I need photography help

"Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To" (murdersofa)
02/19/2016 at 19:16 • Filed to: photography, mustang

I went out to a location I found via Google Earth street view and took some shots of an admittedly mediocre subject to better aquaint myself with my camera outside the sanitized flash-filled corporate studio I usually take pictures in. I fiddled with them in Lightroom on my terribly mis-calibrated monitors trying varying degrees of grunginess, desaturation, vignettes (god I love vignette), and applying a noise-removal filter to every picture because my D3100 has hella noise even at ISO 200. Sigh. The thing is, even after all this I feel like my photos are really missing something, but I can’t put my finger on what. I really wish I had some faster glass (currently using the kit lens that came with my D3100) so I could get some bokeh on certain shots, and I know some of these would be better with a lower angle but I’m not coming up with much else. Any photographers here on Kinja have any ideas?

DISCUSSION (13)

Berang > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:23

Easy. You didn’t wait for good light.

Wait until the evening, or go out in the morning before 9am.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:26

I have nothing to add except the fourth from the bottom looks great imo.

DynamicWeight > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:49

I’m no photo pro, but your framing and angles seem off to me. Almost every picture is taken higher off the ground than I would have (reading back through your post I see you noticed this as well). I’m going to pick on picture number 4 from the top as the worst offender. Where is the car in this picture? Just derpily sitting in the corner somewhere? The colors are bad: the bright blue draws the eyes... but to where? Completely away from the subject, that’s where. There are also lines going every which way so it’s super busy. Parking the car on top of that grey blob is also killing the lines of the car and the shadow isn’t helping matters.

Maybe try focusing on what part of the car you’re trying to show. And work on angles to get the pictures less busy. Also, maybe getting a little closer to the subject. Oh, and remember not to blame bad pictures on the subject... my girlfriend hates that ;)

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > DynamicWeight
02/19/2016 at 19:53

Thanks for the feedback! This was during my lunch break so I didn’t get as much time as I would have liked to try different angles and such. #4 from the top was taken to be cropped as a phone wallpaper. Then I forgot. Definitely need to get lower to the ground though, and I didn’t notice that bulge in the ground until I got home, which is super annoying. I might go back later with a tripod and a shovel.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Logansteno: Bought a VW?
02/19/2016 at 19:54

Thanks! I feel like it’s the strongest.

Anima > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:55

Somehow it feels like it’s more about the total picture and the car is not the focal point of the picture. It kinda blends in.

Might be because of a grey car against colour tones that match it. If you would’ve put a bright green RS in that shot it might have worked. It would pop out.

You shot those with a fairly long focal lenght I think? A shorter lense bends the perspective more and seperates the object from the background a bit better.

I also have a d3100 and when I take pictures of stationary cars I try to stay more towards the 18mm part of the lens. Distorts it a bit and creates more drama/interesting angles. cars that are in motion have enough happening that the ‘ flattening’ of the image matters less.

Even the D3100 with a kit lens and a 170 euro 70-300 Tamron lens can get some pretty decent shots . It’s all about trying and failing and learning what works for what situation. Learning to work with the light and with the action, or lack thereof, that is happening. Finding contrast, either in colour , surounding or in movement .

I’m not the greatest photographer by any means, but pushing yourself to learn and cope with what you have available,both in equipment and scene/light is very satisfying and you learn a lot every time.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > Berang
02/19/2016 at 19:55

Had to go during my lunch break :/ Then later in the day the damn clouds come out and it becomes perfect light but I had to work. So frustrating.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:58

You can do quite a bit in post if you know what you’re doing. Consider these two edits of your first image:

Kinja'd!!!

Both of these are simple contrast/black level tweaks but the two images give the viewer completely different emotions

Danimalk - Drives a Slow Car Fast > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:58

The lighting is really flat and lacking any color/contrast. If you go out when the shadows are long and the sun is low, all of these would look more dynamic.

Autoblog did a thing on car photography with Drew Philips (he’s good.) Some good info there

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/06/27/the…

dailydoseofmindlessness > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/19/2016 at 19:59

My 2 cents,

1) Images are not leveled, typically one would chose to be horizontally leveled with the horizon. Verticals should be ideally at right angles.

2) Work during the golden hour (pre-dawn/dawn or dusk), the light is less harsh.

3) Try basic composition methods, rule of thirds is a great start.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent
02/19/2016 at 20:08

I try to avoid stuff like the first one due to the stigma put on Instagram filters that look similar.

Stephen the Canuck > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
02/20/2016 at 23:59

The first rolling shot and the one right above it are the two best. The rest mostly feel like a landscape that has a car in it. The car doesn’t really stand out. Better light would definitely help out. A lot of them are framed too tightly on the car.

DynamicWeight > Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To
03/01/2016 at 19:44

A shovel! That’s dedication. If you’re taking too long looking at pictures in your fancy pants camera, you can also take a bunch of shots on your phone real quick just to get an idea of the shot you want. Might be easier to see on what I would assume is a slightly bigger screen and easier interface.