GUIDE: How to get your car to calendar..., seems there are really rules good to follow :) Options

[malpaso]

It's interesting to see results of voting for last calendar don't you think? There are huge differences between numbers so it seems there are rules how to have popular picture and be in calendar...

- Do not make picture from rear or top view!
No one cares to see you car from behind. Car from behind is boring... and from the top looks weird. Make only pictures of front!
- Play with picture in photoshop.
This is a must. More colors, more contrast! If you have some good idea how tune picture with some idea the better. Remember it must be obvious picture is nor realistic. It must look better than reality.
- No one cares if you have OEM look.
OEM look is not an issue at all! Car must look good. No matter what mods are on...
- No one cares in front of what is your car standing
Finding interesting scene for picture is waste of time. No one cares if you car is behind jet plane or some statue or anything. Cool background is not important at all. It's not wrong just needless.
- Make sure car is covering whole picture.
Small car in the middle of nowhere is not "true blue" (BTW. is there any US slang phrase for the same meaning as OZ English has???). So car should not be past of scenery and should cover whole picture (or at least from 2/3).
- When picture made by professional even better!
Professional photographer is not professional for fun. He/She knows! And knows better than you do...
- Nothing mentioned above works when you do not have friends to vote for you

anything forgotten? What you think?

EDIT:
(thanks to Fastbird)
- Don't shoot in the grass.
Cars belong on pavement, not in the grass.
- DO NOT cut out part of the car.
no comment... no question about this


This post has been edited by malpaso: Oct 18, 2009 - 1:03 AM

[supershannon77]

Honestly I don' think anyone can top your calendar picture from last year.

[SPID33]

i find this very helpfull

[Rusty]

taking photo's
Guide to taking photo's
Guide to taking photo's

just a couple of sites I found a while ago, the last 2 are very good, would be good to see the photo's which come out after this

[808celica]

dont take pics between 10am-4pm. make sure the sun is behind you or really far in front of you. wash your car before taking pics and dont half ass the job too

[Tigawoods]

**UPDATE**
I strongly disagree with Mals first rule of not taking pictures of the rear of the car. As you can clearly see below in my signature...nothing is wrong with taking a picture of
the rear of your car. The top I would avoid unless done in a creative way.
**

one thing that really annoys me and that alot of people dont take into consideration is how the wheels are turned

Have the rim facing towards the camera. it gives it a more aggressive look.

im really sorry to pick these out but it really really bothered me






id get into more things about some of the pics but id rather not


oh and thank mal for posting this thread

This post has been edited by Tigawoods: Feb 20, 2012 - 11:19 PM

[96bluevert]

Avoid wacky camera angles. If the car is on a flat surface and it looks like it's on a hill in the photo, it's not as appealing. It may seem like a cool idea at the time, but it actually looks less professional.

[SwissFerdi]

- Do not make picture from rear or top view!
No one cares to see you car from behind. Car from behind is boring...

I disagree with that...not only are there some beautiful shots of 6GC's from the rear, there are plenty of other cars that look good from behind.

[Tigawoods]

i didnt see the behind part of that.

i have to disagree with that as well.

it brings a bit of variety to the pictures. having all nose shots would be get very annoying

[hatchy_gt-s]

just a quick Q but what would u change about this pic.
any opinion is fine I just thought it was a good pic.

[yarik83]

rotate picture by about 30 degrees to the right and crop it so that it looks landscape. I do not get queezy but this image makes me want to turn my computer to compensate for camera angle.

[Hanyo]

just a quick Q but what would u change about this pic.
any opinion is fine I just thought it was a good pic.

its a good picture but it would not be good for a 6gc calendar.

The reason is :

1)the front of the car is cut off.
2) too much grass covering the car
3) what is the focus of the picture? the exact middle of the picture is the shiny glossy part of the car. Generally the human eye is trained to look away from the glossy or shiny part of a scene. So this makes the picture un-natural to look atl.
4) weird angle

[dustin15brown]

i'm not sure if this thread has an attitude, done to be a smarta$$, or just because you really are trying to help people out. And for that, two thumbs up!
hehe
It works either way you look at it

[Promasta]

tiga, i did take rim angle into consideration, i was showing off my sweet tires haha.

[Rusty]

i'm not sure if this thread has an attitude, done to be a smarta$$, or just because you really are trying to help people out. And for that, two thumbs up!
hehe
It works either way you look at it

I've taken a few shoots this morning sort of comparing between the do's and don'ts will start a thread in the multimedia section for you photography experts to comment and how to improve shoots (hopefully others will read it and get good ideas)

btw: In no way am I upset (haven't actually checked the calandar results) there where some really good photo's this year, I just want feedback and how to improve my skill.

[Tigawoods]

lol and u hit it spot on!

i did heart the tires




for this pic


jdm angles do work (aka tilted view) but it should be used more when the car is closer up and you want to fit ALL of it in the pic. seeing as how tilting it like that (corner to corner) would make it able to fit in the frame

the nose is cut of like stated in a post above. the grass doesnt bother me at all.

i know that everybody doesnt have the greatest camera and for all my suggestions a person with a regular point and shoot can still achieve a good picture.

[808celica]

take a step back. less taller grass. turn off your lights

[lagos]

just a quick Q but what would u change about this pic.
any opinion is fine I just thought it was a good pic.

The fact that you cut off part of the car in the photo sticks out as the biggest problem with the picture.

[97lestyousay]

Mine are un edited and look like poo. Three years ago photoshopping was not allowed.
Thanks to all my friends for voting for me.

[supershannon77]

have Superspyrnt edit or take them for u..I know he helped a lot of members and they got votes...mine and Jim's are examples.