# My first truly commissioned photo?



## crimbfighter (Dec 28, 2014)

I was approached and asked to take a photo of a dept squad in front of the capitol, and after I liked how it turned out, I decided to sell prints of it to dept members. I haven't actually been asked to produce a specific photo for a specific reason before, so that's why it felt like my first time being commissioned, and why I thought it belonged in this gallery, haha... Automotive photography is outside my comfort zone, but I thought it turned out well. 




MPD Squad-3 by crimbfighter, on Flickr


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## tirediron (Dec 28, 2014)

Not bad at all!  I might try some careful selective adjustments on the car just to highlight the detail in the white and the shape, and I'd definitely try and knock those highlights down at the top centre, but other than that, nicely done.


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## crimbfighter (Dec 28, 2014)

tirediron said:


> Not bad at all!  I might try some careful selective adjustments on the car just to highlight the detail in the white and the shape, and I'd definitely try and knock those highlights down at the top centre, but other than that, nicely done.



Thanks for the comment and suggestions! I'll play around with the highlights in PS and see what I can do.


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## The_Traveler (Dec 28, 2014)




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## 480sparky (Dec 28, 2014)

And removal of the keystoning.


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## D-B-J (Dec 28, 2014)

I boomified it a bit, hope you don't mind


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## crimbfighter (Dec 29, 2014)

The_Traveler said:


> View attachment 92006


Thanks for your edit. There is definitely a cooler WB with the image. I kinda feel like it's personal taste, thought. I had intentionally left the WB a little cool because I felt is suited the image. When it's framed in a dark brown or Walnut with a black matte, the warm tones of the frame really balance the image. IMO, that is. But thanks for your input!


480sparky said:


> And removal of the keystoning.


I probably should have done this from the get go.. Thanks for your suggestion!


D-B-J said:


> I boomified it a bit, hope you don't mind
> View attachment 92007


Boomified you did! Did you apply a split tone to the edit?
Here's a slight re-edit with the perspective correction, which also ended up cutting most of the highlights from the top of the frame, and I also boosted the highlights on the car a tad. I think it's an improvement.



MPD Squad-5 by crimbfighter, on Flickr


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## Braineack (Dec 29, 2014)

all those edits and no one took out the distracting window reflections...


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## DaPOPO (Mar 22, 2015)

I like it. I'm sure if you asked, they would let you do it again with the red and blues working. I don't have any graduated filters, so I took multiple shots timing the strobes and did these on an early winter morning..


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## crimbfighter (Mar 26, 2015)

DaPOPO said:


> I like it. I'm sure if you asked, they would let you do it again with the red and blues working. I don't have any graduated filters, so I took multiple shots timing the strobes and did these on an early winter morning..



Thanks, and nice shots! I really like the first one. I thought about trying it with the e-lights going, but just never got to it. I only had a short amount of time to grab a patrol unit between calls, which usually isn't very long. I'm lucky I managed to find a clean one with no damage.. I'm planning to do a similar shoot with our Motor Unit in the spring, and I think I'm going to try one with the lights on. I was planning to pick up an ND filter soon, which I would then use.


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## MSnowy (Mar 26, 2015)

Nice. I like the your original


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## Designer (Mar 26, 2015)

crimbfighter said:


> I think I'm going to try one with the lights on. I was planning to pick up an ND filter soon, which I would then use.


That sounds like a a good idea.  By extending the shutter time you will get more of the light flashes.


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## DanOstergren (Mar 29, 2015)

I like the original best, but I feel like you lose a lot of the car's shape in the white tones, and perhaps bringing the exposure down a bit would render the car's shape better, then bring the highlights back up just a little bit with a curves adjustment. 

I like how you framed the car using the symmetry of the building, and overall the lighting is very nice.  Your decision to crop it in your latest version to remove the bright spot on the upper left was also a good one in my opinion.


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## crimbfighter (Mar 30, 2015)

DanOstergren said:


> I like the original best, but I feel like you lose a lot of the car's shape in the white tones, and perhaps bringing the exposure down a bit would render the car's shape better, then bring the highlights back up just a little bit with a curves adjustment.
> 
> I like how you framed the car using the symmetry of the building, and overall the lighting is very nice.  Your decision to crop it in your latest version to remove the bright spot on the upper left was also a good one in my opinion.



Thanks for the feedback, Dan. And BTW, I LOVE your portraits! I don't bother commenting on them because it gets redundant replying with "Love it!" in every post, but I love them... I see what you're saying about loosing the definition of the car. I tried you suggestions and this is what I came up with. Is this what you were getting at? I reduced the exposure about 1/3 stop and brought up the top end of the lights and the highlights up by about 20%. Part of the problem I'm running into with bringing more definition out of the car itself, is there is actually very little angular geometry in the body, so there isn't much physical detail TO bring out..




MPD Squad 5 by crimbfighter, on Flickr


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