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  • YellowRose
    Super-Experienced


    • Jan 21 2008
    • 17188

    5. Squarebird Calendar Picture Guidelines

    As you are out and about attending Show & Shines with your Tbird, or just enjoying her, here are some guidelines for serious photography for her. Especially if you are planning on submitting them for consideration in the yearly Squarebirds.org Calendar that I put out.

    Set your camera to a higher setting for high definition picture taking. Set it to 3,000-6,000 pixels, or 3-6MP or higher settings, if possible. Anything less than that will cause problems and I probably will not be able to use your pictures. I can work well with those settings. I cannot if your camera is set to something like 800x600 to 1,500 pixels. Make sure your camera is set for a 4:3 format to accommodate a 11"x8.5" photograph for the calendar. I receive photos with other settings that I cannot use because they do not fit that size requirement. Here is further information regarding cell phone camera settings to look for.

    Adjusting your Samsung or iPhone camera settings for high definition photography of your Tbird for the Squarebirds.org Calendar.

    You want to use the highest definition settings possible, and the highest resolution. Most importantly, you must be shooting in a 4:3 format to provide a nearly square photograph, and not a 5:3 or 1:1 or some other format. Here are my Samsung Camera Settings in 4:3 format that I have available to me.

    Samsung camera settings
    5.0M (4:3) 2576x1932
    3.1M (4:3) 2048x1536
    2.0M (4:3) 1600x1200

    On my Samsung cell phone there are several other different settings. Some are for:
    3.9M (5:3) 2500x1536
    3.7M (1:1) 1920x1920 (totally square)


    You want to set your Samsung camera to 5.0M (4:3) format at 2576X1932 pixels or whatever your camera has for the higher resolution for taking pictures of your Tbird for consideration for the Squarebirds.org Calendar. You can always change it back to a lower setting for routine picture taking.

    For those of you who use iPhones, you should find similar settings on your Iphone in your Settings section. If your iPhone cell phone has settings greater than 5.0M (4:3) set your camera to the highest high definition selection possible that is available to you.
    The same thing applies to using a regular camera. Find the settings for it and set it to similar settings above for photographing your Tbird.

    Choose the weather and location carefully. You want it to be a day that is cloudy or overcast, not a bright, sunny day. You want to keep the sun from reflecting off the chrome or the paint and shadows from underneath the car if possible. As for location, try finding a place that has a nice background that does not take the focus off the car. You want people looking at your Tbird in the picture instead of at the background. Place the car in front of some trees, an open field, or anything that does not cause one to concentrate on the background. Make sure there are no disrupting power lines or telephone poles showing in the pictures. If you have had Squarebirds Calendars in the past, flip through them and take a look at how others have posed their Tbirds in the past. Keep shadows off the car. Stay away from being under trees that cast shadows onto the car.

    Take pictures from various angles of the car, making sure that you get close ups of the car that shows it completely. Don't cut off the front or back of the car. The best way to show the car is either by taking pictures of the car directly in front of you, from front to back, taking the side view. Or from the front or back, angling down the side of the car to give a good view of it. You want the car to nearly fill the picture from side to side, but leave an inch or so of space on each side. The reason for this is when I take that photograph into Photoshop to process it and have it printed, there is what is called the "bleed" effect. That cuts off a bit of the picture on the left and right side of the car. If you get the front or back of the car to close to the edges, that "bleed" effect can cut off the nose or tail of the car and you do not want that! If you take head on or tail pictures don't send them to me because you don't get to see much of the car that way and you want to highlight all of the car.

    Above all, if you are taking pictures with the car on a road surface, get as close to the car as you can (but not to close that processing the picture will cut off the nose or tail) and eliminate as much of the road, dirt, sand, grass surface as you can. Move the camera up a bit to cut off excessive pavement, grass, sand, etc. I would rather have more sky than to much foreground. You want the Tbird to have the focus on it, and not the surface in front of it. I get to many pictures with a lot of road, grass or sand in front of the car. More than I need. Keep in mind though that I do need something under the car that I can put the text in identifying the car and the owner. That surface should be something like grass, or a light pavement surface, or sand. Something that will allow the text to show up well against it when I type it in. Also, consider the background carefully. A blue or cloudy sky allows me to put the Squarebirds logo in that will show up well. One with a lot of trees and no sky, have a tendency to soak up the logo and cause it to not show up well.

    Once you have taken some good pictures, send them to me in email. They may be large size so you may only be able to send a few at a time. I will consider the ones that I think are best for the Calendar. I will be starting the selection process sometime in September. Those that are not selected for that year will be given first priority for the next years Calendar.

    One final comment. I am in great need of pictures taken at Show & Shines of Tbirds displayed together. Those types of pictures is what I like to use as the cover picture. So while you are out to these events, please see if you can get me some good display pix like that, without people in them if possible. That way I don't have to be concerned about someone objecting to being in a picture they did not want to be in.

    Below are some examples of how to pose the car and how not to. Some show how to. The others show how NOT to. One picture was a Cover picture that did show a lot of grass, but it also gave me sufficient room to post several lines of text for the Cover statements. The best sized pix are those that are nearly square, in the 4x3 format or 5x4 format...
    Attached Files
    Last edited by YellowRose; July 15, 2021, 08:56 PM.

    Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
    The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
    Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

    https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
    Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
    https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html
  • YellowRose
    Super-Experienced


    • Jan 21 2008
    • 17188

    #2
    Squarebird Calendar Picture Guidelines

    As you are out and about this Summer attending S&S events, showing off your beautiful Tbird, please keep the Squarebirds Calendar Picture Guidelines in mind as you shoot pictures. If you are planning on submitting your Tbird for next years calendar, please read those guidelines and let them guide you in posing your Tbird for the best possible pictures to qualify for selection. If you have any questions, please email or call me. Thank you.

    Ray Clark - Squarebirds Administrator
    The Terminator..... VTCI #11178 ITC #6000 Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR) #12188
    Contact me via Private Message for my email address, or Call (Cell) 210-875-1411

    https://www.squarebirds.org/picture_gallery/TechnicalResourceLibrary/trl.htm
    Faye's Ovarian Cancer Memorial Website.
    https://faye.rayclark.info/index.html

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