Taking a good Subaru Impreza Photograph

Subaru Photographs

Here on scoobyphotos.com I receive a high number of photographs of Subaru's ranging in quality from very good to very bad. This page is written to help guide you in taking a good Subaru Impreza photograph, which will be more likely to be added to the site.

Location Selection

When you come to photograph your Impreza, you probably have somewhere in mind that you want to use. You should still keep your eyes open for possible photograph locations as you drive around though, looking for places which are easily accessible and offer good backdrops and surroundings. Its not always the case that your chosen location is available at the time you wwant to photograph your Subaru.

Taking Photographs

The first thing to be aware of is that you can use any type and quality of camera to photograph your Impreza and still get good results, although camera phones are yet to reach a level that will see your photograph published on scoobyphotos.com.

Assuming you know how to use your camera, getting a good shot of you Subaru should be straight forward, so long as you plan out the shot with care. Select the location and time of day carefully, as both are key factors in the look of your end photograph.

Locations for photographs are generally split into two catagories

• Rural
• Urban

and which one you use obviously depends in part on where you live and how easy it is to access either area.

Photographing your Subaru - Rural Setting

The rural setting suits the more standard Subaru Impreza, with its generally rugged looks, the countryside and its dirt fit the Imprea image well. Time of day, as well as year, play a key part in the rural photograph - early morning or early evening times are best, as the light is more natural and can help hide imperfections in bodywork.

One of the trickier aspects of photographing your Impreza in a rural setting is keeping the car clean on location. You may decide to photograph the car dirty, in which case you need to ensure that the car is suitably covered in dirt - a half clean slightly grubby looking Subaru will not photograph that well. Either go for the full on rally look, or try and keep the car clean. Picking a dry day when there has been little or no rain recently will help, although beware you don't fall victim to dust.

Photographing your Subaru - Urban Setting

The urban setting suits all types of Subaru, but can really pull out the details on heavily modified Impreza's. Favourite locations for urban shots tend to be multi-storey car parks, with their flourescent lighting, in front of trendy clubs and bars, modern hi-tech glass fronted office complexes and graffiti daubed walls.

The key with urban shots is the car needs to be spotlessly clean and well presented, otherwise the photograph will suffer from obvious blemishes on the car.

Subaru Photographs, thing to consider

Regardless of where you take the photograph of your Impreza, bear in mind some key things to getting the perfect result:

• Reflections
• Background artifacts
• Angle of Shot

Reflections

One of the most common problems with taking photographs of any car, is that you, the photographer, can easily end up in the shot, reflected in the bodywork. There are ways of eliminating this problem using filters on your camera, but the easiest and cheapest way is to look carefully at the car when you take the shot and see if you can be seen in the reflection. If you can, move slightly until you either disappear from view, or a natural break in the bodywork hides you from view.

Also note that if you use a flash, this will highlight on the bodywork and create a glare effect.

As well as your own reflection, check that the angle you have parked your Subaru in will not result in the surrounding environment appearing reflected in the bodywork. Brightly coloured fire extinguishers, bins, doors etc can all appear as reflections and detract from your photograph.

Background Artifacts

Be aware of your surroundings - you may have picked the perfect place to take your photrograph, but if a bin or a piece of litter can be seen in the background, it will again detract from your photo.

Angle of Shot

Plenty of photographs are taken of Subarus from the standard three-quarter front on view from about five and a half foot up. Theres nothing wrong with this kind of shot, but its not very original. Look to taking the shot in a way that makes the Impreza appear differently, maybe from very low down on the ground, or from high up (use a wall or roof to get up high). Don't be afraid to try out different things, get close to the car and take images of particular details, rather than concentrating on fitting the whole Subaru into shot.

If you can, use a tripod, it helps ensure a perfectly shake free photograph is taken, and allows you to minutely adjust the shot. It can also help overcome the problems of reflections by allowing you to use either a remote shutter release or a time delay shot.

Above all else, have fun trying out different things and evaluating the outcome. Like all things, there is a learning process. With digital cameras you can keep practicing your photography until you get the perfect one. In the process you will find favourite areas to go and photograph your Subaru.