I need camera skill class or something lol!

[Bates Detailing]

This is a buick paint correction I am working on right now...... and I cannot get a sun shot for the life of me on the side of the hood that I did! And no, my flash doesnt work on the camera. Ive tried every angle and am going blind starring at the reflection of the sun lol!
Heres what I have so far though.

Before :

AFTER :

Ive snapped so many pics trying to get the sunlight....... Why is this so hard for me lol?!?!?!?!? Anyone else have these camera moments?!?!?

 

[Flash Gordon]

I too have a difficult time taking pictures. As soon as I start, I won't the thing out of my hand

Alot of your problem here Anthony is the light colour of the Burick

I'm sure it looks great

 

[StephenK]

i am with you man. my camera skills are no good either. can never capture what i am trying to show.

 

[Mirror Detailing]

I dont follow. Is that not the sun spot in the top left corner of the after? There is going to be a noticeable difference in the shots, as the sun light will reflect inside the scratches in your befores making them more noticeable. The afters, you should only see a spot with no scratches. Also your shotting a white/gray car...that in itself is a hard car to take sun shots of. Since the color absorbs the light from the sun rather than reflecting it.

Now if you have a SLR camera rather than a P'n'S, try adjusting your F-stop and your shutter speed. Those are the hardest things to figure out how to use correctly to get the right shots. Hell, luckly I have about 4 professional photographer friends, so I got a lesson a few months ago on taking pictures lol.

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

Here's a link to the discussion group dedicated to your camera, the Sony DSC-f828, on flickr.-
Flickr: Sony DSC-F828 discussion topics


and a link to the "Beginners School of Photography" on Flickr.-
Flickr: BEGINNERS SCHOOL OF PHOTOGRAHY discussion topics


I think the most important thing is getting comfortable with Manual mode so you can adjust as necessary for the conditions at hand.

Fun fact, "Double Rainbow Guy" used this camera to shoot the viral video- [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI]YouTube - Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10[/video] :dblthumb2:

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

...your shooting a white/gray car...that in itself is a hard car to take sun shots of.

:iagree:

Since the color absorbs the light from the sun rather than reflecting it.

Incorrect. A light colored car, like white or silver, reflects MORE light. A dark color reflects less light. This is because the pigment of a dark color reflects only the particular wavelength(s) of light that is that color and absorbs the other wavelengths (this is why a black car gets hotter sitting in the sun than a white car, it absorbed more energy from the light which becomes heat).

The color white is the combination of all wavelengths of visible light, so it's hard to get good pics of light colored cars because the color effectively "floods" the surface with reflected light. This is also why it is hard to get good "money shots" on white, the light color itself is too bright, over powering the weak light from your surroundings that you want reflected.

To get good "money shots" on a light color, you want the car to be in the shade and the surroundings that you want to be reflected to be very well lit.

It's science

 

[tuscarora dave]

I'm not very good with cameras either but I notice in your second picture the car appears to have the same clear coat failure that my 97 Park Avenue Ultra has. Is that a late 90's Park Avenue by chance?

 

[Crazy Amos]

:iagree:



Incorrect. A light colored car, like white or silver, reflects MORE light. A dark color reflects less light. This is because the pigment of a dark color reflects only the particular wavelength(s) of light that is that color and absorbs the other wavelengths (this is why a black car gets hotter sitting in the sun than a white car, it absorbed more energy from the light which becomes heat).

The color white is the combination of all wavelengths of visible light, so it's hard to get good pics of light colored cars because the color effectively "floods" the surface with reflected light. This is also why it is hard to get good "money shots" on white, the light color itself is too bright, over powering the weak light from your surroundings that you want reflected.

To get good "money shots" on a light color, you want the car to be in the shade and the surroundings that you want to be reflected to be very well lit.

It's science

Very cool.

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

Try manual mode with these settings and the sun right in the middle of the shot-

ISO- all the way down (ISO is like gain, higher numbers reduce the quality but help in low light situations. Not applicable here)

f stop- all the way closed (larger number, like 8. This decreases the opening for light to enter to the sensor, equals shorter focal length and darker image) (focal length is the area that is in focus, short = one thing in focus the rest is out, long = everything in focus)

shutter speed- increase until the shot is not "blown out", then increase a couple more times. You want to get the image darker, so the sun's reflection is not overwhelming the whole pic, letting the defects show (or prove that there aren't any, depending).

If no go, repeat with opposite f number (smaller number, like 1.4).

It's tough, I know. Pic 1 wasn't too bad of a sun shot though and pic 2 shows the defects nicely. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Bates Detailing]

I dont follow. Is that not the sun spot in the top left corner of the after? There is going to be a noticeable difference in the shots, as the sun light will reflect inside the scratches in your befores making them more noticeable. The afters, you should only see a spot with no scratches. Also your shotting a white/gray car...that in itself is a hard car to take sun shots of. Since the color absorbs the light from the sun rather than reflecting it.

Now if you have a SLR camera rather than a P'n'S, try adjusting your F-stop and your shutter speed. Those are the hardest things to figure out how to use correctly to get the right shots. Hell, luckly I have about 4 professional photographer friends, so I got a lesson a few months ago on taking pictures lol.

Yeah that is one of the like 2 shots with the sun in it out of like 15 shots lol. I took pics from angles that look like the sun was right in my lense sight - but guess not.

I can tell from your show and shines that you have a really nice camera and have the angles down. Nice jobs :dblthumb2:

I'm not very good with cameras either but I notice in your second picture the car appears to have the same clear coat failure that my 97 Park Avenue Ultra has. Is that a late 90's Park Avenue by chance?

Nah - those were actually minor scratches that came out fine...... not sure what model this was - turned out great...... but the color sucks lol - interior was by far the nicest OBVIOUS turnaround. I Had to point out a 50/50 of the hood to explain the swirls and scratches being removed - and this guy looked like "ok, whatever" lol..... they were very happy but I think I put way more time than I had to into it

Try manual mode with these settings and the sun right in the middle of the shot-

ISO- all the way down (ISO is like gain, higher numbers reduce the quality but help in low light situations. Not applicable here)

f stop- all the way closed (larger number, like 8. This decreases the opening for light to enter to the sensor, equals shorter focal length and darker image) (focal length is the area that is in focus, short = one thing in focus the rest is out, long = everything in focus)

shutter speed- increase until the shot is not "blown out", then increase a couple more times. You want to get the image darker, so the sun's reflection is not overwhelming the whole pic, letting the defects show (or prove that there aren't any, depending).

If no go, repeat with opposite f number (smaller number, like 1.4).

It's tough, I know. Pic 1 wasn't too bad of a sun shot though and pic 2 shows the defects nicely. :xyxthumbs:

Thanx man - you sure know your cameras! I very rarely ever took pics until this last couple of months...... and Im still learning the angles to snap - and obviously have a lot more to learn. Thanx again for the info :dblthumb2:

 

[slickooz]

What camera are you using?

 

[Bates Detailing]

What camera are you using?

It says Sony Cyber Shot..... its my betterhalfs that she bought like 7 years ago. I think it was an animal back in the day - but I think tiny cameras today are stronger lol. I know absolutely nothing about cameras. Funny, cause both of my uncles ran very successful photography businesses in Middle TN.

 

[slickooz]

I suggest picking up a DSLR. They take very good pics of swirls and what ever your looking for. If you have spare 540 bucks get a refurb T2i it comes with 18-55mm lens. New is 800+. I just got mine a week ago and loving it.

 

[Bates Detailing]

I suggest picking up a DSLR. They take very good pics of swirls and what ever your looking for. If you have spare 540 bucks get a refurb T2i it comes with 18-55mm lens. New is 800+. I just got mine a week ago and loving it.

Wow - thats some money! I have kid number 5 on the way - $800 has to go towards diapers, clothes, food, etc. LOL -

Maybe later on - right now Im trying to save everything business wise to go into next year with a ridiculous set-up for Mobile Detailing - or maybe even invest in a shop. So pretty much everything I make stays in the business account and I am living poor boy style lol. I hope it pays off though.

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

my flash doesn't work on the camera

Try resetting the camera. It's a little pin hole button by the battery cover.

What camera are you using?

It says Sony Cyber Shot.....

See post #5, it's a Sony DSC-f828.

$1000 when new, 8MP, Ziess optics, 2/3" CCD, video recording...

Cornelius, for your purposes and situation you'll be fine with that camera. It's more than enough for before and after shots of some swirls. Fool around with manual mode a bit in your spare time (if you ever have any) and you'll get the hang of it. :xyxthumbs:

 

[Bates Detailing]

Try resetting the camera. It's a little pin hole button by the battery cover.





See post #5, it's a Sony DSC-f828.

$1000 when new, 8MP, Ziess optics, 2/3" CCD, video recording...

Cornelius, for your purposes and situation you'll be fine with that camera. It's more than enough for before and after shots of some swirls. Fool around with manual mode a bit in your spare time (if you ever have any) and you'll get the hang of it. :xyxthumbs:

How did you know what kind of camera it was?!?!?!

 

[slickooz]

That a sick looking camera, its looks like half SLR and camcorder lol.

 

[A4 1.8tqm]

How did you know what kind of camera it was?!?!?!

I'm a very skilled hacker...

J/K, Firefox plug-in Exif data viewer. I use it to figure out what settings I used for the pics I take that come out well. Like you, I'll take many pics trying to get a good one, it helped me learn what I explained earlier.

 

[Bates Detailing]

I'm a very skilled hacker...

J/K, Firefox plug-in Exif data viewer. I use it to figure out what settings I used for the pics I take that come out well. Like you, I'll take many pics trying to get a good one, it helped me learn what I explained earlier.

Preciate your help in this thread man - very good info for sure :dblthumb2: