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Posted by: malpaso Oct 17, 2009 - 12:51 AM

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

Posted by: supershannon77 Oct 17, 2009 - 12:57 AM

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

Posted by: SPID33 Oct 17, 2009 - 12:58 AM

i find this very helpfull

Posted by: Rusty Oct 17, 2009 - 1:20 AM

http://www.hymanltd.com/photographing_classic_cars.htm
http://www.cobracountry.com/fototips/
http://www.staphonline.com/howtopics01.html

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

Posted by: 808celica Oct 17, 2009 - 4:10 AM

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

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 17, 2009 - 12:13 PM

**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

Posted by: 96bluevert Oct 17, 2009 - 12:19 PM

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.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 17, 2009 - 2:42 PM

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.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 17, 2009 - 4:43 PM

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

Posted by: hatchy_gt-s Oct 17, 2009 - 5:02 PM

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

Posted by: yarik83 Oct 17, 2009 - 5:09 PM

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.

Posted by: Hanyo Oct 17, 2009 - 5:15 PM

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

Posted by: dustin15brown Oct 17, 2009 - 5:19 PM

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

Posted by: Promasta Oct 17, 2009 - 5:28 PM

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

Posted by: Rusty Oct 17, 2009 - 6:41 PM

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.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 17, 2009 - 6:46 PM

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.

Posted by: 808celica Oct 17, 2009 - 7:16 PM

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

Posted by: lagos Oct 17, 2009 - 8:10 PM

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

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 17, 2009 - 8:42 PM

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

Posted by: supershannon77 Oct 17, 2009 - 9:05 PM

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.

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 17, 2009 - 9:11 PM

I had Erik edit one and it looked great but I am trying to keep them a CR2 format
for printing purposes.

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 17, 2009 - 9:25 PM

I coulda kept it CR2 if you needed, didn't know.

There's nothing wrong with taking a picture of the rear of the car.

Interesting backrground's don't hurt the photo. I wouldn't say they are needless.

Car covering the whole picture looks too big, IMO.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 17, 2009 - 9:27 PM

i dont have friends and a good looking car so i didnt get votes



wow that sounds really emo

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 17, 2009 - 9:30 PM

The shot I sent you didn't have the quality of the others I submitted. There was a lot of noise
which you got rid of mostly, but it just didn't have the detail in high res of the other 2.

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 17, 2009 - 9:33 PM

I voted for the color one.

Posted by: supershannon77 Oct 17, 2009 - 9:33 PM

what does CR2 mean?

Tiga I think you have both. lol

Posted by: Promasta Oct 17, 2009 - 9:38 PM

i have no idea how i have 2nd most votes because before griffgirl redid the polls i was in 15th place?

and i also have no e-friends lollollol

but erik is very good at editting, ps

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 17, 2009 - 9:44 PM

Its Canon's RAW format.

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 17, 2009 - 9:46 PM

It is a raw Canon format. Much better for working with but I can't seem to figure out how to save it and
actually have it save everything. Hopefully Michelle will have Erik help with color correcting and final edit before printing.
I would have like to seen more submissions, maybe a smaller format would have been better, and got more people involved.

Posted by: 808celica Oct 17, 2009 - 10:01 PM

i voted maybe griffy should've put your photo in the last group on the 2nd poll

jks Michelle

Posted by: 96bluevert Oct 17, 2009 - 10:07 PM

Apparently, I'm in the same boat......

I need to get PS again, b/c a lot of the other submissions look a lot better quality wise than mine.

Posted by: Fastbird Oct 17, 2009 - 10:48 PM

I'm going to have to disagree with the "front only" shots comment by the OP. At the right angle, a side profile or rear corner profile shot can be MUCH more dynamic than a simple front angle shot.

Whoever said it about turning the wheels, you hit the nail on the head.

Don't cut out part of the car. Get the entire car in the pic.

Cars belong on pavement, not in the grass. Thus, don't shoot in the grass.

And to restress, DO NOT cut out part of the car.

This is all advice given to me by a couple of people I know who shoot for a couple of GM Performance magazines.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 17, 2009 - 10:51 PM

Unless you were focusing on a specific part of the car, obviously...and actually, I just realized I did the same thing because the entire front is in view. However, I love this shot, but it breaks the rules of this thread.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 17, 2009 - 11:01 PM

the rest can be cut off but itd be better if you could see the whole of the back wheel

Posted by: malpaso Oct 18, 2009 - 12:59 AM

first of all this is not about how to make good (professional) picture but about how to get to calendar! I'm not professional so I can not give any advice about this! I always shoot like:

- take 300 pictures (some pics 2x or 3x just because of light, different angles...)
- 50 are blurred so erased (I use automatic not manual setting... because I do not know what to do with manual setting on camera )
- 100 are almost identical... so erased
- 100 I do not like... (boring, nothing special)
- from 50 remaining are about 10 I like
- from those 10 I like are 3-4 that I call perfect (so perfect IMO). I like the car, I like colors, light, I like scene...

but it do not mean it's material for calendar!!! My opinion is not important! Other people must like the picture for calendar... that's the key. And according to results of polls (and anyone can check) there are some obvious hints! What I have done? I just wrote them down...

now... please use only your pictures for NEGATIVE comments! (if you want say something good about any picture I do not mind of course ). I do not want this thread to be like "show picture you do not like in calendar polls". If this happens let's moderators lock this and better erase. I DO NOT WANT TO BLAME ANYONE'S PICTURE HERE!!!

so:

Sad to say this is your personal opinion (and I agree with that) but not advice for "calendar picture". You bet in the calendar will be more than one car with wheels turned like this... so... this is not true "calendar picture rule"


I have the best results between 3pm and 5pm (light still enough but sun is not that aggressive). Never in the morning (sky is too clear).. but again. this is personal opinion how to make nice picture (and you know how to make them ). But still nothing to do with calendar


Thank you Dustin... You have the point!
btw.: I wish I made your calendar poll pictures . They are exactly my cup of tea


You are the man! That's perfect result of this tread... some advice for people how to use camera (me included ). Read http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70111!


Strongly disagree... Personally I have voted for your pic #24 because I like it (and see results... I'm not alone )


Again... I do not say rear of the car is ugly to shoot. It's just not the best chance for calendar pol. And that is the point . However I like the advice about grass or "do not cut the car" one. None of pictures with high scores has grass in the picture or cut out parts of the car

thanks folks!

Posted by: trdproven Oct 18, 2009 - 8:03 AM

true what the original posts says but the real truth is bottom line people have their own opinions bad or good. In fact, favoritism plays a big role. If there was a group of friends they would vote for each other compared to a guy who has no friends they wouldn't get any votes. That is just one perspective. Same rules apply in political voting, a fraction of the people vote for their friends relatives acquaintances, etc. Sounds dumb but in human nature gets you votes that way. We are not true judges that have no biases or fair judgement, face it.

Posted by: supershannon77 Oct 18, 2009 - 8:21 AM

I wanna say it was nice that Griffy didn't put names down b/c I only knew a few of the peoples cars I was only going by cars and pictures not by names.

We also gotta remember that majority of people voting are not camera professionals if they see something different or something bright and flashy it will attract there eye and there vote but when someone who knows photography might see the same picture and say its all wrong.

Posted by: manphibian Oct 18, 2009 - 9:55 AM

Yeah, i think the friends part has the most to do with it. Some great pictures missed out to some not so great ones, but unfortunately, that's life.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 18, 2009 - 10:34 AM

i could not agree with this statement more.
im judging the pictures at my standards. not car quality, but picture quality. there could be a TT 3SGTE with 1000hp in the pictures but there is a bright red train right next to it. stuff like that wont fly with me.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 18, 2009 - 11:20 AM

To be honest...I voted for the cars, not the picture quality. Sure I skipped over some of the crappier shots (sorry guys), but mostly I didn't notice any huge differences in picture quality that made me choose differently.

Tiga, I voted for your self-proclaimed crappy car as well.

And malpaso, I also disagree with the OEM statement...unless by that, you mean a factory stock car. But I plan on building my car (at least the exterior) with OEM parts.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 18, 2009 - 11:44 AM

hey u can have a stock car but it is an amazing picture.
id vote for that
my car is stock on the exterior

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 18, 2009 - 4:47 PM

That's a shame.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 18, 2009 - 5:14 PM

Well, isn't that what this is, a 6GC calendar and not a best picture calendar? I mean, I took note of the picture quality and of course, the best ones jumped out at me...but overall, I leaned more towards the car.

But rest assured, I did vote for great pictures (obviously) and I'm only one vote out of many.

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 18, 2009 - 5:58 PM

Except it will be a 6GC calendar no matter what. The quality of the calendar depends on the quality of the photographs.

Posted by: samir0189 Oct 18, 2009 - 6:57 PM

im no photographer, nor do i have a fancy camera and i didn't even look in the thread for 6gc calender photos or vote.. oh well.

IMO i think those rules suck malpaso, no offense to you personally.

to me, an amazing shot would be the opposite of all the rules, something different. the front of the same 6gc's, taking up 2/3 of the photo and photoshopped to pop off the page = boring and unrealistic to me.

I personally prefer whats different, cut off pieces of the car to highlight an amazing curve, or focus the image on something in particular, and natural, un photoshopped beauty, imo the background matters, etc.

all you photographers that wish to tell me otherwise go ahead, i still don't care, this is just imo, personal preference in what i think is cool.

Posted by: trdproven Oct 18, 2009 - 7:32 PM

the last two posts are true too some are looking for picture quality - bad part about that is you put the nice picture in the calendar instead of the more calendar worthy cars. I thought the calendar is about celicas not picture quality.

It should be based on the car and if gets selected the person should be notified to better the quality of the picture. I know it sucks that some great cars don't have great pictures but I think the bottom line of the calendar goal is to represent with the best celicas, not the best pictures although it still needs to have good quality.

Priority
1. Good Car
then
2. Good Quality

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 18, 2009 - 7:33 PM

^ This man understands my point.

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 18, 2009 - 8:16 PM

And I disagree with that point. The calendar could be filled with Veyrons and Maranellos but if they're taken with camera phones the entire calendar is sh!t.

The calendar IS about the cars, but you also want a QUALITY calendar. I think everyone can agree the perfect picture is a high quality car in a high quality photo. If there's an outstanding photograph with a crap car, I'm not going to vote for it. Likewise, if there's an outstanding car in a crap photo, I'm not going to vote for that either. I'm not sure how you have a photographic calendar and place the quality of photos behind the quality of the cars. People see the photo first, the car second.

Also - the goal isn't to represent the best Celicas. The goal of the calendar is provide high quality representation of the Celica. This isn't a greatest hits collection by month.

BTW: Not trying to start trouble with anybody. This is just a dicussion.

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 18, 2009 - 9:20 PM

Someone voted for 27 for which there was no image.lol

Posted by: supershannon77 Oct 18, 2009 - 9:46 PM

Yea but we can't sit here and make rules like you have to vote for the best photos, yes it should be done that way but people are going to vote the way they want..it maybe because someones a friend it maybe bc they love the car. All I'm saying is we can't force things on people there going to vote the way they want.

The best thing we can do is share what stood out and why we vote for what we did that way when a member is looking to take a calendar shot they can go back and see what people normally vote/look for.

The friends thing idk I would think more people dislike me on here then like me that being said I guess my car and the photo Erik took manage to get me votes so thank you.

In the big picture I think its nice that we are doing a calendar every year and the Griff takes the time to put it together its a nice perk of this site imo.

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 18, 2009 - 9:49 PM

Bottom line: vote for who you want to see in the calendar. I was just expressing an opinion on it.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 18, 2009 - 9:52 PM

I see your point, but it's negated by the fact that there is a resolution/quality requirement to enter photos, which is why none of mine were in there.

All of the pictures in the poll were at least good, and the ones that are on the bottom will naturally be weeded out by having the lowest votes.

Having said that...can't wait to see the calendar.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 18, 2009 - 10:00 PM

many point and shoot can shoot hi res.
doenst mean youll get quality
even with an SLR you can take crappy photos

it comes down to whos behind the camera and their knowledge on how to use it.

Posted by: trdproven Oct 18, 2009 - 10:03 PM

IDK everyone has their opinions and I don't want to make it a big deal or anything but Id rather have 12 solid looking cars with decent picture quality than 12 regular looking cars with good quality. Thats my preference, I'd rather choose a pretty girl than a girl who uses make up to look pretty. But like I said, in priority good looking car FIRST then good pictures. NOT good pictures and whatever car. I speak from a car, celica enthusiast view not no photographer, graphic designer, point of view.

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 18, 2009 - 10:35 PM

Resolution doesn't = quality picture though.

Posted by: SwissFerdi Oct 18, 2009 - 11:04 PM

I meant pixel count to be considered as well, since my phone camera is only 3MP.

But we'll have to agree to disagree.

Posted by: 97lestyousay Oct 18, 2009 - 11:27 PM

I can't really tell a quality high res shot from a non quality in the small sizes posted.
Unless we are voting on full size images we are basicly guessing anyway.

I will be happy just to have a 6gc.net Calendar no matter who is on it.
I remember at least one year maybe two we didn't even have one.

You Rock Griff
Keep up the good work

Posted by: malpaso Oct 19, 2009 - 12:55 AM

You are right... this tread seems to be pointless now... I just tried to find some conclusion from vote results and summarize it...


of course I mean... SS-III is OEM as well but that is not what I talked about.

Posted by: Rusty Oct 19, 2009 - 1:07 AM

just want to point this out from the poll

I just want to add my 2c. If you put in a bit of work on your celica (bodykit, paint etc or even if its just cleaning/ tidy or what ever) you'd want a quailty shot that emphasises & reflects the work your've done.

On another note It would have been cool if someone had submitted a photo in the poll of dropping an engine in. working on their celica.

Posted by: Alexys Oct 19, 2009 - 6:30 AM

Hey, I'm really sorry for submitting a pic showing the back of my car and additionally turned the wheels in the wrong direction.

I didn’t want to bother someone with it (Tigawoods…).
I only have noticed that most of the pics in the previous calendar show the front of the cars.

So I wanted to distinguish my pic a little bit from the rest.
Too bad that some people doesn't see it the way I do.
Nevertheless, several people voted for my pic and I have just a few friends here in the forum, who voted for me. So there must be a couple of people here who liked this pic and wanted to have it on the calendar too.

If someone doesn't like a pic or even parts of a pic, just vote for another one, but please do not mock other people after a voting!
Thanks to malpaso for the well-intentioned thread, apparently some have misunderstood this.
And I want to thank GriffGirl for her efforts on the calendar! Keep up the good work!

Posted by: Romy_GT-S Oct 19, 2009 - 7:20 AM

Hey Alexys, you are absolutely right!
If we are honest, it's always the same.
A proverb means “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Some people like a picture, others do not. This is quite normal and cannot be generalized.

Posted by: Tigawoods Oct 19, 2009 - 7:32 AM

lol its a habit of mine. people dont usually know to do that when i take pics of their cars.
i agree on your decision to take a pic from the back. love the exhaust setup btw.

I was trying to get my auto-x picture in the thread but i couldnt find the org. size.

unique shots like that would be a breath of fresh air in the calendar. Along with swap pictures. Rally-X pictures ( there is that one member in CA) and Track Racing pictures (lucky europe ppl)

that kind of stuff would really spice up the calendar.








thats a hint for next years calendar. get to working ppl! i can already tell next years will be epic

Posted by: Supersprynt Oct 19, 2009 - 11:33 AM

Same thing. The more megapixels a camera has allows it for higher resolution. This is where a lot of people get duped when buying a camera, they think MORE megapixels is def. going to make their picture better. While yes the quality increases dramatically in 1 vs. 2, or 3 vs. 6, it becomes very much less so when you get higher. You won't notice a 10mp vs 12, or a 12 vs 14. Keep that in mind when purchasing a new camera one day.

But yes we'll agree to disagree. No need to go any further with it.

Keep shooting everybody.

Posted by: GriffGirl Oct 19, 2009 - 5:21 PM

I love this thread! There's a LOT of really good points in here that you guys have made, and a lot of great info for people to use for future calendar shots. (I wish this thread was up 3 months ago!)

I think one really good debate in here is the point of "quality vs. quantity" in terms of picture quality vs. actual car quality. Personally and professionally, it's my vision to be able to strike a balance between both in the cases where they can't both be had at once. I saw some shots, one which will be in the calendar, that were really great looking, dynamic photos of stock (looking?) 6GCs. I really appreciate this, personally, because in person most of what I see is stock, and it's what initially attracted me to 6GCs in the first place. I also appreciate the "classic" quality of a well-kept, well photographed stock ride. I wouldn't want to see the calendar all stock or even predominantly stock, but it's nice to see one or two in there.

And yes, as for the "popularity contest" - it's there, to a degree, and I'm sure most of us can see it. It's why I kept the photos small-ish and as unidentifiable as possible in terms of who they belong to. I wanted people to respond to what jumped out at them first - before thinking about whose car it was, or how modded it was, or whatever. Of course it's impossible to completely do that, but I tried. The ultimate goal here is to produce the highest quality calendar that represents us as a whole.

That said, I think it's going to be a great looking calendar this year, with better resolution photos than some from last year. I've also dedicated 100% of the photo pages to the photos, and have moved the member info and stats down to the top of the calendar grid page. I've freshened up the fonts, and included a month-ahead and month-behind grid on each page too, so you don't have to flip pages if you need to see those months.

Expect to see the FS thread with a front and back cover sample in the next day or two. And thanks to all of you for your contributions, whether through photos, voicing your opinions, or just quietly voting. It's what makes this a 6GC community calendar, and not just a celica calendar.

Posted by: richee3 Jan 27, 2012 - 3:32 PM

Bumping this thread. Lots of good pointers here, too much good info to let this thread be forgotten. I'm dying to go do a photoshoot of the BEAMS, and I'll have this thread in mind.

Posted by: Tigawoods Jan 27, 2012 - 3:40 PM

forgot about this. good bump!

Posted by: SwissFerdi Feb 1, 2012 - 11:58 AM

[Forthcoming late response is late.]

Cool idea. As a suggestion, wipe the tire down next time so it becomes more attractive? Then your idea can achieve proper execution.

Posted by: Tigawoods Feb 20, 2012 - 11:23 PM

bump

Posted by: malpaso Apr 6, 2012 - 2:33 AM

wow... I have started this topic mainly as ironic piece of text to show what people prefer to see HERE on this forum so how to success in local votes... Reason was because I was so disappointed to see how great pictures stay unnoticed and literary "run-of-the-mill-snaps" winning. This should not be guide how to make great car picture! What I wrote in first post is far from truth how great car picture should look like! If you really want to make great picture see "small" correction comments below:

Nonsense. Of course! You should provide different point of view than ordinary one is. Not always just to find the most sexy angle to shoot. To show something different is not anything wrong at all.


This is sad to say true. We do not live in perfect world and to make great picture is so hard so more or less picture need to be "balanced" or "tuned" (call it how you want). If you had chance to prepare composition, light and background exactly you wish, have a lot of time to shoot PLUS know how to work with your camera you may have picture that do not need photoshop.


Another nonsense . Composition makes great picture not any tuning of the car in the picture.


Another nonsense and big one. Background always matters!


There always been "rule of thirds" and it is valid all the time! Only question you need to answer: WHAT IS THE SUBJECT OF YOUR PICTURE! Do you make picture of the car or picture of "something" with the car? What should take main attention in the picture? Car or another subject? That is the key .


True to the letter...


hell of a true