would suggest moving the car

Now I'm the one not being helpful!

Paul.B

[Ex-biker]

What will happen if you under expose the shot and use a flash?

[woody]

Paul.B said:

You are not being very helpful there chaps!

Yeah - sorry

Although it has to be asaid that the way the lighting is it certainly accentuates (sp?) the shape of the bonnet.

Chris

[Scooby_snax]

Andrew
YHM

[simpo two]

rico said:

Or should i just photograph it from other angles?

Working with the sun is usually easier than working against it That said, against the light (contre jour) is sometime the effect you want. I like the urban setting, but you really need the sun from the othe side IMHO.

[rico]

Simpo - the other angles I took came out better imo. I just used that as an example of the shadows.

[V6GTO]

5 minutes with the dodge and burn tools, and a couple of minutes with clone stamp, yhen curves, saturation and contrast.

Martin.

[rico]

I think this thread has shown that Photoshop is a tool I need to use a lot more.

Cheers guys

[simpo two]

rico said:

Simpo - the other angles I took came out better imo. I just used that as an example of the shadows.

I like that one best. IMHO if you'd held the camera level and placed the car a little to the bottom right instead of plumb middle, it would have been even better. And a good blast of fill-flash for good measure

[FourWheelDrift]

With these kind of shots and especially with the Inner London scape behind I'd just convert it to B&W, then you can use the shadows to get a moody shot.

Especially as there is very little colour in the original.



>> Edited by FourWheelDrift on Monday 28th March 23:43

[te51cle]

Looks like a tricky place to take a photo but I like the factory behind. I would recommend the use of a lens hood or a flarebuster as although lens flare can sometimes look good I don't think its doing you any favours in these cases. You might also like to crop closer to get rid of the bright area at the top of the image and lose some unnecessary background at the left/rear of the car - that helps make the car appear off-centre too.

I've also had a bit of a play following on from badbeachbuggy's Wheels Day topic:

By the way, if you have a trolley jack at home you can always lift up the rear end of the car and drag it to a more suitable location !

[Phil S]

Two options I would take (if I had no fill flash available):

1. Walk round to the other side of the car

2. Take a few shots both under and over exposing and get 'ye old photoshop' on the case to mix and match.