photo guide

[Irongrave]

Drew’s guide to better photos

A lot of people have been asking my how I take good photos. I do have a lot of time under my belt when it comes to photography but the other thing is I do a few simple things that can make a huge difference in the quality of your photos.

There is no replacement for time so first up get your self a good digital camera and good sized memory card and use it a lot. Take the same photo over and over again just changing little things in the settings, this is how you learn your camera. Also having some other simple gear makes life a lot easier. A tripod works wonders with quality photos. It allows you to take the same photo a few times and see your changes. Also lets you take photos in low light or at night with out getting blurry.

Set up: you need a good subject, so make sure your truck is nice and clean, and a cool location because driveway shots are boring. Also like I stated in the intro you need a good tripod to set your camera on.
Truck and camera
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1115.jpg
My Kodak spot
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1116.jpg

Placement: Its important to learn proper placement of both the truck and the camera. On my truck I have the chrome front bumper the reflects quite a bit. You have a few options; depending on the zoom you have you can take a few steps back, or place the tripod in a place it cant be seen in the photo.
Examples:
Not the reflection of the tripod in the bumper
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1119.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5895.jpg
Same basic photo slightly different angle, you can still kind of see the tripod but used the chress of the bumper to hide it so its not as visible
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1120.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5896.jpg
Little things like that can turn a good photo into a great photo.
Now for where you put the truck. (I’ll get into lighting later) but just how the truck sits is a big part of the photo as well. If you have nice rims you want to show them off so turn them so that they are facing the camera (don’t want to see your tire’s tread)
Examples:
Wrong,
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5891.jpg
Decent
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5892.jpg
Best
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5893.jpg

[Irongrave]

Lighting: Good lighting is the hallmark of any good photo. Always try to avoid shooting into the sun, its not good for your eye or the camera also had to get good photos. Don’t be afaid to take a photo then move the truck to take better use of the lighting you have. Another big thing shadows can ruin an other wise very good photo so always try to keep your self out of it and keep an eye on what’s around you.
Examples:
As you can see the camera is pointed right into the sun and resulting in a photo killing sun spot
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1121.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5897.jpg
Now using the side that was in the sun
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/DSCN1122.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5899.jpg
Shadows can ruin great pics
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5909.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5910.jpg
With the right lighting
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5905.jpg
Note I shot into the sun here but was able to zoom in and not get a sun spot (once you learn the basic concepts then you can start breaking the rules so to speak
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5908.jpg

[Irongrave]

Shutter speed (for SLR or point and shoots that lets you control it) Now this is one of the areas that having a digital camera works wonders. What you do is set up the tripod and start playing with options. I like to start out fast then work my way back down. For more of the skilled guys also like having an F stop around 10-15 (personal preference) seem to get me the best photos
Started at 1/6000th of a second and worked my way down to 1/80th of a second
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5885.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5884.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5886.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y176/Irongrave666/IMG_5883.jpg
As you can see you can get some very different photos from dark to light with very well balanced ones in the middle

I hope this help you guys to take some even better photos, these are only some of the things I do and took notes on doing today, there are probably lots of little things that I do that I’m not even aware of . So take a few pointers form this go out take a bunch of pics and keep enjoying your toys.

[Mrs.HybridImages]

Very well explained. I am glad you did this! If you don't mind i would like to add one thing that buggs me when i look at pictures of rides....


Unless you are taking a detail shot... Make sure to get the entire vehicle in the picture.

I have seen plenty of potentially great pictures except they have cut off most of the truck. or they take a picture standing straight in front of it or a straight shot from the side.
You take great pictures! Keep up the great work:nana2:

[Irongrave]

thanks, hope it helps other people here as well, i'll work on adding that into this soon, once my finger gets better and i can use my camera again

[d21cruisa]

nice... good adivice man! super nice truck too!!!

[88hb]

very useful info! to bad my camera still has a shitty lens. gonna have to borrow my sisters digital rebel 400.

[NissanXEPilot]

Nice write up Drew. It's been years since I got into photography, and back in 2000 I did a dumb move as pawned my camera and gear, granted it wasnt digital, but it was still something I enjoyed doing. The good news is I bought me another Camera 2 weeks ago, now I just need some filters and a better tripod.

[Irongrave]

glad it helps you guys, now that i'm back home for a vacation and my hand is feeling better i might add a little more to this soon