Pixiq

15 Tips for Better Car Photos
by Joe Farace 
FlatBooks.com 
$9.97 U.S.

Fifteen tips in a 32-page PDF ebook for ten dollars? Is this a little skimpy, or are these tips worth nearly a dollar apiece? Yes, they are.

On a laptop computer, ebooks and other PDF documents read best when in horizontal landscape mode for optimum presentation screen size and shape. On an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch, vertical portrait mode can suffice. 

This ebook has conventional portrait orientation. It is not easy to view or read the PDF pages either in VIEW>PDF DISPLAY>SINGLE PAGE or TWO PAGES on a Mac laptop, for example, in the Preview application. Easiest is to scroll down through pages as you read them unless you are using a large display.

Formatting criticisms aside, 15 Tips for Better Car Photos has useful suggestions on where and how to locate unusual cars for photography, plus techniques for making the photos. Joe Farace's fifteen tips are specific and achievable.

His car images are stunning and extremely professional. Some are glamour shots, and others are fine snapshots. Most of his tips are for making the photos on location, with some additional info on his Photoshop methods used for the final results, as presented in this ebook. Joe likes a couple of Photoshop plugins, and recommends them enthusiastically.

It is important to know how to work with car owners and crowds, and when to arrive and where to go first at car shows. Joe advises well on choice of clothing and gear to bring. Auto and motorcycle race track photos need special care and planning. Event photographers need to adhere to essential priorities of safety and common sense behavior. And, according to Joe, "When working in the pits during a race, not only will you need the proper press credentials, but you’ll also be required to wear a Nomex fire suit." Wowzer!

Lens selection is crucial. So are angle of view and physical perspective to the subject. The author provides recommendations on how many photos to take in single and continuous mode. Specific advice for using flash in daylight, and what shutter speeds to use, are often overlooked by inexperienced photographers.

It is surprising how much value is given for ten dollars within 32 page PDF. 15 Tips for Better Car Photos is like a time release vitamin on photographing cars and the people who love and work with cars.