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TDI-Guy
08-11-2009, 12:02 PM
So I haven't been here in a while.

this local Vw forum has one guy taking awesome pics. what I can't figure out is his secret to making them look so good.

can't be anything special as I was at that show, it was mostly cloudy.

any help would be greatly appreciated

http://www.ottawa-vdubbing.com/forums/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=41244
Elisha
08-11-2009, 12:09 PM
You obviously haven't seen what our member photowerkz can do then: http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33817

And Faisal has been doing a great job on it recently as well.
photowerkz
08-11-2009, 12:39 PM
Instead of trying to make your own stuff look like his work, go read up on post processing and find your own style. There's tonns of sites out there that'll teach you the basics of adjusting light and levels, and from there you can move on to more advanced stuff.
shshsh
08-11-2009, 02:21 PM
Let's give him a break... ;-)

Cloudy skies mean fiddling with white balance. An ExpoDisc (the warm one - not plain white, just a little bit reddish) can work wonders here.

And that other guy seems to be using a polarizer (and a bit much of it, too). This can help to enhance contrast, but it also tends to darken the darker areas; that's usually how you can tell. As a positive side effect, a polarizer also removes non-metallic reflections, e.g. on the windshields.

I also tend to dial in some exposure compensation: -1/3 EV. This gets rid of that slight haze that can sneak into images.

But then, the others here really do have a point about everybody needing to find their own style. But knowing about some basic techniques sure does help.
BikerJohn
08-11-2009, 02:52 PM
I'm always amazed at the sharpness that others can get. Either I'm not steady enough or I'm pixel peeping too much and then think I don't have the sharpness.
TDI-Guy
08-11-2009, 07:04 PM
thanks for the info, what I can't seem to get is the saturation, I've got a D300 with yes I'll admit not the greatest lens but even if I mess around with the saturation with the camera it never seems to come out right, either too little or too much.

I do have to muck around more in PS but getting good shots to start with is my next goal.
wirehunt
08-11-2009, 09:28 PM
Notice his body position? Low on every one bar one......
XaiLo
08-11-2009, 11:54 PM
Cloudy day no problem use the sunny 16 rule.

Hint: Saturation results will varying depending on whether the image is over, correctly, or under exposed. And a touch of HDR can make or break.
K1W1
08-12-2009, 06:44 AM
It's a shame the suspension has collapsed on all those cars. :D

Off topic I know but I have just got home from spending the day as guest of VW (Skoda actually) at an advanced driving facility in Queensland having a play with all the latest Skoda offerings. Being able to throw cars around on a skid pan or absolutely slam the brakes on as hard as you can at 60mph on a wet road is fun with a capital F.
herc182
08-12-2009, 07:52 AM
It's a shame the suspension has collapsed on all those cars. :D

Off topic I know but I have just got home from spending the day as guest of VW (Skoda actually) at an advanced driving facility in Queensland having a play with all the latest Skoda offerings. Being able to throw cars around on a skid pan or absolutely slam the brakes on as hard as you can at 60mph on a wet road is fun with a capital F.

:D

Where do you sign up for that???!
K1W1
08-12-2009, 04:18 PM
:D

Where do you sign up for that???!

Ever heard the saying "It's not what you know but who you know". :D
D70FAN
08-12-2009, 05:02 PM
Ever heard the saying "It's not what you know but who you know". :D

That's-a-fact-jack!

You have to take full advantage of those situations.:D they usually only happen once.

Sounds like lots-o-fun.

No pitchurs?
K1W1
08-12-2009, 06:12 PM
No pitchurs?

Not even on my phone. It was a day for fun not lugging the POS. :D
Dread Pirate Roberts
08-13-2009, 05:11 AM
Don't be too hard on yourself, if you're looking to nail exposure, contrast or saturation in camera you've got a lot of work in front of you.

Shoot in NEF, then edit that stuff after the fact in capture NX. Or put in many hours per image even after you've learned how to do it making more complex adjustments like Photowerks did on some of his killer images.
VTEC_EATER
08-13-2009, 01:19 PM
Well, for one, he is probably using a circular polarizer. Not only does it take out a lot of the reflections, but it add a tremendous amount of saturation. Secondly, his post processing seems to have a lot of contrast. See how dark his darks are, then look at the bright clothes on the people and see how they are blown out. Lots of contrast. After that its maybe a little dodging and burning to get the desired effect and your done.
Tomcat
08-13-2009, 03:24 PM
I don't think he's using a CPL. To much glare and reflections on the windows and the body panles. I will post some pics of cars that were at last Saturday's Cruise In. Time to eat right now.
I'll post in the main photo gallery under the cars thread.

http://www.dcresource.com/forums/showpost.php?p=385525&postcount=189
josef
08-26-2009, 04:13 PM
I don't think he's using a CPL. To much glare and reflections on the windows and the body panles.


I was wondering about this too.. i need to experiment more with cars and my circular polarizer this weekend.. I think if you turn it right you can get modify the reflections a bit.. it doesn't Just serve to get rid of reflections.. i think.. ;)