sun vs shade for viewing

I

III

97 bonneville/98 Z71
Why does a vehicle look better when it's in the shade or when it's cloudy compared to direct sunlight? Is it because the sun washes things out to a point, thus not providing the depth and gloss?
 
III said:
Why does a vehicle look better when it's in the shade or when it's cloudy compared to direct sunlight? Is it because the sun washes things out to a point, thus not providing the depth and gloss?
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One reason would be that any imperfections (scratches, marring etc) will have more light on it and therefore be more visible when refracting that light.



Also any smudge/streak/finger print also is more visible, again thanks to more ambient light.





I'm sure the experts on here will chime in with more.....
 
I'd venture to say that when it's cloudy, or when you're in the shade, you see more reflections as opposed to the sun, which takes away surface area being hit by its light that could be reflecting its surroundings.
 
Twilight is a great time to get some shots. Colours are not washed out by the brightness of full sun and the contrast is raised so reflections show better.



DSC02429.jpg
 
It is Sir, pearlescent black with 20" 9 spokes and 1" lower sports pack.



The only downside is it takes a while to detail LOL. Thanks for your comment LQ9SS
 
V8...sweet car man.



Back on topic: I like pics like the one that V8burble posted. That is my favorite light, but if a car has some serious marring.....take the pics in the dark. Black cars always look good at night (unless they're passing under fluorescent lights).
 
V8burble said:
Twilight is a great time to get some shots. Colours are not washed out by the brightness of full sun and the contrast is raised so reflections show better.
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My buddy, who's car I detail calls it the "magic hour", and he loves how his freshly detailed car looks at twilight after we're done. With the relatively bright indirect lighting, detailed cars look like the paint is liquid.
 
Couldn't have put it better Super Herb. Although dark cars ALWAYS show better reflections, twilight can give some awsome results on silver, it comes alive. The same can be said for freshly detailed rims too.
 
I just want to say that I think a totally polished out car looks better to me in the sun than in the shade. If I look at a car that’s in the sun and it looks awesome I appreciate it better cus I know it will look good anywhere it is.
 
III said:
Why does a vehicle look better when it's in the shade or when it's cloudy compared to direct sunlight? Is it because the sun washes things out to a point, thus not providing the depth and gloss?
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Because when the car is under direct sunlight, scratches in the CC are gonna reflect the light and in the shade there is no direct light to reflect off the CC so that's why it looks better. As for depth and gloss, I think those things are definitely enhanced under direct sunlight. Shade, IMO, hides swirls and accentuates gloss and reflectiveness.
 
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