In an upcoming podcast with Barry Staver and myself—it’s Number 4 in our Pixel, Grain & Cookies Podcasts—during the “Influences” section, I talk about my favorite photographer and a book he produced that changed how I look at my own photographs, even though our work could not be more different. Look for this podcast on my YouTube channel real soon now.
Today’s Post by Joe Farace
Everything in life is somewhere else, and you get there in a car.— E. B. White
It’s #wheelswednesday and I would like to offer five different ideas you can use to improve your car photography; these are just really small things that you can do to make your photographs just a little bit better…
Starting with…
Take one step closer to your subject. This is not an original thought but an idea that one of my personal photographic heroes, Ernst Haas (19210-1986,) made, saying, “The most important lens you have is your legs.” If you’re not familiar with his work, pick up one of his books from the library or, better yet, buy a copy of his seminal work, The Creation,from Amazon where used copies prices start as low as eight bucks. as I write this. Reading this book and looking at his images will change your life—I promise.
If your camera has interchangeable lenses; why not change them every now and then? Lots of people who buy DSLRs or mirrorless cameras never remove the kit lens that came with it. Using lenses of different focal lengths can change the look of an image and it doesn’t matter whether it’s a long or short focal length lens, making any change kind of focal length can transform how you see the world.
Buying lenses doesn’t have to break the bank. Used lenses are a great option—you’re going to use them anyway. KEH sells a class of used gear they call “Bargain” that includes equipment that may not have great looking cosmetics but work just fine. I’ve used many of their Bargain lenses in the past and was pleased with the quality of the images they produced, although the lenses themselves may look a little beat up.
How I made this photo: I’ve always been an Anglophile and been fascinated by English carsm especially Bentley automobiles and photographed the front end of this classic Bentley at the Vehicle Vault Gallery in Parker, Colorado using a Nikon D780 and VR 24-120mm f/4G lens (at 120mm.) The exposure was 1/25 sec at f/13 and ISO 8000. Surprisingly there’s not much noise with that lens, body and exposure combination.
Change your point-of-view. Stand on a hill, a ladder or just find an unconventional angle. Kneel down or lay on the ground—be sure wear your grungies—it all adds up to a new and different way of capturing an image. The flip-out screens many DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are ideal for this kind of shot and I often uses this technique, without having to crawl on the ground to get low-down shots or high-angle Hail Mary shots when photographing automobiles at car shows or even on the street.
Shoot More Verticals. For reasons unknown to science, smartphone users seem to like shooting everything, including video clips, as verticals. DSLR and mirrorless camera shooters seemingly prefer shooting horizontally because that’s the shape of their cameras. Tip: Try some verticals. You will be surprised at what happens and it won’t hurt your wrist to turn the camera.
Avoid the Bull-eye Syndrome. It’s usually not a good idea to place the subject of the photograph in the center of the frame but shooting a horizontal image at eye level with the subject smack in the middle of the frame can sometimes work but only if you’re lucky.
For another approach to creative inspiration, pick up a copy my friend Rick Sammon’s book Creative Visualization for Photographers, which is available from Amazon and all of the usual suspects.