Hey guys,

So I was wondering, what do you do to improve your photography skills? I've never taken a class, and have a pretty old camera (I'm looking at picking up a new one soon though). I don't see exotics at the rate that many others here on ES do, but sometimes try to practice photography on M's, AMG's, and Tesla's (something common but not so common that people ask "why are you taking pictures of that Corolla?")

Lately, I've really been trying to make strides in my photography. I just remembered that there is a post on the blog about this, but do any of you have tips to help me with my photography techniques? All I do right now is view tons of photos on here and read a ton of magazines, trying to remember what the photographer did in a certain photo, but sometimes in my excitement to photograph an exotic, I forget some of what I wanted to apply to my photos and end up with some generic shots.

Thanks in advance for your response,
Nick

What can I say.... Try, try and try.
You should take pics also of normal cars to make experience. I photograph almost every days cars, landscapes, animals and flower. Only trying you will improve.

Flickr really helped me. The best photographers have all their stuff there, and most have Exif data attached to their photos so you can see the settings they used and you can try to replicate it. But it really is technique and getting out there and doing it until you have a style that you like. Go to Cars&Coffee or other car events in your area and you would likely meet other photographers and you can trade tips.

Good tips.

Cars and coffee is a good place to practice photography, but there are a lot of people and it's pretty crowded usually. Try experimenting with different angles as well as getting perspectives. Just think about where the car looks best from and capture it! If you have a DSLR I would definitely get a polarizer. They are super cheap and worth it with automotive photography. Here's the effect of a polarizer.
Explored by yupicard, on Flickr

try to place the car on the bottom left/right of the picture :D

QAZ Photography

I had almost forgotten I had started this topic! Thanks for the responses everyone; I feel like I've made decent strides in my photography skills over the past year. Usually I do place the car in a corner of the photo (or crop it to make it look like I did, haha). I think once I get a camera with good zoom, night capabilities, and panning abilities, I'll be able to take my skills to a new level!