Photography Student seeking tips/advice

blu

New Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
4
Location
Edinburgh, Scotland
Hi! I'm a female photography student in Scotland, and what I want to do is Automotive Photography, whereas our lecturers seem mostly to be interested in studio portraiture with pretty models. :rolleyes: Our large studio has drive-in access, so I'm hoping to put it to good use after the holidays. I know a wee bit about general studio lighting, and know the 8 main points to shoot at (front, back, sides and corners), and I also try to pick out unique details, such as the tail-lights of a MK1 Cortina, thats sort of thing.
Any advice at all would be great :)
I'll let you see some of the stuff I have shot at shows over the summer. It's a mixed bag, so to speak, with a mixture of classic cars, steam and lorries.

I'm still a newbie, so go easy...;)

th_BigWheel.jpg


th_1999MarcosMantarayTITLED.jpg


th_Angliadelux.jpg


th_1997LandroverDefenderTITLED.jpg


th_ThePuddock.jpg


th_Line-up.jpg
 
I would love to gain access to a studio and learn all about lighting etc. I haven't done any photographic courses, and so haven't been able to get access to anywhere studiolike.

As for the photos you've posted: despite the sizes, they look good but maybe some more weird angles (to get those unique details that you speak of) - stuff like the Land Rover shot.
 
Thanks guys! Its good to get advice from people who do similar, as I feel I may struggle to get the help I need from the lecturers in question.
My images are actually all sized to be A4 for printing, but I must have made a hash of posting them on here! New sites take a bit of getting used to.... :)

Angliadelux.jpg
[/IMG]

GMC15TAinterior.jpg


1999MarcosMantarayTITLED.jpg


1997LandroverDefenderTITLED.jpg


BigWheel.jpg
[/IMG]

YellowHotrod-1.jpg
[/IMG]

Hope thats better :)
 
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Hi! I'm a female photography student in Scotland, and what I want to do is Automotive Photography, whereas our lecturers seem mostly to be interested in studio portraiture with pretty models. :rolleyes: Our large studio has drive-in access, so I'm hoping to put it to good use after the holidays. I know a wee bit about general studio lighting, and know the 8 main points to shoot at (front, back, sides and corners), and I also try to pick out unique details, such as the tail-lights of a MK1 Cortina, thats sort of thing.
Any advice at all would be great :)
I'll let you see some of the stuff I have shot at shows over the summer. It's a mixed bag, so to speak, with a mixture of classic cars, steam and lorries.

If you're wanting to go into automotive photography you'll need to try and identify which area within the speciality you'd like to specialize in.

Would you rather shoot high end exotic cars for commercial purposes or would you rather be trackside at Monaco ?

This choice is quite important as very rarely does a good commercial photographer make a good track photographer and vice versa. Don't feel pressured into making a decision now but keep it in mind as you progress through your course.

Listen to your lecturers, learn everything you can from them, regardless of what you're shooting, take it all in and figure out how to adapt it to your own style and photographs.

The best thing you can get now is properly hard criticism as it'll a) help you improve a thousand times faster and b) let you know if this is the right path for you. It's not the almost idolized lifestyle some think it to be, it's hard, tough work with very long hours and zero thanks.
 
Classic cars would be my ideal thing, but I will shoot what I can get for now. I'm not worried about hard criticism or hard work, - my last lecturer was ex-services and blunt as hell.
I'm also prepared for it to be a very male dominated world, (but it cant be any worse than being the only female apprentice joiner in Scotland...)
I am going to be getting a lot of studio work with models, so will be learning about lighting techniques both indoor and outdoors, and will just have to try and 'bend' this info to suit my needs, like you say.
The owner of the Anglia (which I shot above) is happy to bring his car to the studio for me to photograph, in exchange for images, so I figure thats a good start. :)
I have also put together a couple of calanders for local vintage vehicle clubs, to earn a wee bit cash for equipment and to get myself known.
 
If you're wanting to go into automotive photography you'll need to try and identify which area within the speciality you'd like to specialize in.

Would you rather shoot high end exotic cars for commercial purposes or would you rather be trackside at Monaco ?

This choice is quite important as very rarely does a good commercial photographer make a good track photographer and vice versa. Don't feel pressured into making a decision now but keep it in mind as you progress through your course.
Dang... and, here, I try to be the best at everything. I just have so much trouble deciding what I want to do and narrowing myself down :\

Anyway, once you do choose what you want to do, you need to develop a distinct style if you want to get noticed. This style needs to cover everything from your setup to your composition to your lighting to your processing.

What I'm seeing right from you, here, are some very typical "shapshotty" pictures that appear to say nothing beyond "look at this car I saw". Better than most snapshots from casual shooters, but nothing special or unique.

Look at Paddy's and Alok's photos (and 360photographer's, if his posts still exist here). I always know when a photo is theirs before looking at their name, avatar or watermark.
 
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