DocCola

iTrader: (4)

Donald, pics are looking great man. Keep shooting just like everyone said and stop by a best buy to grab yourself a cheap tripod, I got mine for 30 bucks, works great. Check out my thread (in my sig) to see some of my old and newer shots.

Looking forward to meeting you bro.

19DB794

iTrader: (33)

Too many GG's in MA lol. Pretty nice shots. We all gotta get together once for a photoshoot or something. Does it really smell that bad in your car lol?

DocCola

iTrader: (4)

I was thinking the same thing, there are a ton of GG's in MA. But Josh, what are you talking about smelling bad in his car?

19DB794

iTrader: (33)

Look at the amount of air freshners hanging from the mirror on the windshield lol.

silver9mr

iTrader: (8)

hey nice to see a fellow mass-hole's pics hahah jk well what exhaust is that?

lghtngyello03

iTrader: (44)

Yea, I noticed that too, all of those black ice air freshners, lol.

VtexGt3

iTrader: (14)

looks good so far. you'll need to shoot alot to get a feel for composition and framing your shots. Buy a big memory card and don't be afraid to just snap a few thousand shots each time. When you're shooting with a bright blue sky like that, purchase a circular polarizer, a decent one is about $30 depending on your lens size. You spin it to make a 90 degree difference between the lens and the light source and it makes your sky much deeper and richer and also takes away reflective glare. Also it looks like you're overexposing in some of those shots, most likely because the camera is trying to meter the background which is bright instead of your subject. You can also try shooting in bracketed burst mode, which takes several pictures bracketed at different exposures, you can HDR them together afterwards to make a well balance picture that would normally be much harder to shoot.
I also agree with the other guys, get a tripod, it makes a big difference especially if you're going to be shooting at night. But be careful which one you buy. a D60 isn't a heavy camera, but if you have some big zoom lenses cheap tripods won't be able to support them especially on a windy day with the tripod extended. For an entry level tripod look for at least something all metal, something in the slik able series would be good for beginners.

Finally, those two shots with the whole car in the frame and its in front of the containers are great. Like one guy posted, photography is subjective, so personally i really liked the composition idea.

Goodluck and keep shooting!!

Mooseknuckle

iTrader: (4)

Here's some CC:

Don't take this the wrong way, but save for one or two, the photos are terrible. I didn't even stop to look at a certain image as I was scrolling through; nothing caught my attention long enough to slow down.

This isn't the easiest thing to do, trust me. Many people on here think they can just go to the camera store and pick up a dSLR and their photos will magically be magazine quality.

In a few of your photos, I didn't even see a car at first...I saw a big WHITE POLE holding up a building. This is the LAST thing you want to have in your images. I know how easy it is to just press the shutter button and have an image, but next time really take some time to compose the image. Ask yourself if you would enjoy looking at this image a 10th or even 20th time after taking it. Some of the images posted on this forum I go back and look at for the 100th time, even though I know exactly what I'm going to see; they are just THAT good.

Don't cut off any part of the car at first. You will see some images that are well produced showing only portions of the car; these photographers know what they are doing bottom line they just have an eye for this kind of stuff. Try to include the entire car in the photo; after all this is the main subject of the image and you don't want anything to deter the viewer's eye from what you are trying to show off. Worry about the sweet background later...just find a nice open space with something interesting behind the car, but in the distance.

Look out for poles, trees, light towers, antennas, bushes, shrubs, etc getting in the way of the car. Go look at some car photos...you'll see an Evo with a tree growing out of the sunroof and the person who took it will think it's the best picture ever created. Take some extra time to look AROUND the photo; not just the subject of the image.

I also don' want to see a construction barrel or Propel bottle in the foreground of a picture.

First thoughts: "Thats a nice orange barrel and Gatorade bottle....oh look! an Evo!"

Don't let this happen. Ever.

Also be aware of your horizon lines and any buildings that will be included in your image. You want the horizon to be level with the picture and buildings to be completely vertical. Buildings aren't built on an angle, so they shouldn't be shown on an angle in your photos. This is especially easy to mess up when holding the camera vertical shooting in portrait mode. Make use of your focus points as you look through the viewfinder; they are essential to lining up things that are already straight. It will increase the initial quality of your images tenfold.

Bottom line: Compose, think, compose again, snap the photo. Then try it from a different angle but stand in the same spot. Take LOTS of images, but KEEP very few.

Don't let all this discourage you though; you will be 100% better the next time around when you decide to go out and snap some shots provided you follow these tips. Hope I helped!


We will tackle Post-Processing another time...I look forward to seeing your work next time.




P.S.-- Night time pics:

Shoot in Av Mode. The camera will know how long it needs to hold the shutter open for. If taking a landscape type shot where you need everything in focus, stop down to a smaller aperture, aka a higher number. Higher the number, smaller the hole, the less light will enter but more will be in focus.

Get a tripod. Don't expect anything worth looking at without one. Don't be afraid of 20 or 30 second exposures with a tripod!

Use ISO 100 or whatever the lowest setting is on your camera. Noise will be multiplied during a long exposure if you are using a high ISO. Let time do its work and be patient for a good exposure.

d0nald

wow, i never thought people would actually be posting up in this thread!
sorry i havent responded!!!!!!
ive read evrything everyone has said and thanks!

anyone know of any good nikon forums were i can learn how to adjust my camera settings??

thanks again!
ill be responding this time

EvilDSM97

iTrader: (4)

Not bad for being new to photography.

d0nald

thanks

i got myself a tripod
and took some more pics
ill upload them and post them in my next post and on the main page for those who have been following this thread

caution: i went wingless for this photoshoot :P