Best way to take pics of the truck ?

[Aussie Frontier]

Ok guys help me out here
I have a Canon Powershot S1 and it doesnt do a shabby job at all. However when I try to take pics of the truck I end up with issues. If its sunny then all I seem to get is reflections from the polished alloy and the paint etc. If I try on an overcast day I get to see megga reflections in the paint.

Do I need to use filters or change settings etc. I basically set things to auto and go from there, I see you guys get some great pics but I never seem to have much luck .

Maybe we could even have a sticky with the best way to take pics as in filters settings etc

[dana44]

Do you have some examples?

[Phil'sFrontier]

If you have a tripod, use it. Shoot pics around sunset, in photography, this is known as the golden hour.
On your Camera there should be a mode called 'Av'(aperture priority)...choose this mode, set aperture to f8 or f11. This will provide a good depth of field and show lots of details.
Also choose a spot with a good background(very important!) so if anything does show up reflecting, it will look good. I would shoot the truck from about mid height, and get pretty close.
Try shooting in portrait orentation to add intrest.(turn the camera vertically, as opposed to the normal horizontal orentation) Compose the shot so your truck is at the bottom of the frame, while the top could be a lovely sunset for example. Try to get the colours of the sunset to reflect in the side of your truck.
Also instead of shooting in Aperture Priority mode, take note of the settings(shutter speed/aperture) then switch to full manual mode. Keep your Aperture at f8/f11 and just play with the shutter speed until you get an exposure you are happy with.
Try this, and you will come home with some good shots, but you gotta share

[BLKFRONTIER]

This might help...

Drew's guide to better photos

[sexy6chick]

fly me to Australia and I'll be glad to do a photoshoot of the truck

just somethin to keep in a mind..a lot of the people on here have Digital SLR's, which is part of the reasons the shots posted look like they do. That being said, your Canon Powershot S1 should be able to take perfectly good picture of the truck. Try playing around with using the flash, and not using the flash. I've always found that getting close to the car/truck/jeep, and down at it's level usually bring out some great shots. Or if shooting from above, I tend to use a vertical direction as opposed to the horizontal orientation. What about the pictures you posted in the "black" frontiers thread, did you not like some of the way those shots turned out?

[Aussie Frontier]

koolies thanks guys n gals will have to give it a whirl.
Hardest part at the monent is trying to find a decent location. As you might know we are kinda short of water here so we virtually havent got anything green .
Brown grass doesnt look so hot lol

[Phil'sFrontier]

yes finding a good background can turn your image from a snapshot, to a photograph with a story.
Here's a idea to help get you started.

Go to the top of a hill/mountain(if you've got'em) Time it so you have the warm light that sunset provides. In this low light, you'll need you're tripod.
I would shoot in full manual mode and just use the LCD on the back and the histogram if you know how.
Try a bunch of different shots, some from the front, some from the back, different angles to the side of your truck. Take some in portrait, some in landscape orientation. The trick is to position your tripod so you get a real nice reflection in your truck.
Oh and one more thing...turn your truck off so the lights aren't on, and the tailpipe isn't putting out smoke.

[gr8ful_ken]

Film Camera. I know, i'ts no longer practical.

[navara-au]

Ahh Grasshoper!
The sun is your friend as well as you enemy, treat it wisely.

What ever happened to good American shows like Kung-fu, Maverick, Starsky and Hutch,etc., instead of the crap they dish out now.....oh sorry I digress.

Yep as Phil said the best time is very early morning and late afternoon, if the sun is not part of the shot ( like a sunset) keep it directly behind you. Set the aperture as small as possible ( your camera goes to f, the aperture is the amount of light that goes in the camera, the larger the no. the smaller the hole. You want to slow the shutter speed ( the faster the shutter speed the less detail ) as much as possible when your taking still shots, if you have a steady hand you can go down to 60 -30 without using a tripod. Like Phil said, set it to aperture priority and then adjust the aperture till you have a shutter speed of around 60, you wont always get that, it might be too bright or not enough light, but general rule of thumb that is the best speed for taking handheld stills. Also if the camera allows you to choose the film speed, try for around 100- 50 ISO......Do you understand any of that????? its a bit hard to explain in a couple of paragraphs.

Just looking at the specs of your camera http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/spec...canon_s1is.asp you should be able to get half decent shots from it. Its about the same standard as mine.

It pays to do a weekend workshop on how to use a camera, also take as many shots as you can before your shutter bug finger gets sore. Try to put up a photo every so often and ask for advise. A half decent photo software helps tidy up a photo, you dont need to spend a fortune on Photo Shop cs3, I use Corel Paint Shop pro.

As far as composition and angles go, its something you need to practice on. I will take dozens of shots of one subject using different angle and exposures to get one half decent shot......and even the pros do that.

Or just do what Nat suggested and get her to take the pics for you......although that might be a little hard to explain to the mrs.

[Aussie Frontier]

Damm after 2 days working with idiots its hard to get my pea brain around all this info lol.
Might actually have to get off my butt and read up on me camera