Lighting a black car

As per title, have a couple of black cars lined up

Massive issues with them ive been led to belive. Most of my shooting involved two elinchrom ranger power packs so plenty of punch if I need it.

Often ill sit the lights up very high and try and shoot the light over the car with the spill from the reflectors on the paint.

Any ideas/warnings before hand?

Unfortunately the easiest, but also least reliable, way to shoot a black car is to pray for a nice sunset/sunrise.

Sunset;
http://www.johnjovic.c​om/l285.htm

JJ

One approach to photographing a black car is to just use what light is available and hope there's enough ambient light to have the car stand out.

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Sunset;
http://www.johnjovic.c​om/l285.htm

Good one!

Some more help:
https://photography-on-the.net …hp?p=6129597&po​stcount=52

thanks for the replys, paint should be in good nick its a minty ford GT, think an F40 i have lined up has just had a respray in black aswell though

I do want to use my lights and create more of a powerful image than just the normal snap shots, these are shoots not just for pleasure.

For example this is what i did with a white renault.

So how do you expect that to equate to shooting a black car?

Well, this one was "just for pleasure". I'm interested to see how you make yours look better using strobes:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=44795

PhotosGuy wrote in post #10202699
So how do you expect that to equate to shooting a black car? Well, this one was "just for pleasure". I'm interested to see how you make yours look better using strobes:
https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=44795

The post was refering to showing a style at which I have shot before and the importance, also showing positioning of strobes i have used before, as said in the post you quoted I want to try and use lights as i feel it creates a more powerful image and not just a snap shot.

Like i said I asked if anyone had ideas on lighting the car, and pitfalls not just shoot it in the daylight. I understand its a tough one but people do light black cars with strobes and obviously have differing results, which is why i asked

big light

itsafastworld85 wrote in post #10202193
thanks for the replys, paint should be in good nick its a minty ford GT, think an F40 i have lined up has just had a respray in black aswell though

I do want to use my lights and create more of a powerful image than just the normal snap shots, these are shoots not just for pleasure.

For example this is what i did with a white renault.

The quality of the paint wont save the day although it does help. You still have to clean the car. Have you tried to clean a black car? You need to know what you are doing and you need to use the correct cleaning chemicals/sprays and cloths (make sure the owners approve).

As I said, I think you should try it for yourself, particularly as you seem not to believe any one else anyway. The best way to learn is from experience.

Have a look at some of the black, or very dark cars in this thread below (note that matt black photographs much better than gloss black, ie the Lamborghini);

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=774069

This thread shows a few black/dark cars shot with strobes and some of them look pretty ordinary IMHO, at best. It will give you an idea of what to expect.

Anyway, post up your pics, preferably in this thread, to show us how you went with the shoots.

JJ

itsafastworld85 wrote in post #10202763
The post was refering to showing a style at which I have shot before and the importance, also showing positioning of strobes i have used before, as said in the post you quoted I want to try and use lights as i feel it creates a more powerful image and not just a snap shot.

And I said, "So how do you expect that to equate to shooting a black car?" It's not going to give you anywhere near similar results as the black paint will just soak up the light.

As for, "ideas on lighting the car,", you need to think about putting the light on something else that will reflect in the car. Did you miss this in the link I gave you in post #4?

rigshots wrote in post #10205033
The quality of the paint wont save the day although it does help. You still have to clean the car. Have you tried to clean a black car? You need to know what you are doing and you need to use the correct cleaning chemicals/sprays and cloths (make sure the owners approve).

As I said, I think you should try it for yourself, particularly as you seem not to believe any one else anyway. The best way to learn is from experience.

Have a look at some of the black, or very dark cars in this thread below (note that matt black photographs much better than gloss black, ie the Lamborghini);

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=774069

This thread shows a few black/dark cars shot with strobes and some of them look pretty ordinary IMHO, at best. It will give you an idea of what to expect.

Anyway, post up your pics, preferably in this thread, to show us how you went with the shoots.

JJ

Nothing about not believing anyone else, it was a question and thrown in for general discussion, I have taken on board things and asked further questions as I prefer to try and create a more powerful image with lights, people do do it, ive seen some examples where it worked I just know its a real pig to get right which is why i thought it was a good idea to discuss it. I know theres alot of variables that need to be considered, one especially being the location to try and limit some of the reflections.

Re cleaning of the car, I dont need to worry about that they are mint and not used daily, ones just not long back from factory having a resrpay so the swirl marks from bad cleaning over the years should be small I hope.

Thanks for the link though i didnt drag that up when i searched.

The next time you get one with a thin layer of dust on it, keep your hands off it & shoot some shots before you clean it. I think you'll be surprised at how that dust helps you out when you use strobes on a black car.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #10209032
The next time you get one with a thin layer of dust on it, keep your hands off it & shoot some shots before you clean it. I think you'll be surprised at how that dust helps you out when you use strobes on a black car.

Ive had dust on my car when shooting, it gives a slightly flatter look to the paint.

Is this what you feel the benifit is?

Like this car is actually a metalic red but is quite flat from where i dont clean it

Metallic paint vs. colored paint vs. black paint = three totally different things. The dust should pick up some light from the strobes & give the contours of the body some shape.