[BrokenVert]

Hey Im still new to DSLR Photography. Im taking pictures for an entry level photo course and this is one of the first that im a bit proud of. Im just wondering what some of the more seasoned guys think about it. Im open to criticism as it can only help me!

[immiketoo]

Have you edited this or is it out of the camera? It looks under exposed, the color is slightly red and its slightly out of focus. My edit. It was quick, but its easier to look at. Just my opinion though.

[AllydNYC]

Originally Posted by immiketoo

Have you edited this or is it out of the camera? It looks under exposed, the color is slightly red and its slightly out of focus. My edit. It was quick, but its easier to look at. Just my opinion though.

I agree with this especially it being underexposed. It can also use a little bit of cropping. The colors seemed very "dull" to me (this is where the LucisArt addon comes in). I was bored so I decided to do this. I would definitely torrent Adobe Photoshop CS4 and get the LucisArt 3 ED fliter/addon. It adds a nice effect to the photo. But besides that, I took a few things out of the background that seemed to detract me, brightened it up, did the LucisArt filter (a little) and then made the picture b&w and left the car in color. I also cropped it. Took me roughly 15 min.

I'm self taught with Photoshop so don't think it's hard to use, a steep learning curve at 1st though.



It's far from my best editing.

[BrokenVert]

Yeah I played with the color a bit and the original is a bit overexposed actually. I guess I brought the darkness up a bit too much and compensated with a bit more color saturation. I have CS5 but im still learning everything and im pretty crappy with curves thus far.

The light was pretty crappy too so the colors are a bit dulled because of that.

Thanks for the stuff so far.

Mike, I think that looks a bit overexposed tho no?

Allyd whyd you wash all of the color out of the background? and how do you do the swirl thing on the plate?

[AllydNYC]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Yeah I played with the color a bit and the original is a bit overexposed actually. I guess I brought the darkness up a bit too much and compensated with a bit more color saturation. I have CS5 but im still learning everything and im pretty crappy with curves thus far.

The light was pretty crappy too so the colors are a bit dulled because of that.

Thanks for the stuff so far.

Mike, I think that looks a bit overexposed tho no?

Allyd whyd you wash all of the color out of the background? and how do you do the swirl thing on the plate?

I feel like it brings the color of the car out more since you were shooting on a cloudy day. All I did was heal brush/clone stamp tool it a little bit to remove the black you put over it. The other way, which is easier, is Filters>Liquify and then use the swirl one.

[BrokenVert]

So I get that my color is still a bit off. But compositionally, besides the extra bit of cropping on the ground, is it good?

And I was experimenting with pan blur. I shot this at like an F11 and I focused right before I took the shot so its more than likely me shaking the camera slightly, but I think I held it pretty steady cause the GPNY on the rear quarter is decently sharp. I left the red in a bit too because I wanted the viewer to still be able to see the brake lights that are on.

The blur you see near the front fender is actually caused by brake dive. The vette was trailbraking into a heavy left hand sweeper and I was focusing on the red reflector on the rear quarter panel and shot where he hit the brakes the two runs before that. Its too bad I didnt get good shots from his first run cause the clouds moved in during his second. That blur on the front was purpose tho

[BrokenVert]

This is the original. It seemed really dull to me so I was trying to bring back the color in it.

[AllydNYC]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

This is the original. It seemed really dull to me so I was trying to bring back the color in it.

I'm sure someone will get to it before I do, but I will edit it tomorrow (or try to) and see if I can make the colors a bit more vivid.

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by AllydNYC

I'm sure someone will get to it before I do, but I will edit it tomorrow (or try to) and see if I can make the colors a bit more vivid.

I really appreciate it. Youll have to let me know what you do

[immiketoo]

Brokenvert,

I actually like the original better than your original edit. As far as whether or not mine is overexposed, there is a lot of personal preference involved. However, I lightened yours up because there was a lot of detail that was hard to see because it was too dark. Also, you didn't mention your intentional motion blur in the first post.

When trying to get the colors to pop, you have to be careful to watch the halftones like the pavement, because they have the tendency to pick up whatever hue you are adding. Masks in photoshop will help with this.

[BrokenVert]

Yeah I shouldve been a bit more specific and posted a comparo. And the more I look at the original the more I like it better. I havent played with masks yet. Thanks for the tip

[dcstep]

Yeah, your original is actually underexposed. You should "Expose Right" (push the histogram to right side of the graph) and then pull the brightness level down in RAW conversion. That'll maximize the dynamic range, allowing you to recover more shadow details and make the colors more vibrant.

That black overlay that you did is UGLY. Instead you should work with the RGB curve in RAW conversion. Try pulling down the middle of the curve slightly or applying and S-curve, to increase contrast and make the color POP more naturally.

Generally I'd try to crop a moving object so that it looks like it's moving into the frame rather than moving out as you've done. Of course, every rule can be broken. Still, I think that a much tighter crop would serve this image well since the background and sky are uninspiring. You want just enough pavement and BG to show the blur from panning, but not all that you've got.

Still, good effort.

Dave

[immiketoo]

Originally Posted by dcstep

Generally I'd try to crop a moving object so that it looks like it's moving into the frame rather than moving out as you've done. Of course, every rule can be broken.
Dave

This was exactly my thought as well, but I figured the color was a bigger issue. As you say, rules can be broken.

[BrokenVert]

I guess the thing about color is a moot point anyway as my professor said the image was boring and I got a C on it.

[M_Six]

[hipnotic]

i think original looks best

[spacemonkey1112]

I'm not all into the "lets B&W everything but leave my subject in color". sorta cheats composition but I agree, that the image is a little underexposed but that can be easily fixed by playing with your levels and curves. You don't need to do MUCH to get that extra bit out of your pictures.

[UdubBadger]

nice, the original actually doesn't look bad at all. What are you using to edit (sorry if these have been answered... I'm lazy). Editing is all based on personal preference... do what you like and what you think the image calls for. You can have 10 people all edit the photo 10 different ways and all come out well.

Composition looks good, for moving objects it's kinda cool to like to keep them a little more in the front 1/3rd of the frame if your going for a "fast" kind of look but having it hanging more to the rear 1/3rd of the frame also has a leading effect to it too so you just have to have one or the other in mind and try to capture it to your best ability. I'd also try to leave a LITTLE more space between the car and the edge is all. I also would personally prefer a little less space on the bottom and a touch more on the top (more sky less road).

[UdubBadger]

This would be my edit on it... took about 15 min or so.


ORIGINAL:


MINE:

[BrokenVert]

Yeah I'm still just learning how to shoot well but I'm getting a lot better at it. I'm autoxing on Saturday so they're will be little time for picks but I'll see what I can get

[UdubBadger]

no worries, once you get your basics down (which you have most of) it's just a matter of learning how to edit the style you want.

[BrokenVert]

I'll also be borrowing my friends 150 mm lens so that will help a bit