Whats the best tips for photographing my old classic car..

[Photo Lady]

I took these photos awhile ago.. is there anything i can do that will really make the car stand out.. managed to get the 38 on the oldsmobile magazine cover..so i know i did not do too bad.. but i want one that will really be a show stopper that i can frame and give to my husband..most likely in color.. but i did try the B & W. tips are welcome..thank you

 

[Jeff15]

Nice car.........

 

[JonFZ300]

Are you talking about editing these or starting from scratch? Wait for fall and have him drive it through a pile of leaves!!

 

[Photo Lady]

Are you talking about editing these or starting from scratch? Wait for fall and have him drive it through a pile of leaves!!

i am talking about taking fresh photo.. i think thats a great idea... adds so much color..

 

[Photo Lady]

Nice car.........

thank you..

 

[RVT1K]

When a car is static, I'm a fan of a very close shot taken from a low vantage point with a wide lens.

Kinda like down on your knee (or even lower) by the front wheel along the length of the car. I like them brightly lit and shiny, too.

 

[Photo Lady]

When a car is static, I'm a fan of a very close shot taken from a low vantage point with a wide lens.

Kinda like down on your knee (or even lower) by the front wheel along the length of the car. I like them brightly lit and shiny, too.

I should be able to do this with the nikon d500.. thank you

 

[tirediron]

When a car is static, I'm a fan of a very close shot taken from a low vantage point with a wide lens.

Kinda like down on your knee (or even lower) by the front wheel along the length of the car. I like them brightly lit and shiny, too.

That works well for modern cars, with something like this, accentuating the shape is important. The lighting is key; in the OPs colour image, there are large sections of the vehicle that are in deep shadow, and a lot is lost. The 'pile of leaves' idea is good. A rural scene, maybe a post & rail fence, or something pastoral? Something closer to sunset maybe?

 

[Derrel]

Google for tip articles! on "photographing a classic car."

 

[Soocom1]

The car is blue.
You want to watch the clorifil in the leaves as they reflect both infrared and UV light causing a contrast issue.
A polorizer is only one of many aspect to consider.

Secondly, shiny cars reflect objects in weird ways because of the curves. lines especially make for distracting aspects so watch the reflections of objects that cause inconsistent shadowing.

Watch the sun, keep it behind you and watch for flair. Star filters can do some interesting effects, but can overpower an image especially if there is alot of chrome.

The concept with a car is to contrast it so it stands out.
Too many reflections and shadows kill the shape of the car.

 

[vintagesnaps]

The time of day could make a difference. In this one the sun's hitting the trees to the left near the front making them a bright light green. So that tends to draw the eyes away from the subject. Nice 'posing'! You have it positioned in an interesting way, just maybe needed to be pulled up or back so it's not half in sun and half in shadow.

The second one could be a little tighter, there's more than enough background. If you have tree branches framing it think about if they look good or if they'd be better out of the frame, or walk around and figure out where to put them in your picture.

Think about reflections in windows and move around to change what you see reflected. I didn't notice it til looking again but there's a puddle reflecting part of the whitewall tire. That ends up being part of the photo, and being a small puddle it wasn't reflecting much. I'd probably move around and see how that reflection changes and decide how/if I wanted it in the picture.

It works in B&W, but I like it in color too. I supposed I'd do both.

It reminds me of a car a friend bought out of high school and the back seat was a mile away from the front seat - it was an old clunker and we had more fun riding around in it! That's the thing about photos, these brought back fun memories for me even if mine were of a different car. Have fun taking pictures of it again.

 

[JBPhotog]

I have had a fair bit of experience shooting autos and believe me, it is a daunting and intensive task that requires a special skill set and a massive amount of gear to manage all the reflections. However, for the non-pro, treat is like any other highly reflective subject, it reflects everything around it. So if there is something in the area you'd rather not see, best to find a different location as no doubt it will show up somewhere in the cars reflections or be prepared for some time consuming post work.

Avoid partial sun and shade, do either one but not both. Shade has the advantages of soft transitions in the body work but watch your colour temp as it will yield to the blue end, best to do a custom WB. Overcast days are actually your best bet if you want the entire car in the shot due to the big soft box effect of the sky otherwise if it is just vignette, full sun can give you the punch and contrast to make those images pop. There really is no one size fits all.

Walk around the car and look for angles that are appealing, low and high can also produce some wonderful shots. Long lenses can help you isolate the car from the surroundings which may be an advantage along with diligent use of the f-stop to control DOF.

Have fun.

 

[Photo Lady]

The car is blue.
You want to watch the clorifil in the leaves as they reflect both infrared and UV light causing a contrast issue.
A polorizer is only one of many aspect to consider.

Secondly, shiny cars reflect objects in weird ways because of the curves. lines especially make for distracting aspects so watch the reflections of objects that cause inconsistent shadowing.

Watch the sun, keep it behind you and watch for flair. Star filters can do some interesting effects, but can overpower an image especially if there is alot of chrome.

The concept with a car is to contrast it so it stands out.
Too many reflections and shadows kill the shape of the car.

would it be better to photograph this car on a cloudy day... ? Thanks for tips

 

[Photo Lady]

I have had a fair bit of experience shooting autos and believe me, it is a daunting and intensive task that requires a special skill set and a massive amount of gear to manage all the reflections. However, for the non-pro, treat is like any other highly reflective subject, it reflects everything around it. So if there is something in the area you'd rather not see, best to find a different location as no doubt it will show up somewhere in the cars reflections or be prepared for some time consuming post work.

Avoid partial sun and shade, do either one but not both. Shade has the advantages of soft transitions in the body work but watch your colour temp as it will yield to the blue end, best to do a custom WB. Overcast days are actually your best bet if you want the entire car in the shot due to the big soft box effect of the sky otherwise if it is just vignette, full sun can give you the punch and contrast to make those images pop. There really is no one size fits all.

Walk around the car and look for angles that are appealing, low and high can also produce some wonderful shots. Long lenses can help you isolate the car from the surroundings which may be an advantage along with diligent use of the f-stop to control DOF.

Have fun.

thank you.. this is alot of help.. when i do this i will run a few photos on here and ask for opinions.. i think i need to really experiment..

 

[Photo Lady]

The time of day could make a difference. In this one the sun's hitting the trees to the left near the front making them a bright light green. So that tends to draw the eyes away from the subject. Nice 'posing'! You have it positioned in an interesting way, just maybe needed to be pulled up or back so it's not half in sun and half in shadow.

The second one could be a little tighter, there's more than enough background. If you have tree branches framing it think about if they look good or if they'd be better out of the frame, or walk around and figure out where to put them in your picture. It was burgundy and creme .. i did it in B&W because i love B & W.. Here is the color ..thank you for all your help

Think about reflections in windows and move around to change what you see reflected. I didn't notice it til looking again but there's a puddle reflecting part of the whitewall tire. That ends up being part of the photo, and being a small puddle it wasn't reflecting much. I'd probably move around and see how that reflection changes and decide how/if I wanted it in the picture.

It works in B&W, but I like it in color too. I supposed I'd do both.

It reminds me of a car a friend bought out of high school and the back seat was a mile away from the front seat - it was an old clunker and we had more fun riding around in it! That's the thing about photos, these brought back fun memories for me even if mine were of a different car. Have fun taking pictures of it again.

thank you.. my husband loves this car.. he likes older the better.. but i like the 50"s.. we sold this one just about a year ago..