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Newb looking for criticism. Tear it apart so I can learn.
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Jan 14, 2019 18:50:10   #
Ajgrav
 
Joined not too long ago after getting a Sony alpha a6000 to use at my workplace to get interior and exterior car shots. It's a small dealership in the boonies so there's no proper area to take staged pictures at, heck half the time they have dust and bird poop on them. I've had this camera for a week and I'm still learning the basics to eventually hop off auto mode. I wanted to post a couple pics and see what you guys think.

This is with the basic kit lens, I could have probably taken a better shot by sitting in the back seat and leaning forward between the seats but it's stressful trying to get 25 pictures a piece and trying to find 40 cars in the lot. Speed and efficiency is the name of the game but I would still like my pics to be the most appealing to a customer that they can be.

the second picture is when I realized how just an auto function on a true camera could beat the pants off my dinky smartphone I've been using all this time. I've never had a device that could take such crisp looking photos and these pictures here are what made me want to seriously start learning how to use all of what my camera can offer me.





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Jan 14, 2019 19:07:53   #
orrie smith Loc: Kansas
 
Ajgrav wrote:
Joined not too long ago after getting a Sony alpha a6000 to use at my workplace to get interior and exterior car shots. It's a small dealership in the boonies so there's no proper area to take staged pictures at, heck half the time they have dust and bird poop on them. I've had this camera for a week and I'm still learning the basics to eventually hop off auto mode. I wanted to post a couple pics and see what you guys think.

This is with the basic kit lens, I could have probably taken a better shot by sitting in the back seat and leaning forward between the seats but it's stressful trying to get 25 pictures a piece and trying to find 40 cars in the lot. Speed and efficiency is the name of the game but I would still like my pics to be the most appealing to a customer that they can be.

the second picture is when I realized how just an auto function on a true camera could beat the pants off my dinky smartphone I've been using all this time. I've never had a device that could take such crisp looking photos and these pictures here are what made me want to seriously start learning how to use all of what my camera can offer me.
Joined not too long ago after getting a Sony alpha... (show quote)


Get out of the auto mode and get into the aperture mode. With a tighter aperture, you could have gotten better focus on the gauges in the first photo. Other than that, the photos look great for what they are.

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Jan 14, 2019 19:14:19   #
Vietnam Vet
 
turn off everything except manual for a while.

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Jan 14, 2019 19:19:16   #
scooter1 Loc: Yacolt, Wa.
 
Vietnam Vet wrote:
turn off everything except manual for a while.

As another newbie this is great advice. I have a hard time getting away from auto.

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Jan 14, 2019 19:30:10   #
Hal81 Loc: Bucks County, Pa.
 
Try it every way. That way you will learn. It wont take too long before you learn. When you see the shot you want you will know just how to set your camera. Lighting will be the first you look at.

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Jan 14, 2019 19:56:27   #
orrie smith Loc: Kansas
 
scooter1 wrote:
As another newbie this is great advice. I have a hard time getting away from auto.


Where going full manual will work, you may want to take baby steps first. In my opinion, you should start with aperture mode and learn everything about what aperture will do for you. Also control your ISO manually. Once you learn hoe those two settings work, move to shutter control and ISO only. Then you can successfully try manual, but you may find that aperture mode or shutter speed mode is all you need to control to get great shots.

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Jan 14, 2019 20:15:18   #
frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.
 
Ajgrav wrote:
Joined not too long ago after getting a Sony alpha a6000 to use at my workplace to get interior and exterior car shots. It's a small dealership in the boonies so there's no proper area to take staged pictures at, heck half the time they have dust and bird poop on them. I've had this camera for a week and I'm still learning the basics to eventually hop off auto mode. I wanted to post a couple pics and see what you guys think.

This is with the basic kit lens, I could have probably taken a better shot by sitting in the back seat and leaning forward between the seats but it's stressful trying to get 25 pictures a piece and trying to find 40 cars in the lot. Speed and efficiency is the name of the game but I would still like my pics to be the most appealing to a customer that they can be.

the second picture is when I realized how just an auto function on a true camera could beat the pants off my dinky smartphone I've been using all this time. I've never had a device that could take such crisp looking photos and these pictures here are what made me want to seriously start learning how to use all of what my camera can offer me.
Joined not too long ago after getting a Sony alpha... (show quote)


Go to aperature priority.... The first pic, steering wheel it's on focus, the garages are not. Aperature too open, small number... The second one was taken into the sun, causing the bright spots on the rear seat, and the front passenger seat... Lighting should be more even......

Also, when you upload a pic, click the store original box, then we can tell what settings and maybe give more info.

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Jan 14, 2019 20:27:33   #
photogeneralist Loc: Lopez Island Washington State
 
I agree with Aperture priority. You set the f-stop to get the depth of field (focus) you want and the camera meters and sets the shutter. You may lose a few shots if the resulting shutter speed is too slow so watch the shutter speed readout. The full manual folks are (With good intentions) pushing you into an area where (Until you have learned more about the exposure triangle), you are being setup for failure.

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Jan 14, 2019 20:29:31   #
Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.
 
For interior shots, you may have to use fill flash once in a while. In the first shot, the middle part of the dash could have used a little fill flash. To get everything in focus, use a small aperture.

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Jan 15, 2019 01:27:03   #
paver Loc: Miami, Fl
 
Hi, new member here also.

Yes, many have mentioned manual modes, (A,S,P), because of the fact that a camera has limited dynamic range, unlike the human eye, the camera, (in auto mode), tries it's best to "guess", what you want, as far as exposure is concerned.

I think I would have spot metered and exposed for the subdued area of the back seat.

Once again, my novice opinion.

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Jan 15, 2019 07:10:12   #
jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana
 
Don’t take all that manual mode advice too seriously. Manual mode is hard to learn, and most pros admit that they do about 70% of their work in aperture mode instead of manual. If you want to learn manual, first learn all about your camera and then ease into it. Shooting manual isn’t easy for someone new to photography. I also suggest that you go to Youtube and watch a lot of videos about your camera and its use. Look up John Greengo--he has an excellent introduction to this camera, as well as a number of others. Also look at videos about the kind of shooting that you do.

Let the bashing begin.

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Jan 15, 2019 08:06:16   #
cameraf4 Loc: Delaware
 
1) A bounce flash. Bounce it off the ceiling of the car to open-up the shadow areas without blowing out the highlights.
2) Keep it straight. Our brains just seem to know something is "off" if the photo is tilted even just a smidge.
3) The light meter. It wants to make stuff "gray" in tone. So look for something gray to give it a proper point of reference.
4) DOF. You want to focus carefully or else get "fuzzy fotos." Use a small f/stop and wide angle lens to help you get what you want and focus 1/3 of the way into the scene..

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Jan 15, 2019 08:52:01   #
Stephan G
 
cameraf4 wrote:
1) A bounce flash. Bounce it off the ceiling of the car to open-up the shadow areas without blowing out the highlights.
2) Keep it straight. Our brains just seem to know something is "off" if the photo is tilted even just a smidge.
3) The light meter. It wants to make stuff "gray" in tone. So look for something gray to give it a proper point of reference.
4) DOF. You want to focus carefully or else get "fuzzy fotos." Use a small f/stop and wide angle lens to help you get what you want and focus 1/3 of the way into the scene..
1) A bounce flash. Bounce it off the ceiling of th... (show quote)


5 maybe ) Look for solid base for the camera. Look up using bean bags and delayed timer release to get sharper images of interiors. Use of inexpensive tripods can go a long way.

6 maybe ) With assist from aide and/or stand, shade the camera lens from sun to get better interior shots from outside. Helps minimize the flares that manage to get into camera.

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Jan 15, 2019 09:01:19   #
Don, the 2nd son Loc: Crowded Florida
 
orrie smith wrote:
Where going full manual will work, you may want to take baby steps first. In my opinion, you should start with aperture mode and learn everything about what aperture will do for you. Also control your ISO manually. Once you learn hoe those two settings work, move to shutter control and ISO only. Then you can successfully try manual, but you may find that aperture mode or shutter speed mode is all you need to control to get great shots.



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Jan 15, 2019 11:55:35   #
JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles
 
Ditto. I also find the bright red disstracting and drawing my attention away from the dash.

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