Armin’s Quick and Dirty Tips and Tricks to Automotive Photography

[Verdugo]

Back in the day…

I started shooting cars professionally as part of Subiesport Magazine since the magazine’s inception back in 2004. I learned a lot along the way, since at the time I was really a complete newbie when it came to photography. That said, I must thank my good friend Josh Mackey (http://www.mackeydesigns.com) and Subiesport Publisher Ryan Douthit for their help and tutelage. Ferg asked me to write something up, so I am honored to pass on some of my automotive photography methods to NASIOC, and I hope that these can help both beginners and experienced photographers alike. By no means do I regard myself as all knowing in automotive photography, but I love to help people take better pictures and learn new techniques right along side me. Without further ado, we’ll first start out with composition.

Point and do WHAT?!

Just because you don’t have the latest and greatest neck-breaking digital SLR doesn’t mean you can’t take good pictures. Even a camera phone can take good pictures, even if they’re not the clearest in the world. First and foremost, composition makes or breaks a picture, and shows the difference between a snapshot and a photo. Some things may seem rather basic, but even I myself forget certain things from time to time.

• Centered is rarely best – It’s easy to take a picture and put everything you want in the center, but unfortunately it doesn’t make for good photography. Generally, you want to follow the Rule of Thirds, which basically means that you want to put your subject at the cross section of two lines that cut your photo into thirds. An easy way visualize this is to imagine a tic-tac-toe board on your screen or viewfinder. Some cameras may even have this as an option to overlay on the screen. Here is an example of the Rule of Thirds in action:



Notice how the car is situated in such a way in the photo that it’s sitting right where an imaginary line would be to cut off the bottom third of the picture, and where a vertical line would intersect with that line, cutting off the far right third of the picture. A much more detailed description of this can be found here: http://www.morguefile.com/archive/cl...jsf04s3rg1ff11

• Angles can be good, but at the same time not so good – Going overboard on crazy angles to get a unique picture is very easy to do, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do. Remember that you want the viewer of your photo to truly grasp what you’re trying to capture, but if they have to break their neck or do a headstand to see it, then they’ll probably just look elsewhere. Make no mistake, there’s a time and place for crazy angles, but use them sparingly and make sure that everyone can tell what they’re looking at. Also, keep in mind that a very slight angle can change the feel of a photo. Here are a couple examples to show the difference. While the first photo is level, it undoubtedly can be seen as the “more boring” of the two photos:





• Avoid the cut-off – Just a quick and simple tip. If you’re trying to take a picture of the whole car, make sure you actually take a full picture of the car, and don’t cut off the bumpers, wheels, etc. It makes sense to cut off sections if you just want to single one or two things out, but if you want to get everything, cutting off part of the car is not a good idea.

• Wheels vs. Tire Tread – In this grudge match, the wheel always wins. If you’re taking a picture of a car, especially from ¾ position, angle the wheels so that the face of the wheel is facing the camera, not the tire tread. While some tire tread is really aggressive-looking, 99% of the time the photo will be better showing off the face of the wheel instead of the tire tread, especially if they’re aftermarket wheels. Even stock wheels can look good in a properly taken photo, but we won’t know that unless we actually see them, right? Here’s a couple examples from both the front and the rear of the car:





• The background is not just noise – While the car is going to be the subject of your photo, that doesn’t mean that the background doesn’t matter. Even with proper composition, a good background can substantially help or wreck a photo. Industrial backgrounds are very overused, but it’s understandable to use if you’re in a pinch. Ideally, you want a background that helps add to the theme of a photo or just plain looks good overall. A driveway photo shoot isn’t all that great either unless the driveway is filled with a bunch more nice cars. Just be careful not to choose a background that blends in too much with your car, because then your subject won’t stand out. Here are a couple of my favorite background photos:





• Camera elevation – A key point of any type of photography is to try to capture something that isn’t normally seen by your naked eye. Thus, try your best not to take photos from standard standing height. If you get real low or get real high, you’ll have a much better overall photo. Very rarely will you see me taking a photo from a standing position. I sometimes even bring a stepladder with me to get a higher elevated shot, since being Filipino, I’m not a tall man. And, don’t be afraid to get dirty with a low shot. Here’s a high and a low example:





Photography is Light

Remember that when you’re taking a photo, you’re capturing how light is reflecting off of everything in the photo. Light rules everything with an iron fist, and getting the proper exposure is key to a good photo. After all, if you can’t see anything, what’s the point?

• Avoid backlights – Remember that you generally want your light source behind you, so that it lights up your subject. If you’re taking a photo of a car with the light source behind it, such as the sun or a streetlight, then you’ll more than likely get lens flare (the ugly green or brown series of circles that emanate from the light source in question) and your subject will not receive enough light. If you have a set of strobes though, you’re all set, and you can produce some awesome photos. A quick glance over at any of the photos on Jtuned.com can give you many good examples.

• High ISO / high-speed film is no substitute for a tripod – A tripod solves almost all of your focus and noise issues, whether you’re using a digital or film camera. If you don’t have a tripod, get one! It will be one of the best investments you can make. Sure, you can turn the ISO up or use high-speed film to increase your light sensitivity, but only at the expense of more noise and graininess in your photo. If you’re really getting serious about things, make sure you don’t go cheap on your tripod. You’ll want one that will properly hold the weight of your camera and lens, and is adjustable enough for your tastes.

• Avoid midday sun – If you can help it, try not to shoot in the middle of a bright sunny day. It will mess up your colors and create rather harsh reflections, especially from the windows. The best times to shoot by far are right before sunrise and right at or just after sunset. Cloudy days can be good as well, but you need to be mindful of your contrast and saturation. An overcast day can almost be ideal for even lighting, but just about any shot pointed upward toward the sky is going to have a very overexposed, ugly background.

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[Verdugo]

Use your equipment properly

You don’t need an $8000 Canon EOS 1D Mark III or a $5000 Nikon D2Xs to take good photos, but SLR cameras definitely have more of an advantage with their interchangeable lenses. However, that isn’t to say that you still can’t get good results out of a point-and-shoot. All you need is the know-how to use what equipment you have properly.

• Tripod Tripod Tripod – ‘Nuff said. If you don’t have one, get one.

• Adjust your aperture for good times – Ever wonder how photos have one thing singled out, and the rest blurry? That’s because the aperture is adjusted to shoot wide open, creating a blurred effect away from the focus point. Shooting “wide open” means that you lower your aperture down to the lowest possible f-stop. Many lenses have a lowest f-stop of f/3.5, but other lenses can go down to f/1.8 or even f/1.2. On the contrary side, using a higher f-stop will keep everything in focus, but at the expense of letting in less light, which again leads to a tripod being a must. Experiment and see what kind of results you can get. Switching your camera to aperture priority mode will help you play around with things. Also, remember that if you zoom in (in other words, use telephoto) for a photo and use a lower f-stop, you’ll get even more blurriness in the background. I use my telephoto lens with a low f-stop very often to make a car pop out from the background. Here are a couple examples:





• One filter to rule them all – Special effect filters can be fun, but there’s only really one filter that you need: the Circular Polarizer. The circular polarizer is key to getting rid of nasty reflections, especially those given off from windshields and other glass. It’ll also help when taking interior trim shots. I never leave home without my circular polarizer, and it should ALWAYS be in your camera bag. The only excuse not to have one is if you have a point and shoot camera that doesn’t support one.

• Turn off that flash – There are certain ways to use a flash effectively on a car, but you usually need more than one, and it definitely won’t be the one attached to your camera. Thus, keep it turned off, and refer to the tripod rule above one more time.

• Post-processing for the win, or the lose – Of course to get your photos up on the web, they’ll need to be transferred to a computer in some fashion. Most people just upload them and call it a day, but if you take the time to post-process your photos, you can make yours easily stand out more than the next person. Often times you’ll take a photo that looks absolutely perfect right out of the camera, but even doing little things like a little sharpening or a little boost in saturation or contrast can turn your photo into something more. Just don’t go overboard with it! It’s very easy to go overboard with contrast and saturation especially. Too much contrast will remove definition and details from dark areas, and too much saturation can make a photo look very artificial. Use your best judgment and discretion, as you’ll know very quickly if something’s starting to look too extreme.

Phew, that just about sums it up…

I honestly can’t believe I wrote this much, but I do sincerely it hopes it helps improve everyone’s photos. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a PM (I go by “Verdugo” here on NASIOC) or send me an e-mail at armin [at] arminausejo.com. Thanks for reading, and happy shooting!

Armin H. Ausejo
Style Editor, Subiesport Magazine
Vice President of Marketing, World One Performance
http://www.arminausejo.com
http://www.myspace.com/arrrmin
http://www.worldoneperformance.com

[Siper2]

Wow.

Nice.

These are probably my best, from last year in my back yard...





=S2=
(Sony DSC-W1, and I still need add-on lenses and a tripod)

[GDB FAN]

Nice write up Armin. My eyes hurt from all that reading though.

I know it's a no no but I kinda like the look of half ( + or -) the car in shots.
But hey maybe thats why you're a pro and I'm not. . . lol

[Siper2]

To add to my previous reply, my biggest weakness is car interior shots.

I can't take them to save my life. Blurry, glare, too dark, too bright, flash reflection............. ugh.

-Chris

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by GDB FAN

Nice write up Armin. My eyes hurt from all that reading though.

I know it's a no no but I kinda like the look of half ( + or -) the car in shots.
But hey maybe thats why you're a pro and I'm not. . . lol

You can easily make something like this work...just gotta have the right background to give contrast and "tell a story." Here's an example that I posted up last year:








As I said in my opening paragraph, I'm not claiming to be a know-it-all, and there will always been exceptions to "rules." Just think of them more like guidelines ala "parlay" in Pirates of the Carribean...ARRRRRR

Armin

[ThirdEye]

leggy popo???! oh noes!!

haha way cool pic. how you like that d70?

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by ThirdEye

leggy popo???! oh noes!!

haha way cool pic. how you like that d70?

Haha yeah, we featured that last year in Subiesport (in the Stephanie issue). The D70 was great...I sold it to my friend when I got a D200, but I still borrow it from time to time when I need a second body (like for weddings). Still a great camera

Armin

[fireball_jones]

I seem to remember reading that Ansel Adams would sometimes put his tripod on top of his station wagon to gain more elevation.

So... wagon owners, there ya go!

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by fireball_jones

I seem to remember reading that Ansel Adams would sometimes put his tripod on top of his station wagon to gain more elevation.

So... wagon owners, there ya go!

I've actually climbed up on top of our family's minivan before with my tripod to get more elevation

Armin

[Hank3]

Thanks for taking time to post and share this

[amukaoen]

Originally Posted by Verdugo

Notice how the car is situated in such a way in the photo that it’s sitting right where an imaginary line would be to cut off the bottom third of the picture, and where a vertical line would intersect with that line, cutting off the far right third of the picture. A much more detailed description of this can be found here:

To help show the rule of thirds better, why dont you just have the same picture again with those lines photoshopped in? I think it'd help a lot

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by amukaoen

To help show the rule of thirds better, why dont you just have the same picture again with those lines photoshopped in? I think it'd help a lot

Sure, just didn't have time when I was writing this up yesterday

[Verdugo]

Another example:



Can't edit the first post 'cause I reached the max of 10 pics...hahahaha

[Calitri-Boost]

very nice write up man. you always take the best pics

[livestrong14]

Great Write-up Armin, thanks for that. Next time I'm in the Seattle area, I'll have to hit you up for a photoshoot.

[Ferg]

Thanks Armin, as always you exceeded my expectations

[eboarder2020]

Great Job Armin.

What armin had wrote about was really on the dot. everything from having a tripod, to filters, to composition was great. Just keep in mind that photography isnt something you learn overnight. It takes time, practice, patience and a little bit of luck. I started photography last summer and when I first started i found that i was deleting a ton of pics. But with some practice I found that im keeping a little more here and there. Photography is much like a sport. On some days your on fire, and other days you just cant get it right. Just take ur time and be patient and things will come to ya.

great job armin

[brian123]

nice! great write up, helped out alot!

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by Ferg

Thanks Armin, as always you exceeded my expectations

You're welcome man, once again I am honored

Originally Posted by eboarder2020

Photography is much like a sport. On some days your on fire, and other days you just cant get it right.

Tell me about it. The shots I took today of Team Menace came out pretty good, but I was very disappointed with the rolling shots. Most of them didn't come out very well, partially because we weren't quite coordinated when we did them, and partially because I wasn't quite used to using my 12-24mm for rolling shots yet. This one came out decently though...

[Siper2]

Originally Posted by Verdugo

Sure, just didn't have time when I was writing this up yesterday

Ahhhhhhh, I see it now. I was thinking something slightly different, I guess.

[silverF4turbo]

quick and dirty photo tip:

BECOME A JEDI-MASTER AT PHOTOSHOP

taking a sick pic w/ a high MP camera only gets you so far... seriously thats how some of the pics on Jtuned look so sick... After all the post-processing they're more like a painting than photo

[Siper2]

Photo manip software is wonderful, but I guess I'm still a believer that it's more important to have something great, to start with. You can tweak crap all you want - you just end up with pretty crap.

Not that you disagree, just stating my opinion.

[Verdugo]

Originally Posted by Siper2

Photo manip software is wonderful, but I guess I'm still a believer that it's more important to have something great, to start with. You can tweak crap all you want - you just end up with pretty crap.

Not that you disagree, just stating my opinion.

I firmly agree with this. The guys over at JTuned know what they're doing...they have a very good photo to start with in terms of composition and exposure. The post-processing just gives them the big extra UMPH to make stuff really stand out. I had the pleasure of meeting JTuned photographer Steve Demmitt last year at Formula D and he's really just THAT good of a photographer. I was genuinely surprised that he doesn't use some uber expensive telephoto lens for his motion shots...he's just got the skills, and post-processing helps him enhance them.

Knowing Photoshop very well does give you an edge though, no denying that. But, as I said...even just a little basic tweaking of contrast, saturation, and sharpness can go a long way.

Armin

[ghibli99]

Thanks for the great write-up, Armin!

Your work has always served as an inspiration for my own photography, and because of folks like you, I've gone from this (almost 2 years ago):



...to this:



I still have a long ways to go to reach the levels I want to hit, but it's been a great journey and learning experience so far. Keep up the fantastic work... I never get tired of looking at your images!

-Mike