If there's anything I've learned after poring over way too many car magazines, it's that cocking your camera off-kilter can yield dynamic results. Check out Figure G. That Cobra looks like it's ready to rocket into orbit. Once they get that hood closed, that is!

FIGURE G


Skewin' around: tilt your camera to add instant drama to any car photo. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Figure H shows a combination of tilting and Tip 2, focusing on details. Of course, once you start tilting your camera like that, you are creating a photo that's less a literal-minded documentary of what you saw. You're venturing into the world of composition for composition's sake. How adventurous are you feeling?

FIGURE H


Tilting a shot can make an artistic statement. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Don't think that this sort of effect must only be done when you're shooting the picture. If you've got a high-resolution shot of a relatively plain scene, you can sometimes crop and rotate it in your photo editing program to accomplish wondrous results.

Tip #4: Interior design
Classic car interiors are just exciting as the exteriors. In the days before everything got rounded out and padded for your protection, you'd find all kinds of sharp creases and gleaming edges.

The challenge to shooting interiors, however, is that you have to find a way to make dials, knobs and gauges look interesting. Most classic car owners are pretty protective and don't want you hopping into their pride-and-joy for some close-up shots.

So cheat. Take the picture from outside the car, and use it as an element in the overall photo. Figure I shows how you can incorporate the interior of a car into your photo, yet still capture some of its fluid exterior lines.

FIGURE I


The inside scoop: don't forget about shooting the interiors. They'll add a unique element to your car shots. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Figure J hardly shows any interior detail at all, but the foreground car frames a second car in the background. Hey, have fun with it!

FIGURE J


Here's one way to shoot through a car window without getting arrested. Roll over picture for a larger image.

Those are all the tips I've got at the moment. A few other rules of thumb include the fairly obvious. Hit as many car shows as you can. You'll soon have hundreds of slick cars in your collection. Also, watch where you're going. If you scratch one of these babies, you'll be crusin' for a brusin'.

Jorge Sosa is writer/photographer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached via e-mail at jsosa1234@yahoo.com.