Glowing??

I've seen a couple of car photography shots where the background is deep looking (not really dark but dimmed I guess you could say) and the car and the bit of background right behind the car is sort of glowing, so the car really pops out. I was wondering if anybody has seen this or knows how to do it

Skillful use of lights -- it can take various approaches, setting up multiple flashes or "fixed" lights is one, but people also like to play with "painting with light", walking around with a light source during a long exposure to get the illumination.

But that's not post-processing! If you wait until you have taken a shot without good lighting and hope to "fix it" with software, well, there is a lot that can be done with an app like Photoshop, but there are limits to what can be done "effectively". Plan a shoot with the proper lighting, and you can avoid beating your head on the "fix it" wall.

There are a lot of people here in POTN who do all kinds of automotive photography, some post in the Transportation section of "Photo Sharing":

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=37

You could also check out the Flash and Studio Lighting section:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=35

If you want to ask a question in the Transportation section, go to the Transportation Talk section:

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=119

Yea I knew about that but I thought you it was also something you coul do in photoshop

mikeweddle22795 wrote in post #14181555
Yea I knew about that but I thought you it was also something you coul do in photoshop

There are probably several ways to add a "glow" in Photoshop, but I doubt that any of them will achieve the look good lighting will give. For example, you might try duplicating the basic image layer, applying an image "highlights/shadows" adjustment to brighten the highlights on/around the car, then mask off the background so that the car is "glowing" in the middle.

Can you post an example. From what you're describing it almost sounds like HDR and haloing around the subject.

Like I said there is a lot you can do in Photoshop. Learning all the capabilities requires time spent with books, tutorials, all that jazz. There are numerous tools in Photoshop that can work with various things. For example, in my version, CS3, there is something called Filter/Render/Lighting Effects where you can play around -- you could actually search for a tutorial about using that if you are interested, it can be interesting, I just never play with it.

Or, there are the ideas folks are mentioning, working with layers and masks to apply various effects.

Dr Lazarus wrote in post #14181574
Can you post an example. From what you're describing it almost sounds like HDR and haloing around the subject.

That's ALWAYS a good idea, but you can't post someone else's image, BUT you can post a link to it.

What you're talking about might be flare. This effect can be from the light when you shoot it, or there are some ways to do it in PS. Personally, the best way to get a car to pop out of the frame is to start with the light you're shooting it under. Look at the "Beast."