How Photography Can Impact Detailing Results

[Greg Gellas]

I wrote a short article on Photography of Paint Correction. I thought I would share it with everyone.



"It has been said, “the camera can add 10 pounds�. While the camera can’t generally make a car look larger, properly photographing the damage is important. It can even be deceiving at times."



How Photography Can Impact Detailing Results

[togwt]

Does the camera ever lie?



During a tech session with a client, we were talking about how great cars look online and in magazines.



But then you see that car at SEMA or an auto show, and from a detailer’s perspective, are disappointed with how the finish appears. Both hobbyist detailers and pros always shoot pictures that make the cars look amazing. Both of us are photography buffs, he is more sophisticated than I, and knows tricks with lighting. You can shoot a dirty car on any day and the end result will come out looking like a show car if you get the right angle.



We both found this to be a bit interesting. So to better understand all the hard work that went into making the finish look amazing, you have to shoot it in a legitimate lighting atmosphere that is a true depiction of not only the product used and the end result, but the technical knowledge of the detailer or artist. This is where florescent lights and halogen lights come in.



• Take photographs when the sun is setting

• Use digital a photograph in an editing software picture editing program (i.e. Paint Shop Professional X1) you can also adjust contrast, and white balance from the camera

• White balance- tweaking the white balance so the white paint appears to have incredible "depth" to show that a given LSP imparts that look is somehow crossing a line.

• Open the digital photos in a picture editing software program (i.e. Paint Shop Pro XI) and use the tools to "sharpen" the image.



Is this then cheating? Liken it to the ‘air-brushed’ photographs of fashion models or celebrities, it has very little to do with reality, you are creating an illusion that people ‘want’ to believe (just be careful what claims you make for a product though with ‘enhanced’ photographs (i.e.’ Truth in Advertising’)

[mikemurphy234]

Exactly Greg.



Unscrupulous editing and ,I use this term lightly, enhancing pictures has caused quite a stir in the detailing world.

[David Fermani]

Great article Greg! Pictures can be worth a thousand words....:nervous:

[Levidg]

nice article Greg... I agree... Pics can say A LOT!

[Nth Degree]

Very true and great article. I don`t spend a lot of time photographing and the time of day and angle of the sun is always different when I start in the morning and don`t finish until near or after sunset. I try to take before and afters from the same angle, but sometimes it is a little off unless you use a tripod. I do use Photoshop only to crop and mark my photos for security. Other than that they are just what my point and click camera capture.



I saved a couple of photos that someone posted of a black BMW demonstrating what a difference a little editing could accomplish. Amazing difference.

[Jpostal]

I rarely take pictures but yesterday I snapped a couple with my phone while working on a black car. The before pic shows the severity of the damage while the second pic is after a quick one step (Uno on orange) and glaze under halogens (left side done, right side not). The third pic is the same process but in direct sun. I was surprised to see how different lighting dramatically changes things.

[Nth Degree]

These are the photos I mentioned before. They are not mine so I apologize if I offend the originator. IIRC they were posted for a similar example of what editing can achieve so I am not outing anyone for false representation.



The second photo clearly has a deeper, wetter look.

[autoconcierge]

Exactly Greg.



Unscrupulous editing and ,I use this term lightly, enhancing pictures has caused quite a stir in the detailing world.

I will say that having a quality camera and knowing how to use it are as important as any piece of equipment needed to be a correction detailer and market the level of quality you are tring to convey, where "The line is crossed" is other than "glamour pics" on a website or business card the pics should go straight from your camera right onto the medium at the moment such as a forum write up FB page etc.................. as there are certain ways pics are taken (Angles, time of day) along with post processing that earmark or flag pics to the the person who knows better.



The general public of course can be bamboozled in this regard but this does not mean you will get away with this stuff always, I WANT the penetrating sun shining on panels of corrected paint in at least 50 percent of my finished pics as reflection shaded side of the car is fine but the aforementioned pics have to be there....................they just do. Another "Red flag" pic is the "In the shade pic" when the sun in clearly out thirty feet away.................... this kind of pic is done by many and if you do this you are fooling a few but not the experienced folks who "Know who`s who in the zoo".



You can can do this stuff...................but someday this kind of shenanigans might be pointed out.