Tera Flex Guide
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Tera Flex Guide
Good photo advice from a great company.
From the Tera Flex website.
With a Jeep, it’s all about the image! Here at TeraFlex we spend countless hours shooting pictures of different Jeeps for our magazines, the internet, and well sometimes just because we feel like it. With that being said, we felt it was time to let all of our fellow off-road enthusiasts in on a few little secrets on how to take quality pictures of your rigs. The way you take photos of your Jeep can make or break you in the world of media, and in this age of uploading pics to your favorite social networking account while on the trail, why not take an extra second or two to capture some shots that will make all your Facebook friends drool?
Tip #1 – More often than not we come across tons of pictures of what we like to call part-Jeeps…These mysterious rigs seem to only be able to fit a part of themselves into the photo. Now granted, sometimes only getting part of your vehicle in the shot adds to the effect, but for the most part make sure you’re far enough away to get the whole Jeep in the picture! Cutting off the very top, half a wheel, or part of the bumper will totally destroy an otherwise great shot. When taking a picture, look through the viewfinder or on the screen, if all your Jeep isn’t in the square, take a step back two feet and try again, a small step can fix an ugly picture!
On the other hand, seeing a spec of jeep two miles down a dusty Moab road isn’t that attractive either. It’s all about balance, let the Jeep fill the shot, but give it enough space so you aren’t having to visualize what the front half of that Jeep looks like that seemed to be going so fast it eluded being captured on your memory card.
Tip #2 – You’re in the carport? How many times have you had a friend tell you what an awesome ride they have and how great it handles on the trail, but then the photo he pulls out is of the Jeep parked in his garage or on the side of the road? When you’re fantasizing about your dream Jeep build, is it sitting in the driveway on top of a huge oil stain? I would hope not! The best shots of Jeeps are the action shots, on the trails, in the mud, and doing what Jeeps do best. If you don’t happen to be on the trail at least find a mound of dirt or gravel to park it on. Most of the shots you see in this article were taken right down the street from our building, on a side street by some train tracks. Now granted, you still see the road, the curb, and a few buildings in some of the shots, but just getting it out of the driveway and away from the wall of your house makes a world of difference.
If you must take it from home try to make it look interesting. Flex shots are easy enough to do at home by parking on top of a curb, rock, tree stump, pretty much anything. And for all of you that are thinking it, interesting does not mean taking a picture of your Jeep sitting on the trailer behind your F-450… get creative!
Tip #3 – Brighter doesn’t always mean better! Asad occurrence in any picture is when the color is washed out. The sun can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Taking pictures with ample lighting but out of direct sunlight is best. Professional photographers have a time they like to call ‘golden hour’; which occurs in the morning just before sunrise and the evening right after sunset. Cloudy days are also excellent times to take pictures. During these times lighting is bright enough to capture brilliant colors and perfect clarity in your photos, but doesn’t cast shadows or wash out images with whiteness…wait too late at night or take them too early in the morning and all you’ll get is fuzz. Lots of fuzz.
Golden hour is the best time of the day to take shots of your Jeep, however, many of us find ourselves on a trail in the middle of the day and have a chance for some awesome shots! The sun can be a great tool for accenting your Jeep, bringing out more vibrant colors, and adding to the overall quality of the shot…it can also ruin an image like the one above! Always be sure your back is facing the sun whenever possible, catch the sun in your photo and that’s all people will be looking at, the big white spot above your Jeep. Be careful not to catch your own shadow in the photo while your back is towards the sun, this could be tricky but a couple tries and you’ll get the hang of it!
Tip #4 – Angels and Angles… Ok, so this tip has nothing to do with angels but everything to do with angles. That is, the angle and the way you take your photo. There’s so much to cover so we’ll just hit the basics. First, head-on or side view photos are not appeasing to the eye. Three-quarter view (taking a shot at an angle so the side and the front of the jeep are both shown) is always better. It gives your image depth as well as adds interest to the Jeep itself.
Flat, side-view, boring.
Depth, 3/4 turn, interesting!
Second, reflections and background. Always pay attention to what’s behind the Jeep…no one wants to see your buddy relieving himself behind your Jeep on the last trail run! Make sure people, other vehicles, light poles, buildings, and other objects are totally out of the picture or at least aren’t prominent and distracting. Nothing detracts more from a shot than a telephone pole popping out magically from behind your Jeep. This also applies to reflections. Your windows are glass, and naturally they reflect light. Move around the vehicle, or just move the vehicle, to get things like what we just mentioned out of the reflection of the mirrors and windows. Also, seeing your face plastered to the back of your camera in the windshield could detract from the over-all ‘coolness’ of your rig. If you really need to be in the picture too let someone else take the shot.
Telephone pole in the window + big spacious hospital in the background = UGLY!
Less background noise + less reflections = More Jeep.
These are some basic pointers to the majority of problems with many of the shots of Jeeps we see. Of course there are countless other factors such as the type of camera you’re using ( a cell phone camera is a bad choice 99.99% of the time!), the quality and type of file your image is being saved as, etc…the list goes on and on.
The best advice we can give to someone looking to take a great shot of their Jeep is to practice! Remember the stuff we just went over and get out there and try it for yourself. It might take a couple dozen shots before you get that prize photo that will finally make it on the cover of that off-roading magazine you’ve been submitting photos in to for year!
Good luck and happy shooting!!
For more info and photos you can check out their site here http://www.teraflex.biz/frontpage/how-to-shoot-your-jeep-with-a-camera/
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Good photo advice from a great company.
From the Tera Flex website.
With a Jeep, it’s all about the image! Here at TeraFlex we spend countless hours shooting pictures of different Jeeps for our magazines, the internet, and well sometimes just because we feel like it. With that being said, we felt it was time to let all of our fellow off-road enthusiasts in on a few little secrets on how to take quality pictures of your rigs. The way you take photos of your Jeep can make or break you in the world of media, and in this age of uploading pics to your favorite social networking account while on the trail, why not take an extra second or two to capture some shots that will make all your Facebook friends drool?
Tip #1 – More often than not we come across tons of pictures of what we like to call part-Jeeps…These mysterious rigs seem to only be able to fit a part of themselves into the photo. Now granted, sometimes only getting part of your vehicle in the shot adds to the effect, but for the most part make sure you’re far enough away to get the whole Jeep in the picture! Cutting off the very top, half a wheel, or part of the bumper will totally destroy an otherwise great shot. When taking a picture, look through the viewfinder or on the screen, if all your Jeep isn’t in the square, take a step back two feet and try again, a small step can fix an ugly picture!
On the other hand, seeing a spec of jeep two miles down a dusty Moab road isn’t that attractive either. It’s all about balance, let the Jeep fill the shot, but give it enough space so you aren’t having to visualize what the front half of that Jeep looks like that seemed to be going so fast it eluded being captured on your memory card.
Tip #2 – You’re in the carport? How many times have you had a friend tell you what an awesome ride they have and how great it handles on the trail, but then the photo he pulls out is of the Jeep parked in his garage or on the side of the road? When you’re fantasizing about your dream Jeep build, is it sitting in the driveway on top of a huge oil stain? I would hope not! The best shots of Jeeps are the action shots, on the trails, in the mud, and doing what Jeeps do best. If you don’t happen to be on the trail at least find a mound of dirt or gravel to park it on. Most of the shots you see in this article were taken right down the street from our building, on a side street by some train tracks. Now granted, you still see the road, the curb, and a few buildings in some of the shots, but just getting it out of the driveway and away from the wall of your house makes a world of difference.
If you must take it from home try to make it look interesting. Flex shots are easy enough to do at home by parking on top of a curb, rock, tree stump, pretty much anything. And for all of you that are thinking it, interesting does not mean taking a picture of your Jeep sitting on the trailer behind your F-450… get creative!
Tip #3 – Brighter doesn’t always mean better! Asad occurrence in any picture is when the color is washed out. The sun can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Taking pictures with ample lighting but out of direct sunlight is best. Professional photographers have a time they like to call ‘golden hour’; which occurs in the morning just before sunrise and the evening right after sunset. Cloudy days are also excellent times to take pictures. During these times lighting is bright enough to capture brilliant colors and perfect clarity in your photos, but doesn’t cast shadows or wash out images with whiteness…wait too late at night or take them too early in the morning and all you’ll get is fuzz. Lots of fuzz.
Golden hour is the best time of the day to take shots of your Jeep, however, many of us find ourselves on a trail in the middle of the day and have a chance for some awesome shots! The sun can be a great tool for accenting your Jeep, bringing out more vibrant colors, and adding to the overall quality of the shot…it can also ruin an image like the one above! Always be sure your back is facing the sun whenever possible, catch the sun in your photo and that’s all people will be looking at, the big white spot above your Jeep. Be careful not to catch your own shadow in the photo while your back is towards the sun, this could be tricky but a couple tries and you’ll get the hang of it!
Tip #4 – Angels and Angles… Ok, so this tip has nothing to do with angels but everything to do with angles. That is, the angle and the way you take your photo. There’s so much to cover so we’ll just hit the basics. First, head-on or side view photos are not appeasing to the eye. Three-quarter view (taking a shot at an angle so the side and the front of the jeep are both shown) is always better. It gives your image depth as well as adds interest to the Jeep itself.
Flat, side-view, boring.
Depth, 3/4 turn, interesting!
Second, reflections and background. Always pay attention to what’s behind the Jeep…no one wants to see your buddy relieving himself behind your Jeep on the last trail run! Make sure people, other vehicles, light poles, buildings, and other objects are totally out of the picture or at least aren’t prominent and distracting. Nothing detracts more from a shot than a telephone pole popping out magically from behind your Jeep. This also applies to reflections. Your windows are glass, and naturally they reflect light. Move around the vehicle, or just move the vehicle, to get things like what we just mentioned out of the reflection of the mirrors and windows. Also, seeing your face plastered to the back of your camera in the windshield could detract from the over-all ‘coolness’ of your rig. If you really need to be in the picture too let someone else take the shot.
Telephone pole in the window + big spacious hospital in the background = UGLY!
Less background noise + less reflections = More Jeep.
These are some basic pointers to the majority of problems with many of the shots of Jeeps we see. Of course there are countless other factors such as the type of camera you’re using ( a cell phone camera is a bad choice 99.99% of the time!), the quality and type of file your image is being saved as, etc…the list goes on and on.
The best advice we can give to someone looking to take a great shot of their Jeep is to practice! Remember the stuff we just went over and get out there and try it for yourself. It might take a couple dozen shots before you get that prize photo that will finally make it on the cover of that off-roading magazine you’ve been submitting photos in to for year!
Good luck and happy shooting!!
For more info and photos you can check out their site here http://www.teraflex.biz/frontpage/how-to-shoot-your-jeep-with-a-camera/
Read More | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us
More...