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So we've been posting tons of pics since we got our hands on GT4, but I'd like to start a thread to deal with our own styles & techniques when using PhotoMode. Keep in mind that I'm just talking about GT4 here, with it's forgiving treatment of exposure and limited options. Once you get into PhotoShop there are no limits, and we've seen some impressive panoramic and multi-car stuff on here too. But even within the limits of PhotoMode, we've seen some great stuff.
I'd like to know how you guys go about taking your best pics in GT4. And of course, I'm gonna tell you what I do! I'm also going to post some terribly dumbed-down definitions and topics. Real explanations are all over the web, and Google is your friend if that's what you're looking for. For more detailed info on composition and framing, check out DRT2RM's In-Depth Photo Composition Tutorial.
Rule of Thirds - A very popular idea is that an image is more appealing when the important features are arranged along imaginary lines that divide your picture in thirds, both horizontally & vertically. It's not a must, and like all rules it should be broken now & then, but it's a good thing to try. I use it a lot. This picture (with lines) demonstrates:
Aperture - In GT4, the aperture is used to control your depth of field. That's a fancy way of saying how much of your picture is in focus, in the near-to-far direction. It'll be centered wherever your focus is, and if it's low the rest of the pic will be out of focus. In the top pics below, the backgrounds are really sharp and distract from the car. By lowering the aperture setting, I added some blur to the background to make the cars stand out more. Notice that in the Mercedes pic, I've lowered it so much that the back of the car is out of focus while the front is sharp.
Before:
After:
Shutter Speed - In GT4, the shutter speed is used to control your motion blur. When you increase it, your background will be sharper. It's not available in PhotoTravel because there is no motion, although the light trails in some locations simulate the effect of a very slow shutter speed. Below are three pics taken, with the shutter speed increased each time.
Exposure - On a real camera, your exposure is controlled by your aperture & shutter speed (and film speed), but in GT4 we get it easy. We can set our motion blur and depth of field wherever we want and compensate with GT4's exposure setting. I find my pictures look too dark on my computer unless I bump this up a few steps. I bump it up even more at dark locations. This picture was taken as an example of an overexposed pic, but because it's at night (and even though it looked horribly washed-out on my TV) it turned out OK.
White Balance - A digital replacement for filters, used to correct (or create) a shift in 'colour temperature'. On the SilEighty above, the tunnel lights left a sickly orange tint reflecting off the car. By shifting the white balance toward the cool/blue side, the orange was toned down. It's a setting that I rarely use, and when I do it's subtle and for a reason. Incidentally, that also describes my thoughts on rotating the camera and playing with saturation...
Backfire in GT4 - "WOOOO-WEE! Lookit' that unburnt gas lite up, Cam! Consarn it, if that ain't the most amayzin' thing I ever done seen!" Yes Cletus - yes it is. But thanks to GT4's lack of slow-motion or rewind during replays it's a bit of a pain to catch (you'll wear out your Select button) and IMO it's only occasionally worth it. The novelty's already worn off for me, partly because I've seen too many blurry, zoomed-in-as-close-as-I-can-on-the-flame pictures of it. My favorite backfire pics are cool about it, and would look good even if the flames weren't there. Here's a couple I like, both taken from the same lap. Also, there's one I don't like. I meant to take more, but here we are...
And now, my process. It's hardly rocket surgery, but here it is anyway:
Step 1: Location & Angle - In this example I got a location with the car cornering in the sun, and angle that shows an interesting backdrop.
Step 2: Compose - I chose a vertical layout, raised the camera, and zoomed in to get a better view of the car. I wanted to keep the tops of the buildings in the shot, so I did. I also framed the shot to crop out the spectators and distracting red/white corner marker on the left.
Step 3: Expose - Aperture & shutter speed were set to get rid of most of the blur. Final values were F2.8 and 1/640".
Step 4: Finishing Touches - For this picture, I chose to rotate the camera slightly to bring the pointy building corner (on the left) closer to vertical. I also bumped the white balance one step in the red direction to give a sense of warmth, and pushed the EV to +0.3 so it wouldn't look underexposed.
Here are some other pics that got similar treatment:
Please feel free to add anything I've missed or screwed up. And go take more pictures in PhotoMode. Do it now!
-Cam
Notes:
- All the pics in this post were taken by your truly in my first few days with GT4.
- Thanks to ImageShack for hosting my pics.
- All the opinions are mine, and are probably wrong. Feel free to ignore them.
- Thanks to Alistair Houston at silverlight.co.uk for his tutorials.
- Good Lord! This is way longer than I expected it to be...
I'd like to know how you guys go about taking your best pics in GT4. And of course, I'm gonna tell you what I do! I'm also going to post some terribly dumbed-down definitions and topics. Real explanations are all over the web, and Google is your friend if that's what you're looking for. For more detailed info on composition and framing, check out DRT2RM's In-Depth Photo Composition Tutorial.
Rule of Thirds - A very popular idea is that an image is more appealing when the important features are arranged along imaginary lines that divide your picture in thirds, both horizontally & vertically. It's not a must, and like all rules it should be broken now & then, but it's a good thing to try. I use it a lot. This picture (with lines) demonstrates:
Aperture - In GT4, the aperture is used to control your depth of field. That's a fancy way of saying how much of your picture is in focus, in the near-to-far direction. It'll be centered wherever your focus is, and if it's low the rest of the pic will be out of focus. In the top pics below, the backgrounds are really sharp and distract from the car. By lowering the aperture setting, I added some blur to the background to make the cars stand out more. Notice that in the Mercedes pic, I've lowered it so much that the back of the car is out of focus while the front is sharp.
Before:
After:
Shutter Speed - In GT4, the shutter speed is used to control your motion blur. When you increase it, your background will be sharper. It's not available in PhotoTravel because there is no motion, although the light trails in some locations simulate the effect of a very slow shutter speed. Below are three pics taken, with the shutter speed increased each time.
Exposure - On a real camera, your exposure is controlled by your aperture & shutter speed (and film speed), but in GT4 we get it easy. We can set our motion blur and depth of field wherever we want and compensate with GT4's exposure setting. I find my pictures look too dark on my computer unless I bump this up a few steps. I bump it up even more at dark locations. This picture was taken as an example of an overexposed pic, but because it's at night (and even though it looked horribly washed-out on my TV) it turned out OK.
White Balance - A digital replacement for filters, used to correct (or create) a shift in 'colour temperature'. On the SilEighty above, the tunnel lights left a sickly orange tint reflecting off the car. By shifting the white balance toward the cool/blue side, the orange was toned down. It's a setting that I rarely use, and when I do it's subtle and for a reason. Incidentally, that also describes my thoughts on rotating the camera and playing with saturation...
Backfire in GT4 - "WOOOO-WEE! Lookit' that unburnt gas lite up, Cam! Consarn it, if that ain't the most amayzin' thing I ever done seen!" Yes Cletus - yes it is. But thanks to GT4's lack of slow-motion or rewind during replays it's a bit of a pain to catch (you'll wear out your Select button) and IMO it's only occasionally worth it. The novelty's already worn off for me, partly because I've seen too many blurry, zoomed-in-as-close-as-I-can-on-the-flame pictures of it. My favorite backfire pics are cool about it, and would look good even if the flames weren't there. Here's a couple I like, both taken from the same lap. Also, there's one I don't like. I meant to take more, but here we are...
And now, my process. It's hardly rocket surgery, but here it is anyway:
Step 1: Location & Angle - In this example I got a location with the car cornering in the sun, and angle that shows an interesting backdrop.
Step 2: Compose - I chose a vertical layout, raised the camera, and zoomed in to get a better view of the car. I wanted to keep the tops of the buildings in the shot, so I did. I also framed the shot to crop out the spectators and distracting red/white corner marker on the left.
Step 3: Expose - Aperture & shutter speed were set to get rid of most of the blur. Final values were F2.8 and 1/640".
Step 4: Finishing Touches - For this picture, I chose to rotate the camera slightly to bring the pointy building corner (on the left) closer to vertical. I also bumped the white balance one step in the red direction to give a sense of warmth, and pushed the EV to +0.3 so it wouldn't look underexposed.
Here are some other pics that got similar treatment:
Please feel free to add anything I've missed or screwed up. And go take more pictures in PhotoMode. Do it now!
-Cam
Notes:
- All the pics in this post were taken by your truly in my first few days with GT4.
- Thanks to ImageShack for hosting my pics.
- All the opinions are mine, and are probably wrong. Feel free to ignore them.
- Thanks to Alistair Houston at silverlight.co.uk for his tutorials.
- Good Lord! This is way longer than I expected it to be...
)
