Having professional pictures of your ride is not necessary- your can photograph your ride even when having a custom show board done! Today’s camera phones have incredible abilities that rival professional DSLR cameras. The only things you need to know are how to set up your camera and how to frame the picture for the best results.
Ideal Settings and Conditions
Whether you’re using an iPhone or an Android smartphone, you’ll need to first check your camera’s settings. You’ll want to set it to the highest megapixel setting available. This will give you a very large file size, but it will contain a lot of image information needed to enlarge the photo to a printable size.
Time of day and weather are big factors in when you should take photos. The best photos are captured on a cloudy day. The sunlight is filtered by the clouds and there are no heavy shadows or bright reflections. If you are photographing on a sunny day, the best time to take photos is at midday, when the sun is directly overhead and the shadows aren’t very long. Very early morning and late evening (known as golden hour) are also good, but you do need to be careful of long shadows.
The setting to photograph your ride should be a neutral as possible. Parking the car on a paved or gravel surface is preferred to grass as the blades of grass can obscure tires and reflect green on the lower parts of the car. Your position should be away from people and other cars, so they don’t reflect into your paint. The background should be as neutral as possible. For example, don’t take pictures of a green car in front of a wooded area. We need to see where the green car ends, and the green trees begin.
Positioning
Once you’ve selected your setting and have accounted for shadows and reflections, begin taking photos. Use the guide below and work your way around the car form 1 to 8.
Car Show Life Photo Position Guide
As you take the photos, try to add high and low angles for a variety of editing options. See the graphic below:
Finally, you’ll want to take some close-up shots of unique features on your car that may go overlooked by spectators. Any custom touches under the hood, in the passenger cabin or in the trunk that “hide in plain sight”.
Be sure to follow the guide below on what do avoid as your capturing images of your ride to share with a car show board designer.
This blog is presented compliments of Car Show Life. If you’d like to learn more about how Car Show Life could bring your ride’s story to life with a custom show board, reach out to Drake Donovan directly at info@carshowlife.com call 724-448-0994, Or view Our Page, visit CarShowLife.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram: @carshowlifebackinhoodup
