not always.

sometimes nothing is better than symmetry. Take a hallway shot, for example, with all the ribs of the hallway kinda making a box-in-box effect.

its all about shape and form recongnition, really. Just find an interesting background, try and replicated the pictures you like best, and go from there.

take test shots of little things around the home.

some suggestions (and oldskool pics h: thank god I don't rock those rims anymore):

high angles are very different.


wharebone was half right. asymmetry has its pluses


night time can be a bitch, but alot of times, it helps to have a real nice bg subject. I wish my shutter would stay open longer. One of these days, I'm gonna get some axuilary lighting



or if you can pull it off, a foreground subject works as well :bandito:

I love that pic :chuckles:

hope those kinda help....

 

wow, I should have checked this thread more often. :chuckles:

Thanks a lot guys!!!!

Josh

 

How do you guys find neat backgrounds for your pictures? Do they just strike you or do you go driving for a day and look for good pictures? I especially love city shots, but unfortunately my town isn't all that large. Perhaps I've just become calloused to my surroundings... I don't mean to jack your thread WCS - hopefully it will help you out too!

 

no, it's great that you're adding to it. I'm interested as well! :goodjob:

 

alot of times, I know of the particular spot or area that would be good to shoot at. Other times, I go driving around and smoke a bowl or 4 and stumble on some nice locations

Nate, try roadtripping to Clevland sometime. I'm sure you'll find plenty of places to shoot at.

Keep in mind, you don't nessisarly need an elaborate backdrop. A fence, or maybe just a line of trees will do just as well.

really, its about balance more than anything. And a good sense of perspective. Make sure the lines of perspective are clear (trees progressivly growing smaller as the distances grows, for example). Make sure the car is fairly centered, or off-center, depending on what you're going for.

this is a good example of lines of perspective:


or, this pic for instance:


its not the best pic in the world (I didn't take my time on it, plan on reshooting from there in the future). But note the angles from just the street itself. The light refraction on the top-right wasn't photoshopped on this pic is all original. I think it might have looked 10x better if I had a longer exposure and if I took the time to position the car correctly in relation to the tower, the sign, and the light pole to the left.


some good shooting places:
- parking garages!!!

- wearhouse districts/docks/railroad transfer yards (or under bridges, railroad or otherwise)
- city skylines (can be acheived numerous ways, off bridges, parking garage roofs, hilltops, etc.)
- modern, post-modern, art-deco, and neo-industrial achetecture looks nice behind a car
- funny signs
- Hilly rual areas/canyon shots/in motion as well (for the last one, you need a second car to shoot from, and you both need to go the same speed. It'll look pimp :grinpimp: )
- on shoots, change up low- medium- and high-angle shots. Also, try to add some variety to the picture set by finding plenty of locations.
-sometimes, sharp angles help. see below:



heh, a good way to acheive nice high-angles....

taken from near the top of a hotel that line parallel to the fire-lane marking is actually the ledge of the window, some 14 floors above the road. looks kinda neat....


hope that helps. feel free to add on....

 

btw, I'm in high favor of stickying this thread in here. Nothing I hate more than ugly pictures :deek:

 

hmm... maybe. I have more pics to add tonight. I just played with the shudder speed today. h:

 

large, but a little better about the grainyness and blur.





Just a couple quickies tonight as I was waiting for the car to warm up after work.

 

^
on this one, try a shot with the parking lights on so the dash is lit
good shot otherwise.

^
I like it. good shot.

^
looks nice, but dark. good otherwise.
:goodjob:

 

Ya, that light was out right there so.. I'll try it again in some good lighting. It puts a smile on my face knowing that you think I did well dude.