Dear PHR...

[fantasygoat]

I enjoy your magazine a great deal and I like the eclectic mix of hot rods and pro-touring cars you feature, to the point of being a subscriber for many years.

However, I am really, really tired of the photoshopped "at speed" shots you constantly use, where you take a picture of a stationary car and swirl the wheels and blur the background to make it look like it's zooming around.

There is at least one of these abominations in every issue and often on the cover.

They look so completely fake and are also extremely cheesy. You would look a lot more professional if you found some other method to showcase your feature cars.

Best Regards, a reader.

[Nine Ball]

Those aren't photoshopped, they are typically "rig shots" and are actually done by mounting the camera to a pole (rig) and pushing the car slowly. Then using a shutter time on the camera for a few seconds, to "capture" all the movement. Examples:
www.automotiverigs.com
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=416525
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=490505

While I enjoy looking at a good rig shot, I'll agree that they have become somewhat overplayed in the last couple years.

BTW, the photog that takes most of those pics is a member here. Robert McGaffin is his name.

Tony

[fantasygoat]

The ones in PHR look substantially different from ones in Hot Rod and Car Craft to my eyes - they definitely look like Photoshop creations rather than rig shots.

[DarkBuddha]

Some may be Photoshop enhanced... and I agree that when they are unrealistically enhanced, it is distracting and annoying. But when they're well done, it can make a good photo absolutely great. Photoshop is kinda the MSG of photography... just a bit adds flavor, too much will make you sick.

[fantasygoat]

Hot Rod and Car Craft don't seem to use them too much, while PHR usually has at least one per issue if not more.

Everything in moderation! They really need to give this one a rest.

[PhillipM]

Plus they take forever to set up! The rigging, the pushing, the turning, the braking, the pushing it back... LOL I've been though like 4 of these shoots and this is usually the last thing they do.

[MADMIKE]

Two words

Conduit Bender
Or
Truck Tire

The amount of work and material put into that hinge is a bit much.

[TonyL]

just looking at that photo of the hinge lets me know it's just that, a hinge. A conduit bender or truck tire would BEND it. in a fixed position. which may not work on every car at every angle.

The point being that the hinge photoed there, is adjustable. A bent pipe is not.

[Nine Ball]

Exactly. You need the adjustable hinge to raise/lower the camera location. That cable shown is what makes the hinge adjustable, by sliding the clamp up/down the pipe and tightening it.

[68Formula]

Just so you know, fantasygoat also once wrote to Bay Watch producers complaining about the girls always running on the beach in slow-motion.

[novaderrik]

PHR really went overboard with the photography stuff in the last few years.. i like a good pic of a nice car as much as anyone else, but i think they take it way too seriously- even going so far as to have those silly contests where they get people to send in pics of their cars to get judged on who took the best pics of the cars. isn't it their job to take good pics of cars for the magazine?

[MarkM66]

Here's an example of it. This is a photoshopped picture of my Nova, that was in PHR. I thought it looked good.

[parsonsj]

My cover shot was photo-shopped too.

jp

[fantasygoat]

I don't mind the REAL shots of the cars in motion, it's the cheesy fake ones that bug me. Like, that Nova up there is obviously standing still and had the wheels swirled slightly. That's just lame.

I'm not even asking them to stop it, just tone it down a bit. I think the last issue had three of them in it.

[DynoDon]

Can it make a nice "art" shot? yes. Does it take away from the car in the shot? Also Yes. Do we buy magazines like PHR for Art or the cars themselves?
Just asking