after i finish with all my body work, i plan to find a good place in town to take some nice pics. i know a lot of you around here not only have some amazing cars but do a hell of a job finding a good place with just the right lighting, shadows, and back drops to make the car look even better.

sooo ... seeing that i know very little about photography and lighting, i thought i'd ask the experts what they look for when they find a place to take their pics.

 

There are a number of things to keep in mind, but first you need to decide what you're trying to photograph. For example, are you trying to photograph a car or a lifestyle?

If the latter then there are a completely different set of rules to follow. The distant shots of the S2000 at the side of a ocean-hugging highway with the ocean and/or mountains in the background - lifestyle. The distant shots of the car parked beside some big corporate building. Those are lifestyle shots. The car is the star... but the star of a movie that is much, much bigger than the star. The panoramic shots here imply diffuse lighting (probably daylight). I'd shoot for scenic backgrounds whose colors contrast with my car. So, for example, I drive a Suzuka, so I'd probably love to take a few shots of the car parked on fallen leaves beneath a tree of beautiful green and red fall colors (maybe a leaf or two on the hood?) - I think the colors would contrast nicely.

If you're trying to photograph the car then the background really should be little more than a backdrop that adds some texture. Some concrete, some blue sky, some dark garage with very few objects, maybe a parking lot. At least 50% of the frame should be taken up by the car, and the lighting should not be diffuse - variable lighting shows off the surface and lines of the car better. I'd still want contrast between the car and the scenery. So - a dark car (berlina?) on a sunny day on a white flat surface, or a white car in the dark garage.

I prefer the simple backdrop of flat expanses and blue skies. Given the choice, a salt flat on a sunny day would be my ideal shooting location for the S2000 because it would emphasize the car and nothing but the car. I don't care much for lifestyle shots - I really don't care that the S2000 is sitting in front of some gorgeous vista. To me, if the S2000 is parked in front of some beach then I'd rather be at the beach than away from it and staring at my car.

Just some off-the-top-of-my-head thoughts.

 

now that's some good advice. exactly the kind of stuff i'm looking for. tks for the tips.

and i'm shooting the car. in the opinion of my wife, that's basically my lifestyle atm.

 

Well I love the urban ghetto look!

The photo was taken at night...if you know how to play with the light settings in your camera, you can pull off some nice tricks!