I just thought I'd start a thread for suggesting some photo shooting tips for use pic ******. I've never done professional photography, nor read or studied it at all. Just learned the basics from playing w/ my camera.

Some really basic tips...
-always have the light/sun behind you (unless you're going for that dark side effect)
-night shots require a tripod... or an amazingly steady hand (I have a tripod, hands are too shakey)
-don't cover your flash w/ your finger (like I said.. basic tips.. hehe)

Backgrounds & Sunlight....
I love a good back drop, nature is my personal favorite, and living in NS there'* plenty of woods, lakes and even an ocean to use as a background.
Problem with background I find is mostly sunlight.... esp when using a lake or ocean. I sometimes take note of a area, and remember if morning or afternoon would be better, so that the sun is behind me. I'm lazy and I like to sleep in, so I'm always looking for afternoon/evening locations.... hehe

Resolution....
I know this is limited by your camera, but I always try to take at least 1600x1200 shots. That way if I need to print out a larger photo it keeps most of it'* quality. Also, when I use the images for a background (on my computer) I don't resize the image, instead when taking the photograph, I normally snap a few further back from the car, and then crop that image (to say 1280x1024 or 1024x76. That way you don't get any compression & dithering errors that you would from resizing.


Anyways, that'* all I can think of right now.... BonneAlien, BonneMeMN, smellbird, JimW and others (you know who you are)... I've got the ball started... I'm expecting you guys to chime in with some of your "Tricks of the trade".

I'm game. How about always take your camera with you? Can't count the number of times I've regretted leaving it at home.

HA... that'* SO true it'* not funny.
Not to stay on the basic stuff, but always make sure your batteries are charged (or better yet... bring spare/emergency batts) and make sure your memory cards have plenty of room. I use a 256mb and it'* good for A LOT of photos.

Remember to use the rule of thirds. Pictures turn out much nicer. Put your subject in the right spot, and it makes a world of difference.

I think I get what you're saying Sol.... but maybe expand on that a bit.
Also.... I was thinking about your nightshots and how to improve them a bit....

What you need...
-camera w/ adjustable exposure time
-good tripod
-spot light(*) from HomeDepot ($20 each, bright as hell)
-portable battery/12v converter ($100 from Canadian Tire)

Procedure...
-setup your camera on a tripod
-set the exposure time for 1 second or more (as needed)
-take a photo
-have the spot lights behind you, plugged into the battery
-turn them on and light up your ride
-make sure your camera has NOT moved, and that your backdrop hasn't changed
-take another photo, this time w/o a long exposure, try w/ and w/o flash
-then do as Sol did, and overlay the images.... the result should be a really clear nightshot background, and a really well lit car.

**Note** I haven't tried this yet, I plan to do so.... just basing this on what Sol did with his shots and how well they turned out.

EDIT: Just so you know I'm not totally crazy, the spot lights I use around the house and for when I'm working on the car at night. And the battery 12v converter is an excellent thing to have when camping or if you need to power a laptop or some other normal household device (radio) etc. Just letting you know I didn't buy them specifically for a photoshoot.... I just figured I could use them for that. hehe....

The problem with long exposure for my camera is, the lighting turns out really bad. Some parts will be really really bright, then others still dark. Night shots are hard.

When I go on even a little 'day' trip, I take both bags. One has my camera with all the memory sticks (4), charger, filters, etc, the other bag has my Photosmart 100 printer, 2 extra cartridges, pre-cut paper, etc.

Composition is key. The Golden Sections is a good rule to go by. It'* harder to explain without a diagram.

I look at photography like I look at a painting. When I take a photo, I look at the field of view as a canvas, and go from there. I won't get into all the artsy ingo though

http://www.silverlight.co.uk/tutoria...se/thirds.html

heres an easy explanation

Thanks Sol, that works!!