GT6 Photomode Photographers Q&A #17 - ARC74

  • Thread starter leeislee
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Thank You All!!! I just found out about the interview...Duh!!!

Everyone has been so nice during my progression, I cannot express the sense of community you guys offer.

You all have given me the most peaceful, rewarding gift. Cars & Cameras!!! Bless You All!!!

Can't wait for your interview to drop Eric, you are deserving.👍
 
#9 - Giulietta73

1, How about an introduction?
I'm Eric, primary school teacher and father of 2, and I guess I'm one of the 'olds' here on these boards at 41! I've been a motoring enthusiast since I can remember. I leant to drive in my Dad's Alfa Romeo Giulietta, though my own driving pedigree is fairly abismal!! I've chewed my way through a few Pug 106s, Ford Fiesta, Fiat Uno and I'm currently driving a Rover 400!! (hangs head in shame!)

I did my art degree in London back in the early 90s while working in a Knightsbridge hotel kitchen at the weekends to pay the rent! The degree covered life drawing, painting and glass work. I ended up working in an off-licence/liquor store for a couple of years after that!! Then I went into teaching.

I got into the GT series through GT3, skipped GT4 then bought GT5. Photomode took a long time to evolve - my 'Bring Your Honda Home' shot was the 1st time I used it - just to get the trophy. I do some drawing in my spare time - mainly charcoal and chalk:


Charcoal and chalk A2 of my son playing with a stopwatch.

Pastel A2 of a Lewis Hamilton pitstop - see the fuel flap!

I'm a big Star Wars fan! The Stormtrooper is a collage - the helmet details are cut up pictures of stormtroopers. The white area is just negative space with a charcoal background. And my fave - the Imperial Tie-Fighter pilot...an experiment in 3 tones: black, dark grey and light grey.

A lot of inspiration for my work comes from Julian Opie & David Hockney.

This next one is my first ever edit with GIMP back in 2009. Took me ages and you can see all the joins!! I hadn't worked out 'layers' at that point!


I'm pretty much glued to my iPod. And I enjoy imitating my heroes, albeit not that well but hey!




2, What keeps you coming back to the GTP Photomode Forums?
The good folks of GT Planet keep me coming back. The constant envelope pushing, the constructive criticism, the sharing of ideas, methods and techniques - and the competitions! I hate missing a comp!! I really enjoy the relaxing process of the shoot followed by the edit. For me, the quest is for the ultimate unedited shot where the balance is spot on in every area - that keeps me coming back!

3, What where you looking forward to the most before GT6 was released?
Bathurst and the Bentley....the Firebird...the new Ferraris...and the mighty premium Sauber C9!!

4, Of all the new cars in GT6, which one is your favourite and why?
The Pontiac Firebird - this was the car dreams were made of when I was at school. I guess Burt Reynolds might have had something to do with that!!! Same with the Pozzi Camero, that sloping rear and distinctive rear window - just awesome!! And I love the rear window mod for the Firebird too!

5, Which of the new locations is your favourite and why?
I fell in love with Willow straight away! And the off-roading there is superb! I have really begun to love the new Matterhorn tracks with the time/weather shift. Both of these locations make for great shots! (I struggle with photoshoots at Bathurst, Spa and Silverstone as the reds and greens are just to vibrant for me.)

6, Is there any feature, that isn't in the game, that you would have liked to see?
Mid-race photomode - pause and shoot. Rapid burst mode during a replay - you know the perfect shot is in there somewhere!

7, What car, which isn't in the game, would you like to have included in GT6?
Obviously the Alfa Giulietta from the 80s, the Alfa GTV and the Alfasud. But I'd like to see a retro UK Ford package containing the old Escorts, Cortinas, Capris, Grenadas and Sierras. Yeah, that would be awesome!

8, Could you share a location that you'd love to see added to GT6?
I'd like to see the old Hockenheim that used to disappear into the forest - open the possibility for parts of the circuit to be wet while the stadium section was dry! Spice up strategy!! And of course a good location for retro edits.

9, Could you talk us through one of your GT6 pictures from start to finish?

This one's unedited:
Track - set to 100% wet, 0% weather. I wanted the spray lit up by the sun. Time was about 9.00am
For this shot I got the framing set up and then set about the tones. I went through the focal range until I ended up with what felt for me the right amount of blur.
Then I checked for banding and dubious light flares.

Then I went through the various filters, adjusting the EV each time as some filters need a lot of lightening - and its the closest thing we have to in-game contrast adjustment, especially in the extreme monotone filter. Click away for 45 mins to 1 hour. Then check them on the PC before uploading the pic that was 'the one'.

10, How about giving us a mini tutorial on any aspect of photographing in GT6?
For unedited shots, getting the car colour and stance are done first. This usually involves buying full suspension, softening and lowering it enough to avoid tire clipping and adding some camber. Then I add full weight to help emphasize body roll. Then to the paint shop. I try to think about the colour palatte of the car/track/sky combo. See Nato's Helium entry for the perfect example of that!!:bowdown:

For good reflections in B/W shots, chrome or solid red works really well:
eg:

Then I do a couple laps and hit replay. Then its about taking shot after shot until I hit the 'zone' where ideas start to flow and shapes/colours/combinations begin to show themselves. All the while I am referencing inspiration and trying to avoid copying ideas - and trying to come with something new.

Then I export them all and view them on the PC. Viewing all the shots side by side makes to good ones stand out. Then with 3 - 5 good ones I wittle them down until I end up with one shot - which then gets entered into a comp. For edited comps, I'll edit the 3-5 shots and then choose the one that jumps out at me.


11, Can you give us a mini tutorial on any aspect of editing?
I dunno, there are so many other's who are way better at editing than I am. Here goes:
If the composition is a bit off I use the rectangular select to crop the pic in the right place. Then I mess about with the curves, taking out the artificial reds and greens and moving the pic more towards a faint orange hue(seems I'm not alone there either) Then I adjust the contrast/brightness. Then I add some sharpening overlays to pull the car forwards. Then I select areas of banding:yuk: and use the gaussian blur to smooth it out - especially the sky. (Thanks GPR for that tip many moons ago:tup:)

Then I mess around with cyan, magenta and yellow overlays to add/subtract cold/warmth. Then I think about emphasizing the light source with layer blends and white area specific overlays.

Does the pic need a vignette or one side of the pic darkened to provide balance to the light source? Does the vehicle need a white overlay to bring it forward in the pic?

Final adjustment with the curves tool, a spot of high-pass sharpen to add a pop, add signature (not for SSC comps!! :dunce:)
Flatten image, export, upload, bingo!


12, What part of photography/editing do you need to improve on and why?
Getting the subtlety of tone that is in Leeislee, ShaolinM and GPR's pics. Getting the flare of the light source right - I always feel I'm fudging that area a bit. And working with really dark tones like GPR's red/black shot from a while ago is something I haven't been brave enough to try!.

13, Do you ever see a picture and think "How did they do that?". Which GTPlanet photomode members picture would you like to know more about?
ALL THE TIME!!! Too many to choose. Actually there is one:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/94510554@N07/13817058573/
By Aiden N. What else did you do to this great shot Aiden?!!!


14, Do you have any words of wisdom or anything else you can share to inspire the rest of us?
Take risks. Whether its trying out a new editing technique, using panning 1 with the purple cross filter during the middle of the night, just do it and see what happens. Ask others how they did that. Sit back, praise great work and just enjoy the show! And getting a write-up from MoMo always brightens up my day!!!
And if GPR says he 'quite likes' your shot, listen to his criticism and put it in place until he says that's a 'great shot!' That's what I did and my shots improved:tup:
And keep your eyes open - its a bit of an art movement down here in the photomode section...there's learning to be grasped!


15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session and why?
@proby458. Like Banksie, he quietly goes about his business leaving superb shots around the thread and his use of light recently has certainly got me looking more at light within my own shots.👍

Thanks for reading:cheers:


Thanks Eric 👍
 
WOOHOO!! I've been waiting for this for ages. Great stuff, cheers Eric (& @leeislee of course). Love the drawings - I want that Tie-Fighter pilot! Nice to get some insight into the process and techniques of another of my favourite GT photographers. :cheers:
 
Great stuff Eric. I think your mini tutorials can to give us new ways of photographing and editing. 👍
And your hobbies of course. Your drawing with Lewis Hamilton...Damn, this is amazing! :bowdown:
Keep it up my friend! Your perfect shots are always surprising me :cheers:
 
#10 - proby458


1, How about an introduction?
Hi, My name is Paul, and I'm 39 years old, and I live in Burnham on Sea in Somerset UK.
I have a job as a truck driver, and I deliver all types of food products over the southwest of England.
I do have interests, mainly sport, music, art, the odd couple of novels when I have time, and anything automotive,and of course GT6.


2, What keeps you coming back to the GTP Photomode Forums?
I would say, it's the community and the incredible images that everyone posts on the various threads.
Some of these photos are absolutely mind blowing, and that's what keeps me coming back to it.


3, What where you looking forward to the most before GT6 was released?
I would say the new cars and locations, and the better lighting in the game, and also the new handling engine for the cars.

4, Of all the new cars in GT6, which one is your favourite and why?
My god, there are so many to chose from, like the group C racecars, the classics, supercars, but my ultimate favourite is the Aston Martin One-77.

5, Which of the new locations is your favourite and why?
That would be Goodwood, because of the photogenic nature of the course, but I also have weakness for Bathurst and Brands Hatch.

6, Is there any feature, that isn't in the game, that you would have liked to see?
Bigger endurance races, and the ability to take, say up to 10 cars to any location, and photograph them like in a photo shoot style.

7, What car, which isn't in the game, would you like to have included in GT6?
McLaren P1, and more classic cars.

8, Could you share a location that you'd love to see added to GT6?
A Paris track would be good, and more F1 circuits.

9, Could you talk us through one of your GT6 pictures from start to finish?
Ok, it all begins with the usual car/location scenario, finding a good source of light, and then the right distance from the car, make the nessacary adjustments, like panning mode, shutter speed, focal point, adjust exposure (usually slightly higher), and then I just keep tweaking various elements until I'm happy with the shot.

10, How about giving us a mini tutorial on any aspect of photographing in GT6?
Select the right panning mode for the type of shot.
Panning 1. For static shots.
Panning 2. Trackside locations.
Panning 3. On track shooting, and side view shots.
Also adjust exposure slightly, this increases the light, and chose a realistic angle too.


11, Can you give us a mini tutorial on any aspect of editing?
I would say, start with the basics first, like brightness and contrast, colour saturation, remove the watermark if you can, just make small adjustments first, and don't rush it.

12, What part of photography/editing do you need to improve on and why?
Getting the background blur right, I feel that this is what I need to improve on.

13, Do you ever see a picture and think "How did they do that?". Which GTPlanet photomode members picture would you like to know more about?
Panoramic shots (switching photos together).
@Hear Bev has this completely worked out, his work completely blows my mind all the time.


14, Do you have any words of wisdom or anything else you can share to inspire the rest of us?
Don't rush it when taking your shots, take your time, and don't be afraid to ask questions either.
Also look at real photos too, as these can give you lots of inspiration and a good idea of how a photo should look.


15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session and why?
I would like to nominate @Kojde

Thanks Paul 👍
 
Great to learn a little bit more about you Paul, really interesting read 👍

I agree with you about Hervé's work, he has amazing and unequalled skills to make realistic panorama :)

And thanks a million for nominating me for the next turn :cheers:
 
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Reading all your words is truely enjoyable, thanks Jérémy (hope to read you soon my friend) ^^ and Paul, about the panorama creating process I can tell you everything :)

I don't understand why this is a low popularity thread, really informative. No surprise to see my favs photomoders here 👍
 
OMFG...Eric & Paul, I LOVE you two so much.:bowdown: You two held me together until I got a clue with these photos. Sorry I'm late to the interviews, but I smiled through them both. You two are my heroes!!!:dopey:

All those late nights in the Club Restaurant at Spa finally paid off!!! YAY!!!👍

Forever Spa!!!:cheers:
 

:D:D:D :cheers:

Reading all your words is truely enjoyable, thanks Jérémy (hope to read you soon my friend) ^^ and Paul, about the panorama creating process I can tell you everything :)

I don't understand why this is a low popularity thread, really informative. No surprise to see my favs photomoders here 👍
You're welcome my friend :)
And yes I agree with you, this thread is one of the most interesting of the photomode section !

@Kodje mentioned how busy he has been lately and will get to the interview when he can. It's not easy for us all to find time 👍

Thx a lot @leeislee ! I've just started to answer the Q&A, I'm sorry, I was really busy these last months, but now I'm at last in hollidays so I have more time !
 
1, How about an introduction?
My first name is Jérémy. I’m 37, I live in Paris, I'm married with a beautiful lady and I've got two lovely daughters (13 and 2). I work in an urban planning agency where I study everyday mobility (how, why, when… people move each day) in order to have some clues to improve our transport system (not easy every day ;) ). I'm also a part-time teacher in an university. I was a big gamer when I was younger, I've started to play with some old things like the Thomson MO5, the Amstrad CPC 464/6128 or the Amiga 500... Then I've finally got a PS1 and one of the first game I've bought was Gran Turismo. And since this time I haven't missed any of the GT and now that's almost the only game I play with.

2, What keeps you coming back to the GTP Photomode Forums?
Its awesome community ! Seriously, it's one of the best community around the web. People here are really nice, ready to help you, to encourage you. I was away for months because of the work these last times and the photomode forums were one of the things I missed the most ! I have a lot of things to read and most of all a lot of photo to watch. Now that I'm (at last) in holidays I will take the time to go through all the members galleries and I'm sure it will be a great time ! And I also know that I will get a lot of inspiration.

3, What where you looking forward to the most before GT6 was released?
I did not have a lot of expectations because I knew GT6 wouldn't be a "great" GT and would rather be a step to GT7 for the next gen PS. But some new cars, new tracks and new locations for the photomode were some of my "basic" expectations. And if we include all the updates since the begining that's not so bad :) I'm just very disappointed they haven't keep the old photomode locations... I was also expected some new features for the virtual camera like long time exposure... Maybe in GT7...

4, Of all the new cars in GT6, which one is your favourite and why?
It's a surprise for me but I felt in love with the Huayra. And it's unexpected because before GT6 I never really like the look of the Pagani cars... But this one is really a great supercar. First, it's a real pleasure to drive this car and I've learned to appreciate its so specific appearance. And I also like the symbolic of its name :) And I also like a lot the new old beauties they have add to the game especially the Ferrari like the Dino, the 250 GTO or the GTO. With the F40 and the countach this last one was one of my favorite cars when I was a kid.

5, Which of the new locations is your favourite and why?
I like a lot most of the new tracks but Willow Springs is probably my favorite for its superb light. I also like a lot Goodwood : short track with a great scenery and a good light too. I haven't really tested the new photomode travel locations so I haven't yet a favorite. But I'm sure I will like to make some shots in the City of Sciences and Arts of Valence.

6, Is there any feature, that isn't in the game, that you would have liked to see?
A lot ! Some new camera features like low shutter speed for in race shoot. A totaly free camera. A livery editor (:P) or at least a better choice of rims or custom parts for the car and a more free way to paint the car (it's boring to have to collect paints). Some old race outfits to use with the old cars. The GT5 photomode travel locations. More urban tracks in real cities (Paris of course, but also New York, Berlin, Hong Kong, Tokyo...), more real circuits and more other tracks in general (the GT4 list would have been perfect). Possibility to choose all the opponents cars for a free race. And I could make a longer list (maybe for GT9 ;) ).


7, What car, which isn't in the game, would you like to have included in GT6?
First I would like to have more premium (or semi-premium) version of the cars already in the game... Then, like many others, I would have some Porsches of course, also more new supercars (McLaren P1 for example), more F1 including old ones. And some old cars of the 30's (race versions or not) could be great too.

8, Could you share a location that you'd love to see added to GT6?
I won't be very original but I'm sure a urban race track in Paris would be awesome : large avenues, many beautiful monuments, the Seine quay... And like many other something like an industrial scenery or a warehouse would be a great idea.

9, Could you talk us through one of your GT6 pictures from start to finish?
I choose this one :


Not the most edited or beautiful one, but one of my favorite in my recent work. Here is the original pic :


I've taken this shot on Willow Springs. I was far away from the car with a high focal length (400-500 mm) and a large apperture (F2 maybe). And I took a low position to make the road disapear.

Just for the fun, an other unedited version with the in-game filters I've used for a GTP competition :


I've taken 8 or 9 photos of the first one with different exposures (with a 0,5 frequency). Here a small sample of them :


Step 1 : HDR processing (tone mapping) :


For the following steps I've used Photoshop :

Step 2 : I've removed the GT logo and I've made the sky uniform :


Step 3 : work on contrast, toning, add a little bit of diffusion and add a lens flare to make the sunset. For the lens flare I use the Knoll Light Factory plug-in for photoshop :


Step 4 : work again on toning and contrast and a little bit of sharpness on the back of the car :


Step 5 : Reflections of the car and the sun :


Final Step : last work on toning (saturation mainly) and some light adjustements :


10, How about giving us a mini tutorial on any aspect of photographing in GT6?
One way to make some original unedited photos is to take them through some objects. It could be another car, some elements of the scenery like grass, flowers, safety rails etc. The car must be not to close from the object. What you have to do is simple : just move very close to the object, use the zoom to focus on the car through the object and select a high apperture (F between 1 and 4 for example).

Some examples.

This one has been taken just before the first Monza chicane. It's a good place to use this technique because there are always many cars at the same time. I took this one through another car.
Unedited / Edited

Same place for this one, taken through two cars, a red one and a blue one.
Unedited / Edited

I took this one in Eiger, using the grass on the side of the track (with the partial color filter).
Unedited / Edit 1 / Edit 2

Some random examples (edited versions)





11, Can you give us a mini tutorial on any aspect of editing?
I've taken most of my editing tips here so it's hard for me to propose something new :P

Maybe I can give you some advices about the HDR processing : it's like the sharpening filters, use it lightly or you will have something very ugly. Maybe the best I can do is to give you all my presets for Photomatrix. I use an old version but I think it will be good with the last one. I've saved most of my settings for the HDR since I do HDR. Dowload the zip, save the presets in a folder and use it as your personnal settings library in Photomatrix. I think you shouldn't copy all the presets in the library at the same time because it will make photomatrix very slow. Each presets is named with the car / track combo. Have a look to my gallerie, select the kind of rendering you want and use the corresponding preset. Or just try all of them and select the one which fit better to your photo.

The link to the presets : https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/88623174/GTP/Kodje Presets Photomatrix.zip


To make a good HDR, it's better to take several photos in the game with different expositions. Start with a very low exposition (-4 for example) and them increase it with 0,5 EV, take another photo and then increase once more etc. You should stop when the light is too high. With GT6 new light engine it's hard to go higher than +1 or +2 EV, except if you use the classic tip (select and deselect a filter to suppress the HDR light engine). But this engine create some interesting effects so it could be a good thing to keep it.

Another tip when you want to edit a photo : be creative and search on the web for some source, tips or images. For example I used a pic of a spray founded on google image to make my water projections in my rain edits...


12, What part of photography/editing do you need to improve on and why?
I have to improve the way I work on toning. When I watch some other members' work here I know I have a lot to learn on this part of the edit work (have I said George ? ;) )

13, Do you ever see a picture and think "How did they do that?". Which GTPlanet photomode members picture would you like to know more about?
Everytime I watch some galleries on GTP I have this kind of feeling. I'm very impressed by the work of a lot of GTP photomode community members. It would be boring for you if I mention all of them and this Q&A is already very long to read :P And I think the most important thing to know is that almost every one here is ready to help. So I simply ask when I want to know how someone has do something and I try to give explanations if someone ask me. That's why I love this community, no competition, or just an healthy one, a constant emulation and a lot of kindliness !

14, Do you have any words of wisdom or anything else you can share to inspire the rest of us?
I will say the same thing I said in the previous Q&A : Read (and read again after a while) all the tutos available on the forum, I've learned a lot with them. https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=131913#Tutorials. Now there are many more in the GT6 section. And most of all take your time to watch the work of other people here, everybody has some “special move” you can learn, everybody can be an inspiration.

15, Finally, Who would you like to nominate for the next Q&A session and why?
I was away from the forum since a long time and I would have wanted to watch the recent galleries before I give a name. But I'm already very late in responding this Q&A so I will take the easy solution and nominate you Lee ;) It's also a self-interested solution because I never be bored to read your advices and I'm sure we will learn a lot (more) with you !

I would like to finish this Q&A with a personal note. In the previous Q&A I said that making photography in GT lead me to be interested by "real photography". Last year my father is deceased. When he was a young man he was a photo reporter, he has been in some places like Afghanistan during the cold war. I found some old cameras and lens in his affairs. Most of them were unusable but one camera is still functioning, a Canon F1 (the old version, made in 1972). And I've started to make photos with this one. It's very interesting to start with such an old material because you have no help (no autofocus for example) so I learn a lot and it's fun to discover the possibility of the argentic way of photography. I would like to share with you some of my photos :



Thanks for reading me, hope I wasn't too boring :)


Thanks Jérémy 👍
 
That was a great interview Jérémy. Well worth the wait and those photographs you posted are brilliant.

Thanks for the nomination too!

If anyone could suggest a photo of mine to use for question #9 i'd be grateful. :)
 
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