How to get this look?

[j_guiles]

<p>I am starting to shoot some cars for my portfolio. I have seen some shots from different sites and would like to be able to closely replicate these kinds of images. I believe a lot has to do with HDR, but what process and software is needed to create images like these:<br>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30361697@N03/3437755706/<br>

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30361697@N03/3446070602/<br>

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-corvette-general-discussion/2359948-d2forged-wheels-group-buy-details-inside.html<br>

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1570806888-post1.html</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

[beartooth1]

<p>1. Good Tripod<br>

2. Good Light<br>

3. Shoot 3 to 5 (or more) Bracketed Images<br>

4. Photomatix Pro (there are others but I prefer this one)<br>

5. Careful Processing as not to look "Over Cooked"<br>

6. Lots of Practice</p>

 

[john_a5]

<p>1. wide angle with barrel distortion--probably in the 16-17mm on 35FF area<br>

2. Same<br>

3. Probably a 2x normal focal length lens<br>

4. Some not worth doing, others are wide and or 2x normal. Some of these are very saturated, almost like HDR but not quite as bad as most. Probably not HDR, but increased contrast with the blue being saturated up or localized contrast.</p>

<p>The others 1 thru 3 are definitely not HDR.</p>

<p>First 3 could be done in camera for most part and probably were 35mm cameras due to the barrel distortion in the first 2. I think probably all were finished in photoshop and I would think Elements could do the things you see here. This is not magic by any means. Generally, in advertising, cars are shot with large format--8x10 film or high end digital. The last shots in number 4, the wide ones, don't seem to have as much barrel distortion and this could either have been fixed in mfg raw processors or some 3rd party software. Also, large format lenses and MF lenses exhibit less barrel distortion than 35mm wide lenses. Of course, correction can also be done in PS for this as well.</p>

[j_guiles]

<p>Cool, thanks for the info. My equipment - D700, 17-35 2.8, 50 1.4G, 35-70 2.8 and 80-200 2.8<br>

Any settings within the camera that I should play with for these specific kind of shots?</p>

[beartooth1]

<p>You can also achieve the Hyper-Real look by taking an image making a copy > High Pass filter > blend mode to Soft light or Overlay...then tweak from there. Lot os of good recipes just depending on your flavor and as stated above HDR is not necessary to get there...but I like it.</p>

[john_a5]

<p>Well, not really. I looked up the first two shots after I posted and they were actually shot with an aps camera at 10mm, just as I thought, about 16-17mm with a FF camera.</p>

<p>I would just play around with different distances and angles with the cars until you see what you like. In post, you will also have to play with curves and masks and such to get the effects of saturation and contrast as with the last shots. Remember though that you can only approximate the look with another car. I have had art directors wonder if I could make a square yellow electronic meter look like a clear light bulb! You have to realize that you are working with apples and oranges, unless you can get a great blue car to work with, it will look different.</p>