Taking swirl pictures of a white car

[MikeBit]

Guys, I'm having an insane amount of trouble capturing photos of swirls on camera with a white car. I have a Pikes Peak White 350Z (its a pearl color), and it has some INSANE paint defects which I plan on putting my heart and soul into, to restore it. However, I CAN'T, for the LIFE OF ME, find a way to get these stupid swirl marks on camera! Tried in the sun, too! Nothing! Tried a dark garage + flash, nope! I have heard that "swirl finders" don't work so well either (I have a flashlight... one halogen one white light, both don't do the job). The only time I can truly see them is when, say, I'm in my driveway at night and my garage light is shining on the roof. Then I can see them perfectly. However that doesn't speak for the whole car. In my actual garage, the light that is right next to the garage door motor WILL expose the roof's as well as some of the hood's paint swirls. But doors/A Pillars/rear hatch/rear & front bumper - NOPE. I'm really ticked because I so totally want to show you guys before/after photos. Also, I want to actually see whether or not I'm really removing these crazy defects! I was at the gym the other day and someone with some sweet halogen bulbs was parked in front of me, one spot to the side, and she flipped on her lights. I immediately saw my defects and OMG they're so bad LOL. I went they're that bad?!

So who can tell me how to capture these blasted defects on my camera? I have a digital SLR.... top quality Nikon D90, so the camera quality is not the issue!

[TLMitchell]

So who can tell me how to capture these blasted defects on my camera? I have a digital SLR.... top quality Nikon D90, so the camera quality is not the issue!

Dark garage, swirl finder or other direct lighting, no flash. Move around to captire different angles. On my white truck I usually polish in a dark garage with two halogen towers at different heights and angles.

Here's a 50/50 taken in a dark garage, one pair of halogens set high on the right, another pair down low from the left. The difference is subtle because the vehicle wasn't too bad, still a noticeable difference. Might not have been able to feature the defects without the 50/50 for comparison.







That was with one pass of D300 on a 5.5" DA MF pad. Went straight to 845IW afterwards.

TL

[kimtyson]

Try putting your finger on the swirl. Then the camera knows where to focus.

[Mike Phillips]

Check this article out and try to use the sun to highlight the swirls around noonish...

How-To capture swirls, scratches, etchings and other surface defects with your camera


I took this shot using overhead sunlight to highlight the swirls...



Horrendous Swirls

[Cosmin]

2011 Bentley Continental GTC

dark room works best !