my .02
change the font. its making it look like a powerpoint.
on the bottom of that interior shot it fades into the black below it except near the bottom left corner where there is a hard edge. probably want to make it all a hard edge or all of it fade into black. i'd also maybe try to get your logo/watermark behind the text to look less like a small jpg that has been blown up too big.
pics for the spread aren't bad, but they don't really "pop". either shop out the hood prop or get someone to hold it next or something so its not a big line going through the frame on the engine shot. also, be aware of what's in the background of windows of interior shots. i can tell that the car was in the same spot for both the interior and garage shots and that makes the pictures look more like amateur snapshots than professional photos.
the little 3 picture film strip looking thing, i'd make all of the pictures the same size, but that's just me.
pics on your website are pretty good. lighting is tricky, but you have a pretty good start. watch those highlights, once something in the pic is blown out there isn't really anything coming back from that mass of white except for maybe turning it gray. with flashes, most of the time its better to be a little under exposed than over. on the flip side of that, watch your shadows and blacks as well. if you're using remote flashes a lot, get a light meter and learn to use it. built in meters ain't got shit on a decent hand held one. also, experiment more with your camera angles.
oh and that 240 in the rolling shot. shit needs to be lowered.
My FOERST mock magazine double page spread. Critique Wanted!
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POOPscandal
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Dr. Marlow
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I can be really picky, but here are a few things I see.
Generally try and keep the number of fonts on a page you're using to a minimum. Unless you're going for some CRAZY shit with stuff flying everywhere, and design elements all over the place. If you're using Photoshop, make sure your text aliasing is set to something like crisp, sharp, or smooth. It looks like it has no anti-aliasing, so the entire body of copy looks weird. Like the baseline is moving along a curved line.
Don't indent, and don't bold that FOERST word. If you want to bold the FOERST sentence or something that is fine, as long as it is an important one. The "words and pics" box can be a lot smaller. That info is less pertinent than the rest, so it can be substantially smaller.
The film strip image with the 3 thumbnails' border isn't a flush width on all edges. I think the main picture of the rolling 240 can be a lot larger. That quote in the bottom left corner is worded funny I think. If you take out "for the Nissan 240" it will sound and look more cohesive.
I pay for most of my fonts these days, because I nerd out on OTF and alternate ligatures, complete font families, and variable type weights. It is an expensive thing to get into, but if you're serious about design it is worth it. I think of it the same as a professional mechanic spending money on quality tools to help him work better/faster.
Hope this shit helps. I'm insanely anal about this stuff... so please take this all constructively.
Generally try and keep the number of fonts on a page you're using to a minimum. Unless you're going for some CRAZY shit with stuff flying everywhere, and design elements all over the place. If you're using Photoshop, make sure your text aliasing is set to something like crisp, sharp, or smooth. It looks like it has no anti-aliasing, so the entire body of copy looks weird. Like the baseline is moving along a curved line.
Don't indent, and don't bold that FOERST word. If you want to bold the FOERST sentence or something that is fine, as long as it is an important one. The "words and pics" box can be a lot smaller. That info is less pertinent than the rest, so it can be substantially smaller.
The film strip image with the 3 thumbnails' border isn't a flush width on all edges. I think the main picture of the rolling 240 can be a lot larger. That quote in the bottom left corner is worded funny I think. If you take out "for the Nissan 240" it will sound and look more cohesive.
I pay for most of my fonts these days, because I nerd out on OTF and alternate ligatures, complete font families, and variable type weights. It is an expensive thing to get into, but if you're serious about design it is worth it. I think of it the same as a professional mechanic spending money on quality tools to help him work better/faster.
Hope this shit helps. I'm insanely anal about this stuff... so please take this all constructively.
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BandyDesign
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Thanks POOPscandal and Andy.
So, I totally agree that my fonts I have in there are cheesy and in too great a variety. So I'm looking to choose a couple of clean fonts at most next time around.
The little info box in the upper right was just filling space and that was not the right way to do that.
My worry with making that image at the bottom larger is that it will take up half of the pages and then there is little room left for content unless all your text goes on top of the car.
About my images, I had no intention of doing this layout when I photographed the car, so I didn't get detail shots and the engine shot was not intended to be decent. I am going to try another one of these and think about how I envision the final product from the get go. I will get some good detail shots and try and piece something together.
I will explore the wonders of Halvetica this time as well.
Also about my images, thanks for the tips about lighting. I might have to try out a light meter and ultimately buy one.
This is awesome guys, I have a longggg way to go with the writing part, but next time around I'm allocating that work to someone else Thanks for all the critique, its all taken with the utmost appreciation! I feel like I have some ideas on how to much improve on my next go around.
So, I totally agree that my fonts I have in there are cheesy and in too great a variety. So I'm looking to choose a couple of clean fonts at most next time around.
The little info box in the upper right was just filling space and that was not the right way to do that.
My worry with making that image at the bottom larger is that it will take up half of the pages and then there is little room left for content unless all your text goes on top of the car.
About my images, I had no intention of doing this layout when I photographed the car, so I didn't get detail shots and the engine shot was not intended to be decent. I am going to try another one of these and think about how I envision the final product from the get go. I will get some good detail shots and try and piece something together.
I will explore the wonders of Halvetica this time as well.
Also about my images, thanks for the tips about lighting. I might have to try out a light meter and ultimately buy one.
This is awesome guys, I have a longggg way to go with the writing part, but next time around I'm allocating that work to someone else
Thanks for all the critique, its all taken with the utmost appreciation! I feel like I have some ideas on how to much improve on my next go around.-
BandyDesign
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Oh btw, I work for Honda as an engineer when im not in school. Don't worry I won't quit my dayjob 
but I do want to give this work serious honing and eventually have some side business in this field. I certainly enjoy photography and this sort of design work is a natural extension of this especially when it is automotive related.
So, this will always be at a hobbyist or semi-pro level for me. I hope I don't lose any of your respect for that.
but I do want to give this work serious honing and eventually have some side business in this field. I certainly enjoy photography and this sort of design work is a natural extension of this especially when it is automotive related.So, this will always be at a hobbyist or semi-pro level for me. I hope I don't lose any of your respect for that.
I don't lose any respect for that. Interest in it enough to pursue it is awesome to me.
The big problem with working in design-related fields is that people fresh out of art school/people not even qualified enough yet to do good design work have flooded the market... and they don't charge anything because they don't know any better. This has influenced a lot companies to think that paying $10/hour for design is the standard. Why should they pay the going rate when Johnny Freshgrad will do it for 1/8th the price.
My favorite examples of this can be found on Craigslist where people want a logo, letterhead, business card, and website for $250. Depending on their site... that could be $3-5000 worth of work, and they want it for $250? AND the worse part is that someone will do it. It is totally insane. It isn't like this across the board in the design field... but there is definitely a glass ceiling with it.
[/soapbox]
The big problem with working in design-related fields is that people fresh out of art school/people not even qualified enough yet to do good design work have flooded the market... and they don't charge anything because they don't know any better. This has influenced a lot companies to think that paying $10/hour for design is the standard. Why should they pay the going rate when Johnny Freshgrad will do it for 1/8th the price.
My favorite examples of this can be found on Craigslist where people want a logo, letterhead, business card, and website for $250. Depending on their site... that could be $3-5000 worth of work, and they want it for $250? AND the worse part is that someone will do it. It is totally insane. It isn't like this across the board in the design field... but there is definitely a glass ceiling with it.
[/soapbox]