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Greetings all,

I've been around the forums for a little while now but almost solely in the Race/Rep Painters forum.  I decided after seeing some of the outstanding pics and vids in this section that I'd love to give it a go...with the ultimate goal of getting much much better.

I'm quite happy with the pics I've taken so far but I realise I have a long way to go before I'm even close to the skills of some of you guys.

I'd love to get some feedback on my snaps.

Ben

^^Paint by AB Graphics^^

Little bump in the hope of getting some feedback.  I know there are some pretty poor pictures in there but hopefully ones like the last two and the R33 in the tunnel show at least a little bit of promise???

Cheers

Ben

Looking pretty good so far. I have one suggestion though.

Some of your pictures would look so much better if you toned down the exposure a little. Like the tunnel shot with the exposure under the mirror and the second to last one with the BMW. That's coming from a new photographer. But I like your shots otherwise. The last one is probably my favorite right now.

Keep going! 

Thanks for the feedback Soap.

I've been toying with the settings, and trying out the tips that Dust Bunny Unit posted earlier in the hope of getting some more "realism" into my shots.

They're still faaaaar from perfect but I think at least 2 of the following 4 show some improvement.  What do you guys think?

Cheers

Ben

Thanks Nizmo, I may well revisit that shot to give it another go.  See below for a slightly different take on that pic (different car, angle and settings).  Love to know what you think.

Aztech, thanks buddy.  I've taken your advice and have been toying with some shots (again on FK...I know, not that much diversity at the mo) I'd really love to hear what you think.  Theres some I'm really quite pleased with and some that are disappointing:

Should have done a full rotation on this one to get rid of the forza logo  Damnit!

Didn't come out anywhere near as good as I wanted

Thanks for looking.

Ben

The Supra shots look really nice. It really is about experimenting and getting a good feel for the photomode. Make sure when you're increasing the exposure that you may have to add some more brightness/contrast so that your picture doesn't become completely washed out. It will take time, like everything else. Also experiment with colour and sepia, sepia sometimes just adds that little bit more to a photo.

And always make sure the Forza Watermark is off the subject, it can totally ruin a shot. 

Thanks man, I'm trying to take everything on board and use it so this really is a learning process for me.  I'm really thankful for the feedback.

And the watermarks are a royal pain in the ****.  I keep forgetting its going to be there until its too late.  I need to keep it in mind when I'm taking the shots

benomist:

 

very nice...good start to the gallery...keep at it...

+1 to the above photo, the supra photos look great!^

but if I had to pick on that looked realistic to me it would be this one:

When I say realistic I'm talking about the environment, I really like how the shadows on the trees and road look. It really gives that sense of speed with some rather realistic looking lighting. I think the only downfall of this photo was how far away the car was lol I think the frame is just missing the in-your-face aggression of the car.  

For your next set of photos I would try increasing the color meter; not too much but just enough to really get those greens and reds to pop out. More color saturation i've noticed can occasionally add brightness to the photo and also a vibrance that really helps make the details stand out. Also tone down the brightness and exposure maybe two or three clicks at most. Basically with exposure, you want to get that light reflection off of the car to make it look glossy but not so much that details are getting disintegrated by the bloom lol you want the overall brightness of the photo to be at level where you can see the little details (for instance the space in between the cars grill slats), but if you add too much brightness you can see the photo become dulled (it kind of looks like a fog set in all of a sudden when you're adjusting).

Sorry for kind of picking apart your photos in your gallery   lol I can tell you're improving though! Just keep practicing, try out all the different lighting environments like DBU said. keep it up

Dust Bunny Unit:

You look like you have a lot of potential. If you go back and look at my 2nd and 3rd post, I wasn't the best. Now, I feel like I have a grasp of it and am producing pretty sweet pictures. You'll get it. Go out and try new tracks. You'll be surprised what you learn on one track, can translate to sweet picture on another. Go explore the game some. You'll get it.

Thanks very much.  Thats really encouraging (not to mention down right nice) of you to say

LazarusJackson:

very nice...good start to the gallery...keep at it...

Glad you liked it.  I was really pleased with that one

Aztech318:

+1 to the above photo, the supra photos look great!^
When I say realistic I'm talking about the environment, I really like how the shadows on the trees and road look. It really gives that sense of speed with some rather realistic looking lighting. I think the only downfall of this photo was how far away the car was lol I think the frame is just missing the in-your-face aggression of the car.  
For your next set of photos I would try increasing the color meter; not too much but just enough to really get those greens and reds to pop out. More color saturation i've noticed can occasionally add brightness to the photo and also a vibrance that really helps make the details stand out. Also tone down the brightness and exposure maybe two or three clicks at most. Basically with exposure, you want to get that light reflection off of the car to make it look glossy but not so much that details are getting disintegrated by the bloom lol you want the overall brightness of the photo to be at level where you can see the little details (for instance the space in between the cars grill slats), but if you add too much brightness you can see the photo become dulled (it kind of looks like a fog set in all of a sudden when you're adjusting).
Sorry for kind of picking apart your photos in your gallery  lol I can tell you're improving though! Just keep practicing, try out all the different lighting environments like DBU said. keep it up

Damn, that there is mighty fine feedback.  Thanks for taking the time to write it.

I've actually been trying to tone down the colour on a lot of my shots as I thought they looked a bit too intense.  However, on reading your comment and looking at some real shots I can see that I was pretty wrong.

Soooo...I've been out on FK again tonight in an RX-7 and have taken a few shots.  Trying to use the various peices of feedback I've been given has been tough but I think some of this next set hasn't come out too bad.
I'm not sure if this set is any better than the last but I'm experimenting so apprdciate all of your words (and patience)

Here we go with the return of the prodigal son (the car...not me) to touge nirvana:

And one from Camino

Cheers

Ben

I'm just glad I can help Color's one of those things that you definitely have to keep in check. But you don't want too little either (unless, like lazarus said, you're doing a B&W shot lol).

I have to say I really like the way you approach tunnels. I can tell you that composition is the most important part of any successful photograph, and I like the fact that you seem to try and use the environments to enhance the photo rather than focusing on the car completely. I think you're heading in the right direction with a better understanding of what the settings do so for now I don't have any more advice to give you other than keep practicing and posting.

I lied... I actually have one more bit of advice for learning more about what the settings do. When you're in photo mode, put the settings to their extremes so you can observe what they do. For example, slide the contrast bar all the way up and all the way back down and pay attention to how it affects the photo. Try this with each of the sliders. I've often found that if you know exactly what doesn't look good, it's easier to find that point of balance where everything is working together.

Keep up the great work, you're improving and I can't wait to see where this gallery goes

Lazarus/Aztech, thanks again guys, I really appreciate the time you've taken to give me feedback.

So, I've taken a bit of a different approach with some of this next set (Aztech, I used your tip about maxing out the settings).  I like some...I dont like others but here we go:

As ever, I'd love to know what you guys think

Subaru 22b on Road America:

Ben

this one's my favorite!

great work man you're improving so fast!! these look awesome, you're definitely getting the hang of things here.

now i've got no more suggestions haha just keep experimenting! 

Aztech318:

I'm just glad I can help Color's one of those things that you definitely have to keep in check. But you don't want too little either (unless, like lazarus said, you're doing a B&W shot lol).

I have to say I really like the way you approach tunnels. I can tell you that composition is the most important part of any successful photograph, and I like the fact that you seem to try and use the environments to enhance the photo rather than focusing on the car completely. I think you're heading in the right direction with a better understanding of what the settings do so for now I don't have any more advice to give you other than keep practicing and posting.

I lied... I actually have one more bit of advice for learning more about what the settings do. When you're in photo mode, put the settings to their extremes so you can observe what they do. For example, slide the contrast bar all the way up and all the way back down and pay attention to how it affects the photo. Try this with each of the sliders. I've often found that if you know exactly what doesn't look good, it's easier to find that point of balance where everything is working together.

Keep up the great work, you're improving and I can't wait to see where this gallery goes

 Exactly what I do.  

I'm really starting to enjoy this now.  I never realised how much fun playing with the camera would be but it's great.  Sometimes things work, sometimes it's like trying to scratch an itch with boxing gloves on but it's so rewarding.

I want to say thanks again for the comments.

Tonight I've been out in a Bentley trying to have a go at some different things.  So, what do you think??? Hit or miss with this set?

DBU - I used your filter trick and came up with a shot that I thought looked quite like the car being viewed through a nightvision scope:

Thanks for looking.