This May Sound Stupid...

[sharrington]

but is there a trick to taking pictures of black cars. They never come out right when i take pictures of them. Would appreciate if there are any type of tricks.
Thanks SEan

[matonanjin]

Ah, excuse me. Do you suppose you can give us a clue what you mean by "They never come out right ...":rolleyes:

[pwm2]

Remember that if the black car is everything the camera can see and meter on, the camera will assume that the car is gray, and will adjust the exposure accordingly.

[sharrington]

Ah, excuse me. Do you suppose you can give us a clue what you mean by "They never come out right ...":rolleyes:

well i can never seem to make them pop as if like a red car would if you know what i'm trying to say

[maxblack]

It would really help to post a photo that you are not happy with.

[sharrington]

It would really help to post a photo that you are not happy with.
http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/sharrington8592/IMG_6860.jpg

[maxblack]

One of the mods here, PhotosGuy has some great ideas for shooting cars.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=536323


My own opinion is I would want to get closer to
get some separation from the background.
Nice clear reflections on a car are also very important,
especially black, to bring out the shape and contours of the car.
I hope this helps.

[PhotosGuy]

Maxblack said it for me. Read all of both threads, let the light work for you, & try again.

[DC Fan]

but is there a trick to taking pictures of black cars. They never come out right when i take pictures of them. Would appreciate if there are any type of tricks.

Reflections and highlights.

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20090712a0033.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20090712a0123.jpg

http://www.kevinlillard.com/racing/20090516a1226.jpg

Reflections and highlights are as important to car pictures as rimlighting, backlighting and hairlights are to portraiture. They define the subject's shape and keep it from being a featureless lump.

[turboale]

Ie, use tons of good wax ;)

[Sundevil9]

Amongst all the other things said, the VW pic has a fairly dark background. That's making your job of making it 'pop' that much harder. Notice all the lighter backgrounds in DC Fan's examples.

[PhotosGuy]

the VW pic has a fairly dark background. That's making your job of making it 'pop' that much harder. I have to disagree with the way you said that. A black car on a dark background will pop more in the right light than if it were on a light colored background. Look at the difference between #3 & 4, here.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=323643

Keep in mind that our eyes are drawn to the brighter parts of the shot. And those bright areas tend to make the dark car look even darker. Take a look at POST #30 near the bottom: The gray bar at the center is the same density all the way across.
A few Car Lighting Tips (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=70290)

[DonJuanMair]

i hated black cars at first but then i shot 3 in a row!!! i was not going to lose to a paint color!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2670/3868755710_cb969521fb_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3438/3867976363_9ba7a59945_o.jpg