Friday Photo Critique #24

Friday Photo Critique #24

on Mar 19th 2010 with 14 comments

Friday Photo Critique is our weekly community project, where we publish a photograph submitted by one of our wonderful readers, then ask you all to offer constructive feedback on the image.

It’s a great way to learn more about photography, express your viewpoint, and have your own image critiqued. Your response will also be displayed with a link to your website or portfolio, so be sure to enter it correctly when submitting a comment!

Quick Ground Rules

  1. Play nice! We’ve deliberately chosen photographs that aren’t perfect, so please be constructive with any criticism.
  2. Feel free to offer any type of advice – composition, lighting, post-processing etc.
  3. You can also link to photographs that you feel offer a great example of this type of image shot exceptionally well.

Without further ado, here is this week’s candidate for Friday Photo Critique!

The Photograph

Photo Critique

Photographer: Max Photography

Please let us know what you think in the comments – how would you have approached the scene or taken the photo differently? A massive thank you to everyone who commented last week.

The most constructive and helpful comments will be featured on the site, and you’ll also be given priority to feature your own work in a future Friday Photo Critique!.

David Appleyard is davidappleyard on Themeforest
 
Enjoyed this Post?

Subscribe to our RSS Feed, Follow us on Twitter or simply recommend us to friends and colleagues!

By

Rollover to read this author's bio or click through to see a full list of posts by this author.

David Appleyard is a designer and writer based in the UK. He manages Tuts+, along with having founded several design websites including Design Shack and PixelsDaily.  

Plus Premium
 
 
  • http://accessibleweb.eu Richard

    Nice. I like the drops of water on the car and the water on the floor, they add character. The background (ceiling) is a bit distracting even though it is interesting architecturally. I think the shot would work better with the camera at a higher viewpoint looking down more. One final minor thing, a number/registration plate would make it look more real (even if only a fake personalised one).

  • http://www.malls.dk Martin

    As #1 mentions: “a number/registration plate would make it look more real”
    As it is now, the registration plate takes a lot of attention from the viewer!

    I can tell from the EXIF that you used an apperture of: 4,2..
    Using a smaller apperture will give you more sharpness on the car..
    The front is nice and sharp, but the front wheel and the side mirror are a bit out of focus..

    The drops of water and the water on the ground works well..

    I don’t mind the surroundings, it gives the impression of a car, just being parked after a ride in the rain..
    The vignette applied to the image works well as a frame. Also bringing the attention to the car..

    One last thing.. The white reflection from the light (At least I think it is?) under the headlights is bad! Reflections lige that should be avoided..

    Nice pic! :D

  • earthrokk

    Nice Job. I have only a few points to make. The Floor, either wet the entire floor for richer texture and reflection or ensure that the floor is dry or mop down the dripping water. It is a little distracting to see the water just dripping without reason. Rotate the composition so the car sit more on an angle (maybe 15 degrees clockwise,) This should add a little my drama/dynamic appeal. Dodge the burned in spots on the hood and the dark shadow under the pas. rear view mirror. Darken the wind shield, treat it like shades. Darken/burn the background. Use silver or textured map over the license if you do not want a real license. Sometimes, you can just clone out the plate numbers. Bump up the shadows on the grill, revealing more of the light and detail. Wheels look Dirty!!!

    Overall, good pick. Most of the fixes I mentioned are fixable in PS. Keep Shooting!!!!!!

  • http://www.jessicahannon.com Jessica Hannon

    Great photo! I think you nailed the contrast! Not just speaking tones, but the contrast of the lines is very interesting! I do agree that it is a bit distracting, but I think it’s visually stimulating. The POV is different, something we normally wouldn’t see in a typical car ad, but it give the car a personality! Great shot!

  • http://jamalahmadsthoughts.blogspot.com/ Jamal Ahmad

    The only thing I’d do different is probably spry the water elsewhere before positioning the car for the shoot, nice shot!

  • http://www.nowheremanphotos.com Mike Wilson

    This is a great shot. Love the detail of the water droplets.

    I’m not a car-photo guy, but this just looks amazing to me. My only thought is you need a bit more space around the car. It looks a bit cramped in there.

    Great job!

  • Allan

    Great photo, this is really top quality, if I have to be super critical I also think like @earthrokk that the floor need more texture and eliminate the water (feels like oil), also like @Mike Wilson says it needs more space, I put a little more air to the right of the picture, and clean a little more the picture have some dirt, and I put some color. thx for share

  • Shane

    Nice shot, I like it a lot. Agree w/ comments above on about everything.

    I realize it’s not a car advertisement… but that seems to be the feel you’re going for and it could be there if there was a little more prep done for the scene.

    Car looks a little dirty on sides and wheels.

    The main thing that gets me (the picky side of me, but mind you it’s a very strong photo):

    Reflections on the side of the car: Reflections are good but these are not controlled, the florescent lights are a little distracting on the side of car due to shape and pattern. The front of the car is well lit and the idea is to show the car primarily. So it has to be spot on. You would really have to take some paper or fabric and control those reflections by blocking out reflective objects and light sources. Some photographers go to such a degree as to paint a fake backdrop with patterns or faux mountain horizons to get that special look.

    The background is cool but needs some planning: Nice industrial contrast to the clean smooth lines of the car. But there are other cars in the background. Ideally (assuming you have control over the location) is to move all distracting elements such as cars and objects out of frame.

    Exposure: looks nice. Love that radiant feeling coming from the hood region. Feel like the side needs just a tad more fill light.
    -Unfortunately a lot of the highlights in the light sources are completely blown out, including the immediate concrete area around them.

    This would be a great candidate for exposure mixing / HDR (w/o that hdr look).

    Props, looks nice.

  • http://baffleinc.com/ Harley

    I always find photos of cars somewhat underwhelming, however there’s no doubt you can show power in an image of a car. The water glistening on the car is what makes the shot for me- but It ruins the ‘perfect’ image as you can see the water on the ground from when it has been sprayed! Nice car though, and nice b&w toning- it has contrast!

    • http://baffleinc.com/ Harley

      Also maybe a lower angle with a wider angle lens could make it a whole lot more interesting? food for thought…

      • BVBeckman

        Undercarriages are so unappealing….

  • Rod

    first impression: very VERY good shot. ama total car guy and i love how this whole image looks. the water drops the scene. everything is really really fine but i would add more space around the car it’s true: looks a bit cramped. also when your workin around a car a luxury car like a lexus. it’s all about the details. more light. more reflections a bit of waxin the car and the wheels, they look awfully dirty. i know they’re minor things. but they’d make this picture flawless

    thanks for reading

    Rod

  • WBDesign

    I would photoshop out the car and the strip lights on the right edge of the picture as well as the plumbing next to the left wing mirror of the car as well as the lane markings on the ground…

    It’s quite an edgy picture to begin with in the best possible use of that word… but it should be as clutter free as possible to give a free look to it

    I would dodge the front rim a little, maybe the tyre too

    Also the moiré pattern on the grill is an issue i would sort out

    Maybe highpass with mask the refections on the side of the car

    I dont like the water on the glass, looks dirty, if your gonna remove it from the front windscreen you might as well remove it from the rest of the image

    overall its a good execution, colour could be used to make a few things pop

  • http://www.flickr.com/photos/photographymax/ Photographymax

    Thank you all for your comments / advice, it’s much appreciated.

    @Richard Thanks, glad you like it. I did take a few shots of the car also from a higher point, you can view them on my Flickr page in the Cars set.

    @earthrokk The water wasn’t dripping without reason, it was raining. The car was parked at an underground car park just before the photo was taken. Thanks for the advice, I need to get onto a PS course soon!

    @Jamal Ahmad Thanks for the input bro.

    Finally, it was raining that day and we went to Asda. I had my camera and took the shot in Asda car park, no planning was involved or pre arrangements for a shoot or anything. The photo was taken and edited in Lightroom. Most of my photos don’t involve any planning at all, I’ll need to start getting serious at some point!

    Thanks again, and thanks to Photo Tuts+ for the feature, it’s been very helpful.