Pictures of Reflections

Intel486 · 05-08-03, 07:02

One on my major pet peeves is using pictures to show the results of products. Pictures are great to show results if they are taken correctly. The amount of things you can hide in a picture is incredible though! Just start taking pictures and you'll soon learn that fact. Most of the people on this board understand this fact but there are some other boards that the people don't. I'm just this up here on autopia first though

I'm writting this with another board in mind so some of the things I say don't apply to the people on autopia.

Pictures have been left as links to help reduce my bandwidth usage.

There is so much you can hide in pictures it isn't even funny! I've done several other threads in the past about this topic. I can take a vehicle and put it in the sun and get pictures that'll show horrible swirls, oxidations, etc. I can then pull it into the shade and get some great pictures of the reflection without a product ever touching the surface!

To really see results a product can make the pictures need to be taken at similar angles with the same lighting. Here are three pictures that I took awhile ago talking about swirl removal. I took them all at the same angle with similar lighting.
1) Before- http://goldenshinedetailing.com/imag...sbedcover1.jpg
2) After Compound - http://goldenshinedetailing.com/imag...sbedcover2.jpg
3) After Polish - http://goldenshinedetailing.com/imag...sbedcover3.jpg

I've been seeing the pictures of people's reflections popping up a lot though. People saying, "ohh, look how great this product made the reflection in the side of my truck." The reflection you get in the paint is mainly based on the paint itself. Dark colors will give you a clearer reflection. The amount of orange peel in the paint can degrease the clarity of the reflection too. The big thing is the lighting. If you get proper lighting, then you can get a great reflection. I've have found proper lighting to be having the paint in the shade and the thing being reflected in the sun.

Here is an example. Go park your vehicle in the sun. The side being hit by the sun really won't have that great of a reflection. You can probably get a reflection out of it on an angle though. Go look on the side in the shade though. You probably have a pretty good reflection out of it don't you?

Dirt can also be hidden in pictures. We'll take my truck for example. My neighbhors yard is all dirt and my truck was washed four days ago. You should see how dirty it is, wait, you'll get to in a minute

Here are some pictures of the reflection I got out of it today.
1) http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect1.jpg
2) http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect3.jpg
3) Look at that orange peel! http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect4.jpg

Now, lets see how much dirt is on my truck... I couldn't even get it all to show up in the picture when I was trying to take a picture of it! Just look at the area around the windshield wipers and you can see the dirt collected there. The whole truck is like that.
1) This is where I took the picture of me. http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect2.jpg
2) See it on my bedcover http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect5.jpg
3) Can see the window sill is brown almost! http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect6.jpg
4) Can see the dirt settled on the hood http://goldenshinedetailing.com/Imag...tyreflect7.jpg

Guitarman · 05-08-03, 07:35

This coming from a guy that himself has some "wow" type reflection pictures, and can IMO back it up with the actual reality /in person image, at least I endeavor to make it the "real deal". But not all of the cars that look great in photos are actually that way...

I have seen internet photos of some cars that I've seen in person( at car shows etc.) that look pretty scary up close, especially in the sun. Some of the cars are actually in need of a new paintjob, with scratches, chips, dents and swirls galore. Take that car, position it correctly in a garage or partial shade, and you'd think it was freshly painted and pristine, with great reflectivity.

This is just life, people will always use perception as reality, and try to profit from it to sell a product. But most of us already know the Swedish bikini team isn't going to be at our next pool party if we buy that brand of beer. Not a bad thought though.

OUCH · 05-08-03, 08:55

Nice write up and all of it is true. Most of it is common knowledge really, like the reflection. Put a bright spotlight facing the mirror and let's see if you see yourself, doubt it.. All you'll see is a bright shiney light. Dim down the light and you will see yourself. Taking pictures of swirls has to be done at a certain angle or you'll never see, just like in person..

I think most of the people who post pictures of their reflections here are just happy with what they've achieved or think they've achieved. Sure some products will do it better and faster, and will last longer but in the end they're really pretty much all the same. It's just a matter of taste and preference and how much work you're willing to do... Brand names and Price when it comes to Car Detailing is really just a placebo of some sort. Oh and as we all know Car Detailing is all about Surface Preparation...

And as to taking pictures with same angle and same lighting, it's feasible but quite hard really especially if you don't have a garage of your own and GREAT static lighting inside. Plan on using the sun? Well you better be able to detail that car in less than 2 hours, cause if you take any longer than that then the sun already has move several degrees. And it's no longer the same. Huge difference between a 9am Sun Light and a 12pm one.. And that's only 3 hours, some of us are just getting done with Compounding..

carguy · 05-08-03, 11:00

Darn! You're giving away our secret! But you are absolutely right - photos tend to hide swirls. It isn't just the sunlight - frequently pictures focus on the reflected objects, which are a distance from the lens to the car to the object. this throws the car surface out of focus obscuring stuff.

When I wrote my article on lighting for detailing I did a similar shot sequence, only this time, the same surface undeer different lighting, with NO treatment in between. Outside it looks gorgeous. Inside under the halogen it looks pretty ugly.

JimS · 05-09-03, 06:15

It's still fun to look and gasp! Yeah, I know it's not very "Autopian" of me but it IS still fun and I know that I'm not seeing ultimate truth here but denial can be so...so... comfortable.

Jake11375 · 05-09-03, 07:10

Glad you started this thread Intel and an excellent article carguy. Those halogen lights seem like a very good investment. I don't have a garage, so to see the true "colors" of my paint I usually drive to the car wash at night and park it directly under one of the lamps. There I can see all the swirls and pitted areas and accomplish the most effective polishing by hand. I have a PC 7336 that I've only been able to test at my brother's house once. I'm looking forward to perfecting all the details with halogen lighting. I think this should turn out to be an interesting thread.

cackleberry · 05-09-03, 07:47

Excellent post

and I couldn't agree more. Whip out some halogens on your paint and be prepared... scary stuff appears in the right light.

Intel486 · 05-09-03, 09:31

Forgot to include this in the original post.

Here's a reflection picture I like to post when people start posting pics and fightning over, which product makes the vehicle look better.

There is nothing on the paint in this pic.

pies · 05-09-03, 12:39

That photo says to me it's not what you use but how you use it.I assume you have prevoiously polished, removed swirls etc ,now you have stripped of everything off the quality of your work still shows (as that can not be removed by alcohol alone)

blackntan · 05-09-03, 03:45

HAHAHAHAH!! that last pic is classic 486. I love it. You can get the same effect with loads of things, including wd40 and armor all...

truth is, my paint blows. It's a repaint, and the workmanship sucks. I'm not impressed at all. It also has swirls and scratches and what-not...

But I can make it look damn good in pictures, and as a photographer, light is my best friend.

I know we should be detailing under lights showing all of the true defects and working from that, but I just get depressed when I do.

Leave me and my farce alone!!!! :P :P :P

stanger99 · 05-09-03, 03:59

Sorry to say it but i lost all faith in pictures on this site a long time ago. They make for a good desktop, but unfortunately dont tell much about the product used(if anything was used - as illustrated by Intel's last pic). Everybody, dont buy a product based on pictures alone!

OUCH · 05-09-03, 10:59

Who's stupid enough to buy products on pictures alone? It's like buying a product cause a commercial it can help you get women..