Red Corvette Stingray on the motorway in the sunset. Nikon D700 + 24-70
Here are some more photos from job I did for a Swedish car cleaning company. After spending a lot of time in Lightroom and Photoshop I am finally done with the retouch for this time.
Blue Pontiac Firebird. Nikon D700 + 24-70
Most of the photos from the session are crap, but in total I delivered about 20 pics that came out nice. And after removing some disturbing elements in the background and making the colors pop a bit, I am pleased with the results.
Dodge Challenger. Nikon D700 + 24-70
Not counting everything I had removed from the background to make the images more calm and interesting, I did a lot of work on details. Mostly enhancing contrast on different parts of the cars without overdoing it (I think/hope).
Red Hot Rod. Nikon D700 + 24-70
Photographing cars in the sunset is both a very rewarding experience and one filled with problems that you don’t see until you open the photos on the computer. The light is really, really hard, and that makes parts of the glossy surface totally blown out. Not to mention the sky which is often white if you don’t want it to be too dark in the lower parts of the image.
Pontiac Firebird again. Nikon D700 + 24-70
But, that is what it is. And I rather have blown out highlights on some parts of the car’s body than images that are too even and with no contrast.
If I do another photo session like this, I would try two things. One is to find more interesting backgrounds, so I didn’t have to remove so many buildings and road signs. The other one would be to try to work with slightly longer exposures so the speed of the car would be more visible on the photos.
And maybe use some kind of rig?
Do you have any good tips on how to make photos like these better?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
my friends are getting into car photoraphy in a big way, one has fashioned his own rig with a couple of very powerful suction cups and gets great results, the car does not even have to be driven, it can simply roll down a gentle slope or even be pushed, the exposures are long enough that the background is completly blurred and it looks to be moving very fast. Another friend usually takes a tow rope and will tow the subject car rather than trying to match the speed.