Importance of picture quality

minorc

minorc

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Currently I have an Iphone 5 and a Canon p&s camera to document 50/50's and before after pictures, while the quality isn't all that great how important do you think owning a premium camera (dslr I guess) is to a detailer, part or full time?

I'm sure it's something I can invest in later on once I get busier but there are things I might need sooner than a fancy camera.

Thanks
 
If there going on your website or business Facebook page they should look good. I don't think you need to spend a ton of money on a camera.
 
Was thinking of displaying on a facebook site actually. Would just like to be able to capture that awe effect.
 
Lean how to use your P&S and its exposure settings and you should be fine for on-line pictures.
 
I think my photos are what really help set my work apart from others... I might use my cell phone to snap a quick pic when a vehicle is dropped off to post as a "Stay Tuned for more pictures" type of thing, but the higher end pictures really make a difference.

iPhone 5 (adjusted white balance, contrast, and sharpening with SnapSeed app)
995987_289242807880512_1432966772_n.jpg



Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f/1.8G
524461_290199631118163_754612714_n.jpg



Not saying you need a DSLR, but learning to use a camera goes a long way.
 
The more pictures I see on this forum the more I believe it's not so much in the camera as it is in framing up the shot.

With today's technology just about any p-n-s camera can take far better pictures than camera's of ten years ago. Learn what the different settings can do for you...or set it and forget it.

Camera's are like products to me...that is I've come to look at them the same way as the products offered here by AG. "Find something you like and use it often." -Mike Phillips
 
I'm convinced that photography is everything. zmcgovern45 has awesome photography and his website is very convincing. It makes all the difference.

Also the way that zmcgovern45 documents his details and post on his website is super important.

A pic of a shiny car is cool but seeing the process with excellent photography is everything.

I'm in the process of changing up the way I do photography and hopefully setting up my site more like zmcgovern45 in the relatively near future.
 
statusdetailing said:
I'm convinced that photography is everything. zmcgovern45 has awesome photography and his website is very convincing. It makes all the difference.

Also the way that zmcgovern45 documents his details and post on his website is super important.

A pic of a shiny car is cool but seeing the process with excellent photography is everything.

I'm in the process of changing up the way I do photography and hopefully setting up my site more like zmcgovern45 in the relatively near future.
Click to expand...
Documentation as in, before and after shots, are indeed very important...especially for a website.:xyxthumbs:
 
zmcgovern45 said:
I think my photos are what really help set my work apart from others... I might use my cell phone to snap a quick pic when a vehicle is dropped off to post as a "Stay Tuned for more pictures" type of thing, but the higher end pictures really make a difference.


Not saying you need a DSLR, but learning to use a camera goes a long way.
Click to expand...

Agreed.
 
I guess a dslr camera suits what I want to be able to achieve. Hard to capture the beauty of a detailed car with an Iphone or similar.
 
I think the iphone 5 has a pretty decent camera in it. I know Yancy is impressed and he's a real pro at taking pictures.

I have a iPhone 4 and my wife Stacy has the 4s and the quality of the 4s is much better than my 4

I take and post pictures using my iPhone 4 from time to time, mostly when I don't have the Canon Rebel with me because I think a good lousy picture is better than no picture.

A picture says a thousand words and no picture in your write-up, website, or FB page says nothing.

I agree framing-up a shot is also important. When I take pictures for SEMA I don't have time to do a lot of cropping, just resizing and uploading, so I try really hard to do a great job of framing up my shots before I click the shutter button and it helps a lot.


Like mentioned above by Bill and others, study the manual that came with your camera and the practice practice practice. Pay attention to the settings that are working for you, your subjects and your work environment.


Learning how to add some text to your pictures can also be a huge help to "guide" your viewer and make sure they see what you want them to see. I did this recently in these two threads...

Here's why you need to polish paint...


Dirty_Old_Ford_006.jpg





1955 Chevy & 1947 Buick Slantback - Show Car Makeover! - Pictures & Videos


Here's Mike's car and in this picture it can be kind of hard to see where I buffed on the top of the front driver's side fender.


1955_Chevy_Sedan_Delivery_009.jpg



It's still hard to see the before and after difference, but for reference, I've taken the same picture above and placed an arrow pointing to the tape-line where I buffed on the front edge of the fender and left the back side of the fender along.

1955_Chevy_Sedan_Delivery_009c.JPG




Now look... see what I mean by embedded dirt on and to some level, "in" the paint.

1955_Chevy_Sedan_Delivery_010.jpg






Here's another recent write-up I shared on the topic of capturing defects...


How to photograph and capture swirls in the sun




:)
 
zmcgovern45 said:
I think my photos are what really help set my work apart from others... I might use my cell phone to snap a quick pic when a vehicle is dropped off to post as a "Stay Tuned for more pictures" type of thing, but the higher end pictures really make a difference.

iPhone 5 (adjusted white balance, contrast, and sharpening with SnapSeed app)
995987_289242807880512_1432966772_n.jpg



Nikon D7000 w/ 50mm f/1.8G
524461_290199631118163_754612714_n.jpg



Not saying you need a DSLR, but learning to use a camera goes a long way.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%

I first started with taking photos on my phone while I also had a nice Digital Camera, I actually felt that my Iphone 4s had better pictures that the digital.

I used to have an app on my droid called camera 360 and it did a great job at capturing great photos.

I was lucky enough that my mom had two very nice DSLR's so I was able to use one for the time being.

If you are just starting out don't waste a whole lot on a Camera you can achieve a lot of the same results with a nice digital one. If you really want a SLR but need to say in a tight budget go to your local Walmart or a Meijer and check out the ones they have there. While they will not be up to the quality of the ones you would get from best buy or a similar store you should be able to find one that will suit your needs.
 
A good pic does not have to be taken on a $800 + camera. Pics are about presentation. Images that are well framed, have a attractive layout, before and after pics are the most important things.
You have to think about your end result. Websites and FB screen res is 72 dpi. Same for everyone.
Pictures on company business cards and brochures they have to be affordable to keep cost reasonable to get that you need to give up some resolution. Get the best quality camera that is within your budget.

I have been in the printing business for a long time and you don't need the highest res printer or image to put out an effective quality product.
I print my stuff on a Xerox iGen at 175 line screen and my wife's $300 camera pics look great. Okay I print all my stuff on polyester never tear stock. It's cool to have water proof business cards and brochures. It's just because I have the means to do it. Yes I have photoshop, indesign, quark and all the other toys to play with. The only things I do really is crop and perhaps adjust saturation and brightness levels and done.
The everyday person is not going to notice image resolution or print resolution differences. They will notice a nice layout, a well framed picture showing the content you are trying to convey.
 
I can agree that you don't need $1,000 in camera equipment to take a nice photo... I will argue that you must know how to use a camera to maximize your results.

I don't mean you need to know how to "Point and Shoot"... you must understand what your camera is seeing vs. what you are seeing and learn to manipulate your camera to produce better results. Many P&S cameras offer various manual/semi-manual modes such as Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority modes that allow you to produce some much better photos than what you might get when shooting in Auto mode.

I put together a thread on Understanding the Basics of Exposure to help break it down for people who are unfamiliar with photography.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/68142-photography-basics-part-1-a.html


No matter what camera setup you decide to purchase, I would always recommend buying used gear. The majority of my gear is used, and it has easily saved me hundreds... no, probably thousands over the years.
 
Well, when your camera doesn't have the settings you listed then I think I need to get something a little better quality. I'll check out the Canon previously mentioned
 
If the photos are for a website that you're using as a sales tool for your detailing, it's definitely important to convey quality and attention to detail (those words are implied by your title of "detailer" after all).

While it doesn't necessarily follow that crappy pics equals crappy detailing, that association will be made by people viewing your website.

So I'd avoid posting photos that are hazy, out of focus, underexposed, overexposed, or with excessive post processing or too "artsy." If that means no photos get posted yet, so be it. You might recruit a photo-savy friend to snap a few pics in the interim.

If you want, you could post a few of the photos that you consider to be underwhelming and maybe some people here will be able to offer advice. It's also possible that skillful post-processing could improve them to where they are presentable (depends how far gone they are).

One question though: are you saying you never get excellent quality pics, or just very seldom? If the former, a new camera might be part of the solution, but if the latter maybe a few tips and techniques would help.
 
I'm saying that both my camera options produce grainy, low definition photos that make it difficult to capture the beauty of a freshly detailed car.
 
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