ScottoTheGreat
FollowA Classic Beauty. 1950 Aston Martin
A Classic Beauty. 1950 Aston Martin
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ppgaspar
June 14, 2016
THIS is classic beauty. Cars & women. Not the cars left to rust either. Those are sad. Much of the entries for classic beauty - were not. The winning image was very second rate.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in downtown West Palm Beach on the water front. The exposure presented a challenge because the sun was behind the subject but patience paid off as the clouds rolled in a provided a natural diffusionTime
The car arrived later than expected so the as the shoot was planned earlier in the day but managed to starting shooting around 10 am.Lighting
I was so thrilled about the overcast sky because the car is grey I wanted the tones to be cooler.Equipment
Shot with a Canon Rebel XS cropped sensor with and 24 - 55 Kit Lens f/11 on a tripod so that I had the freedom to shoot manually and control the exposure settings.Inspiration
I wanted to photograph this beautiful car in a location that gives the viewer a sense of serenity. A backdrop of richness and elegance that match the curves of this finely kept automobile. I am not a car aficionada by any means, I don't the brands of cars by looking at them but I do like to photograph them because they an art form in themselves.Editing
I taught myself Photoshop before becoming a photographer so my post processing is sometimes extensive but the conditions on this day came together so nicely that it was minimal. I brought up the shadows because the car was back lit and decreased the highlights in the sky and increased the contrast. A few distractions in the water were removed and I composited the birds into the image. I painted an area of the car, using the clone stamp tool, sampling colors and brushing in certain areas along with adding noise to the brush strokes. This was done to minimize one very distracting reflection(to me) that I did not really notice during the shoot.In my camera bag
I have a LowePro back pack with everything that I own in it at all times. 1 Canon Rebel body, 50mm f/1.8, 24-55mm f/4.0 - 5.6 variable zoom, 105 - 300mm f/4.0 - 5.6 variable zoom and the 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. 3 speed lights with trigger remotes, Black Rapid strap, a whole bunch of batteries, Fixed ND Filters and a variable ND Filter. A Rogue Flash Bender with Diffuser. I will travel light taking one lens depending on the situation but I will have the backpack in the car because I want to be flexible. I am relatively new (about 3 years of solid photography) so I am not so confident that I can just have one lens at my disposal.Feedback
Cars are highly reflective so being aware of the surroundings is important both to eliminate distraction but also to high light the curves of the vehicle. Cloud reflections are fantastic at accentuating the curves of the car as well as some strong lines that a reflecting on the vehicle. Times of the shoot are not necessarily too limited but know how to work in the light that is available is important. What out for the hot spots the sun creates on the chrome and how they are minimized with a polarizer. Shoot on a tripod and take bracketed exposures when you first start but stay away from heavy handed HDR images. Use the multiple exposures in post processing as learning tool not as crutch. Look at the settings and apply those to the next similar shoot to get the shot in camera as close as possible without combining multiple exposures.