Porsche Cayman S

[cliffmccartney]

Well, I've always wanted a Porsche, and I finally got one. There's only one problem - it's a model. I shot these for an assignment in a photography class I'm taking at the University of Tennessee.

C&C welcome and always appreciated.

#1


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6

Thanks for viewing!!

Cliff

[IzzieK]

Hmmmm....all good shots.

[Shadowman]

Nice, especially 3, 4, and 5.

[Wavelength]

Very nice set of images

[Brownbear]

Very nice. The 1st and 3rd images, I think are truly stunning.

[shreds]

If you hadn't told us we might have thought you had won the lottery.

Great shots, especially the DoF. The only observation I would make is to give it a smidgen more space at the front of the car on shot 4.

The interior I suppose gives it away as a model, but nice anyway.

Keep on saving for the real thing.....

[flashback]

Yup, 1 & 3, if you had posted just those two I'd never guess they were anything but a full size Porsche.

[Loose Canon]

Nice stuff Cliff and nice lighting.

I could be way off here but it appears to me as if you have used some selective blurring? Seems to look a little strange to me in places but it could just be my brain selectively blurring!

There seem to be a few places on #3 that are disappearing into the BG. Maybe some kind of rim lighting would help. Same with #2. With #2 the highlight to shadow gradients look nice but I would wonder if the roofline might need to be visible (or at least hinted at)? Maybe a little more of the same for the bumper area? Guess it just depends on what you wanted. Its sometimes easy to slide into a discussion of personal taste, but I guess it really depends on what the goal of the assignment is.

They could use a little more clean-up (spots, etc.).

Maybe not as fun as a real Porsche but certainly a lot easier to shoot and cheaper to insure! That’s a pretty realistic looking model!

[Stagecoach]

An interesting assignment, thanks for sharing these Cliff. I wish I had such good models to photograph.

I did wonder about the double shadows in No 1 and No 4 but not sure.

Grahame

[cliffmccartney]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to comment!

Terry - you are correct on all points. I didn't really selectively blur. I guess I'd say I *unintentionally* blurred . #1 had some really harsh glare and I tried to clone it out. I could have really done a better job with that. Shot #4 is a 5 shot focused stacked composite. I was using an 85mm macro lens, and even on f/22 the DoF was crazy shallow. On #2 and #3 I really wanted to do a rim light, but I didn't have a light small enough to get the look I wanted. The smallest light I have is a Nikon SB700 speedlight. I tried to find a way to "hide" it behind the car, but I never got the look I wanted. #3 was actually produced by applying the "Infrared Film" preset to a color shot taken on the black background in Nik Color EfexPro 4.

I was shooting against a deadline for this assignment and I had to make do with what I had. The truth is that I got just a taste of this kind of shooting - and I love it. I really want to do more of it - models and "real" cars. Most of the shots I took were lit with a $20 LED desk lamp. I also used a Nikon SB900 with a 18 inch softbox placed about 6 inches over the top of the car. I plan to see if I can find some more lighting tools and try again. I fear that for full-size car shoots I'd have the opposite problem - my lights are not big or powerful enough. I do, however, plan to try.

Thanks again everyone for the comments! I appreciate it.

Cliff

[Loose Canon]

I think you did a nice job with it, Cliff.

Not seeing your set-up I might suggest a flashlight (handheld) might come in handy on a small set. I have a Coast light I use and also a Mag Light will work okay. You can use a paper cone or something if you need to snoot it. LED but if you don’t have to have dead bang on accurate color it will be virtually unnoticeable. You’re probably getting unmatched color with your present lights anyway and they look fine from where I’m sitting. Even if you fire your flash and drag your shutter a bit to get that flashlight to show it would work fine. Deliberate, controlled light painting can work wonders on these types of shots. Of course you'd have to shoot dark studio to make it work without ambient coming into play.

Also its sometimes possible to reflect light where you need it using a mirror. A cheapie reversible make-up mirror (one side normal and one side concave) on a stand will work wonders. The regular side will be, well, regular, and the concave side will give you a brighter, more directional reflection. If you use it to reflect off a speed light you don't even have to drag a shutter!

Also since you are compositing anyway (focus stacking) you can always move your lights around and composite a couple of shots to get the lighting where you want it.

[cliffmccartney]

Wow! Terry - thank you so much for the advice! You've given me plenty to try. I can't wait to set up and try again.

[Manfred M]

Hi Cliff - nice shots. The first four would have fooled me at first glance as to being a full-sized car; but 5 and 6 give it away as being a model.

The DoF on the wheel is too shallow for it to be the real thing and the foreground being out of focus of the interior is another dead give away that you were shooting a miniature. Had these shoots been fully in focus, they would not have looked like model shots.

[Loose Canon]

Wow! Terry - thank you so much for the advice! You've given me plenty to try. I can't wait to set up and try again.

You are most welcome sir.

Go get 'em buddy!

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

[Jeffbridge]

Beautiful photography and clicks.

[deetheturk]

Well done Cliff,great lighting!