Light Painting / Light Box - Cars at Night

Hi again guys thought i would post some of my recent attempts using slow shutter speeds and a small led light.

Pictures are turning fairly ok, me being a beginner and all, and this is the type of photography ill mainly be doing but im really having issues with:

1. Focusing on the entire car properly - im using manual focusing zooming on on the live view to concentrate on say, the wheel or something, they look great after taking the pic on the screen, but alot of the car is still rather blurred once uploaded..

2. I tried with the small LED light and a portable short fluorescent one too, but cannot work out for the life of how to eliminate the light trails in the reflections. Im keen to go out and buy the specific light that i need, but not sure exactly what i need..

Any tips and some C&C would be much appreciated.
In general i just feel like im getting a few settings totally wrong..
Everything was shot in RAW.

This first pic was taken of my car, a year ago and is what inspired me to get into the world of photography. Youll see how the relections that i want are smooth, but mine are concentrated.
The rest are mine.

Thanks guys

Tim.

Looks cool, I like them all. Especially the first one

Haha yeah cause the first one isnt mine.. thats what i want mine to look like

Look at #2. Is that the house reflected in the side of it? Then that's the axis you have to be on, between the house & the car, to have your light reflected in the side if you want a highlight there.

This "ain't rocket science". Cars are just curved mirrors.
1. Put a light at the camera.
2. Walk around the car & look at the reflection of that light. If you see it in a part of the car that you want the light to be reflected in, then where you're eyes are at that time is where you need to put the light.

https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=4255577&po​stcount=40