KenSilver
09-13-2003, 05:48 AM
And it`s really simple - I`ve discovered it all depends on the light source and viewing angle.
I often wondered why my grey-black Mercedes looks better in some situations than others. I`ve been a fulltime photographer with our country`s air force a couple of decades ago, and I always look for the best lighting situations automatically. But until now I`ve never really figured out what lighting makes a shine really pop.
Got to thinking about why, and here`s the situations I found.
Top pop shine look:
- In the garage at night, with normal tungsten illumination (I have two 200w bulbs)
- Under a large, high, dark-colored roof, unlit. My tire shop has a large portico at the front of their shop. When my Merc is parked under it in the daylight, the paint fairly pops. It attracts looks like flies. But when I park out from under it, the effect is definitely lessened.
- At night under standard street lighting, maybe with some shop front lighting too. Glistens like crazy.
- In the forest. Plenty of dark wood settings around makes it sparkle.
Not so good shine look:
- Backlit on the street in daylight.
- Daytime, outside, round noon.
- Outside in overcast conditions.
The real secret is that a dark color reflects back what it sees. Darker the color, better the reflections. When black paintwork reflects dark colors like night, dark surroundings and concentrated light sources, the surface shine is set off best.
With a dull sky, white spaces or backlighting... these are the reflected images in the paint which make it look duller.
And of course the main thing is to have a dark or black paintwork for the ultimate reflective properties. White, grey or silver colors just don`t get the same effect, even though the surface shine is the same.
Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 Mercedes SL500, glistening grey-black on black leather.
~1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas), shiny grey on grey leather, best in country!
~1991 Miata MX5, sparkling BRG on tan leather, wife`s (but my polishing).
I often wondered why my grey-black Mercedes looks better in some situations than others. I`ve been a fulltime photographer with our country`s air force a couple of decades ago, and I always look for the best lighting situations automatically. But until now I`ve never really figured out what lighting makes a shine really pop.
Got to thinking about why, and here`s the situations I found.
Top pop shine look:
- In the garage at night, with normal tungsten illumination (I have two 200w bulbs)
- Under a large, high, dark-colored roof, unlit. My tire shop has a large portico at the front of their shop. When my Merc is parked under it in the daylight, the paint fairly pops. It attracts looks like flies. But when I park out from under it, the effect is definitely lessened.
- At night under standard street lighting, maybe with some shop front lighting too. Glistens like crazy.
- In the forest. Plenty of dark wood settings around makes it sparkle.
Not so good shine look:
- Backlit on the street in daylight.
- Daytime, outside, round noon.
- Outside in overcast conditions.
The real secret is that a dark color reflects back what it sees. Darker the color, better the reflections. When black paintwork reflects dark colors like night, dark surroundings and concentrated light sources, the surface shine is set off best.
With a dull sky, white spaces or backlighting... these are the reflected images in the paint which make it look duller.
And of course the main thing is to have a dark or black paintwork for the ultimate reflective properties. White, grey or silver colors just don`t get the same effect, even though the surface shine is the same.
Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 Mercedes SL500, glistening grey-black on black leather.
~1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas), shiny grey on grey leather, best in country!
~1991 Miata MX5, sparkling BRG on tan leather, wife`s (but my polishing).