How to show off your work properly in photos

**OCDetails** · 12-03-2009, 05:27 PM

How to show off your work properly in photos

I'm not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination. I'm not going to tell you what F stops to use or what appartures to set your camera for (if cameras these days do any of that). I pretty much just point and shoot. What I'd like to tell you about is how to show off your work properly.

I see pictures all the time of black cars in the shade reflecting brightly lit backgrounds. Yeah, that doesn't work for me. Any dark color will reflect brightly lit objects, so it isn't a fair view of what you have accomplished. Likewise, just a brightly lit paint job doesn't always do much for showing off the work you accomplished.

For example, this car I did using XMT 360 to test the swirl removing and shine capabilities on a light colored car. Here is the after shot of the deck:

Pretty slick, right? Slick, but not perfect. I remember that car well and I know I didn't get it perfect simply because it was a college kid's daily driver and only got washed when she brought it home between semesters. Here is the before and after of a swirl removal project on a similar condition vehicle owned by the same guy using a FLEX DA, blue Edge2000 pad, and XMT360:

Even though it looks better by far, just having the paint lit doesn't show that there are still quite a few swirls on the paint. The whole car essentially looked like that second picture, but you can't tell unless the sun is in the shot.

Black is another great example. It is easy to put a black car in the shade and have it look stellar.

While those pictures might look like well detailed cars, it is really tough to say unless you have the sun in it. The sun won't let you hide squat. Case in point... Here is the fender and hood of that Porsche. You can tell that with the sun in the shot you are going to see all the imperfections. The hood is still not perfect, but rock chips will do that.

Granted, sometimes it is hard to get the sun in the picture and still show what you are trying to show. Sometimes getting the sun in it isn't even possible. Here is a good example of that. I wanted to be able to show the detail of the flames, but getting the sun right in the middle of the tank washed everything out. However, having it in there a little bit shows that I'm not trying to hide anything. Even without the sun you can try to get a light bulb or something in there and that will do the trick too.

Camera quality being bad doesn't matter either. I did these pictures with the camera on my Blackberry Pearl, so don't think that having a crappy camera is an excuse for not being able to really show off your work.

Sometimes I don't even think it is necessary to get the sun in every shot. With the sun at the angle it was by the time I was finished with this vehicle it was impossible to get a very good sun shot. So when I posted pictures I made sure I had at least one sun shot to show I was being serious about removing the swirls. If I was going to take the time and had the ability to do this on the hood, then it can be assumed that I probably did that on the rest of the vehicle.

Light colors are tricky. All I can say is try to take the most unforgiving angles that you can find. Get any light source that you can find to reflect in the paint. Just avoid the shade and relying on the brightly lit background to serve as proof of your skill. Any color in the shade will reflect brightly lit backgrounds, so try to get as much direct light on the paint as possible. Even light colors can impress if you do that.

I'm not saying that you should avoid the money shots by any means. What good would cameras be if we couldn't use them to take advantage of perfect angles and special lighting?

Definitely leverage that if you can. It produces some great results!

shady side on silver:

extreme angle on white:

shady black: (screw the car... I want that house!)

more shady black:

total shade oxidation removal: (you can't see it, but the paint is still pretty borked on this paint, but the point was to show the difference)

definitely one of my favorites:

curves do wonders in the shade:

and of course, the irresistible self portrait:

The whole point of this thread is to say don't be afraid to show off your work! You know you did a great job, so don't hide it by taking pictures of the shady side. Get the car out of the garage and into the sun. A picture of a black car in the garage reflecting the shelves three feet away is not impressive. I'm sure the paint is perfect and it looks spectacular, but if it wasn't then the car would still reflect the same. Do your work justice by taking pictures out in the sun where we can see that you did an awesome job and there isn't anything to hide. Don't avoid the money shots, but make sure you get some real before and after shots as well.

**frosty** · 12-03-2009, 05:53 PM

GREAT POST!!! Sometimes my stuff I get finished up at 3am in the morning and take pix, raining the next day so all I have. Or right now, I'm working on my stuff of the evening and can't get any shots in the sun.

Funny you posted this, I was looking at local detailing sites today and pix of their work. One site had lambo's, porsches etc all over the place, but not one of them was taken in the sun. I was thinking you could just wash a car with a bad paint job and make them look like what was on some of the sites.

I agree with you 100% but also I'm finding you can find the right angles with good Flourescent lights if you keep searching for the right angles. But definitely the sun seems the best.

Actually I'm still learning how to get the best pix so thank you for taking the time. Plus we just bought a new Lumix point and shoot which is doing pretty good. But I'm wondering if I'm going to have to break down and purchase a SLR.

**A4 1.8tqm** · 12-03-2009, 08:14 PM

Great post! I totally agree with you. It is easy to take a pic with the car in the shade with a brightly lit background and have the paint look flawless. I realized pretty quick that anyone can make a car look much better in a pic than it does to the eye with proper lighting/angle. It may not have occurred to some people that there is more to showing your work than the "money shot". The "Proof of work" (POW) pic, now standard in "show your work" posts?...

**Mirror Detailing** · 12-03-2009, 08:31 PM

Wow great post. I sometimes wonder about some work I see, because you get detailed pictures before and then not so detail pictures after. Thats why with all my afters I make sure i have some form of light to show it off, either 500w or 1000w shop lights if there is no sun available.

**unclestu** · 12-03-2009, 08:35 PM

Great post.
As the saying goes One picture is worth a thousand words. What really bugs me is when some people amp up the pics by doing digital photo enhancements.

**ASPHALT ROCKET** · 12-03-2009, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by unclestu

Great post.
As the saying goes One picture is worth a thousand words. What really bugs me is when some people amp up the pics by doing digital photo enhancements.

I agree totally, and those that have the close up of the defects and a further shot of that area for the after. There really is only a few that really take pictures that you can trust on the forums.

**Harleyguy** · 12-03-2009, 08:47 PM

Great post for sure
Learned some great technique's
I just can't believe some people actually would go out of there way with photoshop to make there cars look better then they really are .

**ASPHALT ROCKET** · 12-03-2009, 08:50 PM

Originally Posted by Harleyguy

Great post for sure
Learned some great technique's
I just can't believe some people actually would go out of there way with photoshop to make there cars look better then they really are .

Plus you can also tell by their process if the paint is going to look as good as the pictures suggest.

**Mirror Detailing** · 12-03-2009, 10:42 PM

Well photoshops not all bad. I have to use it for my pictures, but only to sharpen the image because my camera is TERRIBLE! That and I am not skilled enough to enhance a photo.

**cnfowler** · 12-03-2009, 10:47 PM

Originally Posted by ASPHALT ROCKET

Plus you can also tell by their process if the paint is going to look as good as the pictures suggest.

What, you would believe me if I told you my process on this Bronco was wash with Dawn and an old t-shirt using lots of passion? Who needs compounds, polishes and machines when you've got arms of steel?