[Aries326]

So, I went on a photoshoot with my cousin who has a T3i. I've got a D3100. The original intent was to catch the sun setting on top of a garage but we got there too late. We tried doing shots on the top level but the lights were yellow and I couldn't quite get a "good" shot. I tried setting the white balance on my D3100 but I just got an error message. We took the car down to the next level and inside the garage, the lighting was much better. Here are the shots. Some of them are with the T3i. Guess which ones? The D3100 shots were shot in RAM and then post processing using a D3100 RAW preset was used. I then used DFine 2.0 to get rid of noise on all the shots. Any hints, tips? Thank you for sharing your expertise.

[rodi]

you should permanently delete the last one from your records.
the white balance on the first three look Great!

and number five is your strongest composition (the others are kind of boring composition-wise). and this is because of the placement of the subject in the frame, the leading in and out angles and their position in the thirds of the frame, and your height from the ground.

cheers.

[Aries326]

Thanks for the tips! #5 was shot by me. The first three shot by my cousin who has the T3i. Any idea as to why the white balance was so screwy? It looks like the car was shot in the Matrix. White balance was on auto on the D3100.

[rodi]

did you set it to K and choose a temperature?

[Rotorocious]

Doesn't seem very sharp? Sure the focus was right?

[AllydNYC]

No pro at it but if you're going to shoot something stationary at night and you have a tripod, put your ISO to the lowest setting or a very low setting. Grain/noise is REALLY hard to get out of a picture. I feel the angle could of been better on most of the pictures. I also am bored (like usual) so I PS'ed the #5 picture for ~20 min.

[Aries326]

Thanks for the help. I'll go grab a tripod one of these days. I used ISO 1600 for these shots since that's what was suggested by my cousin who is also a beginner but has more experience than I do. As for setting the "K and choose a temperature", I'm not quite sure how to do that.

As for the focus, I just assumed it was right since the camera is set to auto-focus mode. I'll try to go back there again this weekend and take some shots if the weather is right.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by AllydNYC

No pro at it but if you're going to shoot something stationary at night and you have a tripod, put your ISO to the lowest setting or a very low setting. Grain/noise is REALLY hard to get out of a picture. I feel the angle could of been better on most of the pictures. I also am bored (like usual) so I PS'ed the #5 picture for ~20 min.

Thanks for photoshopping the picture! I can definitely tell the improvements made. Anyway you can email me the full sized file so I can use it as my desktop?

[rodi]

Originally Posted by Aries326

T As for setting the "K and choose a temperature", I'm not quite sure how to do that.

go grab that little manual that came with the camera and read it thoroughly.

[oneintheory]

number one hint for you as a budding photographer...avoid parking garages. if you want to take pictures of a car at night, use artificial light. it's just...better. garage lights were never meant to be flattering for ANYTHING.

watch that, and ignore the fact that it's absolutely terrible and wholly reliant on photoshop for success. you can do it all in a single exposure with a flashlight or a similar light source. as a new photographer, you should try to AVOID photoshop or it may end up being a crutch.

[leemik]

They ok.. nothing sticks out as very memorable.. possibly because a parking garage is one of the most over used locations ever for a car shoot.. so unless you are using off camera lighting a rig or it's a million dollar exotic, they don't really excite ..

some photos are overexposed and some are underexposed.. color balance is different throughout the series as well.. it didn't appear that you even bothered to move the car around as all pics were in exact same spot. try moving the car around.. turning your wheels or getting even lower or higher for more dramatic effect... get some shots of the rear.. get some shots of the interior..etc, etc... all that comes with experience of shotting hundreds of cars...

also you should number your pics if you want us to comment on them...

--mike

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by rodi

go grab that little manual that came with the camera and read it thoroughly.

I didn't think the d3100 had temperature control and I was right. I looked through the manual as well as googled the answer. This review confirms that it does not have temperature control. Is this a case where I have to go through the shots manually and edit the color balance? Thanks.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/D3100/D3100IMAGING.HTM

[AllydNYC]

Originally Posted by Aries326

Thanks for photoshopping the picture! I can definitely tell the improvements made. Anyway you can email me the full sized file so I can use it as my desktop?

That's the biggest size I have or I should say, that's the same size as your original post. Don't have any bigger.

[E90SoFlo]

White balance is your friend.

#5 is the best.

[rodi]

Originally Posted by Aries326

I didn't think the d3100 had temperature control and I was right. I looked through the manual as well as googled the answer. This review confirms that it does not have temperature control. Is this a case where I have to go through the shots manually and edit the color balance? Thanks.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PROD...100IMAGING.HTM

use the Preset WB option and shoot something white/grey (fill the frame) to set it.

[E90SoFlo]

Originally Posted by rodi

use the Preset WB option and shoot something white/grey (fill the frame) to set it.

A white card works great!

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by rodi

use the Preset WB option and shoot something white/grey (fill the frame) to set it.

So, I should bring a white card with me and shoot it wherever I am to get the perfect white balance? Strange concept for me since my point and shoot super zoom (FZ 18) would allow me to set white balance by just pointing at the scene and pressing the shoot button. That usually did the trick.

When I was doing this shoot, I tried just pointing at the door. It didn't work. I kept on getting an error. Oh well. I'll try again some other time.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by oneintheory

number one hint for you as a budding photographer...avoid parking garages. if you want to take pictures of a car at night, use artificial light. it's just...better. garage lights were never meant to be flattering for ANYTHING.

watch that, and ignore the fact that it's absolutely terrible and wholly reliant on photoshop for success. you can do it all in a single exposure with a flashlight or a similar light source. as a new photographer, you should try to AVOID photoshop or it may end up being a crutch.

Thanks for the vid and the tips! You're right, I should try to avoid photoshop or any of the other fancy presets on aperture. Hard to do when my exposures are off so often.

[bluespeed117]

took one of your photos and had some fun with it. Dont be afraid to do some post work on your photos. I know this isnt the best but its good to work with your photos after you've shot. Only way to be good at post is to practice it. Obviously the quality of the photo isnt that great cause its a jpg. Im sure you will be able to pull much better results with the raw file.

[rodi]

oh my. that's pretty.

[M_Six]

As others have stated, parking garages just don't cut it for car pics (unless you have über-talent like John Z). The light is awful, the background is awful, and so on. The reflections alone are bad enough. Also, your car has very cool angel eye lights. Use them to add some color and light to the scene.

#5 wasn't bad, but the rule of thirds also states your subject should always be "entering" the picture, not "leaving" it. #5 has way too much wasted space behind the car. I cropped some out, but from now on try to have the space in front of your car, even if the shot is from behind.

I'm not advocating Photoshop as an excuse to take bad pics either, but you can greatly alter the looks of a pic with it.

[Aries326]

Originally Posted by oneintheory

number one hint for you as a budding photographer...avoid parking garages. if you want to take pictures of a car at night, use artificial light. it's just...better. garage lights were never meant to be flattering for ANYTHING.

watch that, and ignore the fact that it's absolutely terrible and wholly reliant on photoshop for success. you can do it all in a single exposure with a flashlight or a similar light source. as a new photographer, you should try to AVOID photoshop or it may end up being a crutch.

I just checked out your photos. Good stuff! I see now what people mean when they say my pics don't look sharp enough. The pics of that TL were so sharp!