Taking photos of swirls in paint?

[automag928]

To start, one of my hobbies is photography but for the life of me...I can't get a good picture of the swirls in my paint! Just messing around for about 5 minutes, this was the best I could manage -

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/automag928/scratches.jpg


Can someone give me suggestions for taking better pictures of swirls in the paint?

[Mike Phillips]

capturing swirls on a flat panel like the top of the hood is the easiest way to get a picture of swirls.

Sometime you need to have something on the surface for the camera to focus on, I often times use my finger because I always have it with me... this is why so often you'll see my finger in a swirl shot. I'm not really pointing to the swirls or anything in particular in the paint, just placing my finger on the surface so the camera will focus on my finger and thus be focused on the surface of the paint.


The lights you see in the below pictures are the overhead florescent lights, (they don't help much for swirls), and my camera's flash.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/855/BandT024.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/855/BandT004.jpg


You can also use a tiny piece of detailing clay, a piece of painter's tape or even a quarter or nickel, just place something on the surface to give the camera something to focus on that's on the surface.


BRIGHT, overhead sunlight also seems to be the best source of light for capturing swirl shots like these,



This is overhead sun, my camera is using the BMW badge on the hood of the car to focus on...

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2600_before1.jpg


http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2600_bmwsidebyside2.jpg


http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2600_bmwbeforeandafter.jpg




Also, removing any wax or polish helps too...


:xyxthumbs:

[automag928]

Perfect! Thanks! I did notice the camera having trouble focusing, hence the reason I used the nissan logo on the window...I will try more when I get home and see what I can get.

[Rsurfer]

Nice photos Mike. BTW great commercial for AG on Two Guy's Garage.

[Mike Phillips]

Nice photos Mike. BTW great commercial for AG on Two Guy's Garage.



Thanks Ron. Which video segment did you see? (there's 12 all together at this time)


As for photos, ever digital cameras were introduced it's made it affordable to take a zillion shots and cross your fingers that one or two turn out. Detailing cars, teaching classes and running discussion forums kind of presents an opportunity to hone photography skills over time whether it's your passion or not... :D


One thing that helps is to have a camera with a fairly large lens so you don't have to back up a mile to fit an entire car into the picture or so you don't have to get so high up into the air to capture an entire hood (all inside the frame), without using a ladder or at least without having to climb to the top of the ladder.

I have a 1973 Continental to work on and it's massive size is going to force me to stand back farther and get up higher to get all the shots framed up. This was taken using a two-step Step Stool.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/848/2010DetailFest0045.jpg


:)

[Rsurfer]

Thanks Ron. Which video segment did you see? (there's 12 all together at this time)


As for photos, ever digital cameras were introduced it's made it affordable to take a zillion shots and cross your fingers that one or two turn out. Detailing cars, teaching classes and running discussion forums kind of presents an opportunity to hone photography skills over time whether it's your passion or not... :D


One thing that helps is to have a camera with a fairly large lens so you don't have to back up a mile to fit an entire car into the picture or so you don't have to get so high up into the air to capture an entire hood (all inside the frame), without using a ladder or at least without having to climb to the top of the ladder.

I have a 1973 Continental to work on and it's massive size is going to force me to stand back farther and get up higher to get all the shots framed up. This was taken using a two-step Step Stool.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/848/2010DetailFest0045.jpg


:)
Didn't realize they were 12. I saw the buffer and Pinnacle commercial. Sorry, Automag didn't mean to hijack your thread.

[Bunky]

I remember that car from DF.. I guess you are going to work on it.

[A4 1.8tqm]

As Mike mentioned removing wax or polish helps. Claying and an IPA wipe down will leave you with the most defect revealing conditions.

I'm not sure how far you've gotten into photography or learning your camera, but I recently delved into the world of photography myself. Google research and playing with my camera is about as far as my knowledge goes. so...

From the image data of the pic you posted I see your using the Canon Eos 40D. These settings look like "Auto mode" to me, am I right?

Exposure Time- 1/250 second
F-Stop- ƒ/8
ISO Speed Ratings- 400
Original Date/Time- 2010:04:29 18:51:30
Shutter Speed (Exposure Time)- 1/256 second
Flash- Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode
Focal Length-22/1 mm ===> 22 mm
Image Width- 800 pixels
Image Height- 533 pixels
Focal Plane X-Resolution- 4438.36
Focal Plane Y-Resolution- 4445.97

First off try using M (manual) mode and then when you find something successful, program it to one of the 3 C (custom) modes for future use. Like 1 for close ups and one for full car shots etc.

ISO-
I suggest lowering the ISO to it's lowest setting, 100. The higher the ISO the more "noise" or grain there will be. Now, your camera is nice enough that 400 ISO will look great, but your probably shooting a well lit subject so any brightness gain is unnecessary.

F-number-
A low F-stop will give a shorter "in focus" range, in other words only things at a very specific distance will be in focus and everything else will be blurry. A high F-number will likly give the sharpest image in this case, and also darken the image. Adjust the f-number to see what works for specific shots.

Shutter speed-
The settings I suggested will darken the picture, so a longer exposure will be necessary. The down fall is if you get to too long of an exposure you have to be very steady, but since your shooting a still subject that's not a big issue. Generally you won't go below 60-80 (1/60-1/80th second) without a tripod. Finding a balance of these three settings is key.

Focus-
It is important that the camera is focused on the paint and not on the reflected image, manual focus makes it pretty easy to get right.

Live view-
If you didn't know, you can turn on live view so you don't have to look through the viewfinder eye piece. To get auto focus to work with this mode you have to set One-shot auto focus, and center auto focus point only.

Resolution-
Set your cameras settings to the highest quality-

Jpeg large: Fine (I recommend this, if not already set)
or
RAW: None

-----------------
Mikes pic
"Easy Shooting Mode"- Manual (1)

Exposure Time- 1/200 second ===> 0.005 second
Lens F-Number / F-Stop- 40/10 ===> ƒ/4
ISO Speed- 50
Flash- Flash did not fire
Focal Length- 224/32 mm ===> 7 mm
Image Width- 2272 pixels
Image Height- 1704 pixels
Focal Plane X-Resolution 2272000/280 ===> 8114.29
Focal Plane Y-Resolution 1704000/210 ===> 8114.29

The pic mike posted has a slightly faster shutter speed, half the F-number, 1/4 your ISO and almost double the resolution. Lots of settings I know, but I hope this helps. :xyxthumbs: