I play around with it a little, and do shoot in manual at night, typically. I don't know why, but something about my night shots always seems off. Maybe I just don't like the subject / composition of these (boring shots?). Any thoughts? These two are prime examples of ones I don't like. Never bothered to really post process them either, since I was so underwhelmed. I do like this one, however:
I'm sure you know about the rule of thirds, but if not check out this link really quick Rule of Thirds. It's a short description about the general rule of thumb for photographs. (Well, now that I look at it.. you're not that far off. -- Maybe you can crop your photo more in the shooting process or afterwards in the editing process) The only reason I bring it up with your night photos is because when photographing horizons, you normally don't want them sitting right in the middle of the photograph. It might be hard to adjust it seeing as how theres a nice street down there and I like that you've captured that as well. I'm thinking this might be where you see a problem with your photo. Try either shooting a little higher so the horizon (the buildings) sits in the lower third of your photo, or shooting a little lower so you get more of that street and the buildings are in the upper third of your photo. That sounds confusing now that I read it lol. I'll try to find some good examples. I still like your night photos. I've always loved playing with night shots because of the mix of colors you can get if you play around with your exposures. I would even say that shooting vertically vs. horizontally can even make a huge difference. Just my thoughts. Otherwise, great shots. I like the colors in the last photo.
Yup, I know about the rule of thirds, but am often stuck in a tough spot with it at night. On the one hand I think to myself: Put the horizon on the lower third, but then you wind up with alot of boring night sky in the shot. and on the other hand: Put the horizon on the upper third, but then you wind up with lots of ugly foreground (in the examples I put up). Perhaps I just need to find a new place to shoot from Maybe leave my apartment or something. haha.
hahah, what abotu stitching a shot like the boats on the above post...im sure itll be fun but..it would be nice to see waht else is around your world...haha..go on top of the apartment!
Back to car photography for one second. If you are having trouble with the sunlight or bright lights blowing out the highlights [losing detail] in your photos when trying to take shots of swirling, scratches, etc., experiment with a circular polarizing filter. It just might help bring some of the detail back that you are trying to show. For what it's worth.
yes i was jus thinkin about circular polarizers...those are great at giving a nice detail...and are also great for shooting through gllasss (tour bus, car) so that way u dotn get that glare from the refelction of glass) nice tip!
Did you take this pic with a Rebel? Ive looked at all the options on mine and cant seem to find how to set that kind of picture up.
Selective color like this won't be an in-camera option on a dSLR. I would bet this effect was done in post processing (photoshop, etc.).
