Black Jetta TDI

After my first shoot with strobes with the white Civic hatchback yesterday, I wanted to try shooting my *gasp* black car since I've always read they're harder to shoot with strobes than any other color.

Any input and advice is appreciated regarding how to feather the light better against a black/darker color car.

I didn't have any tilt brackets with me so there was no way for me to point the speedlights down at an angle. Would that have helped? I just experimented with moving the lightstands around till I got no reflection against the paint.

this is about 2-3 shots combined in PS CS5.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/48943194@N02/4​985213355/

And that's why it looks like a black hole against the wall. To get a good reflection in a black car, you need to put the light on something else, like a wall, floor, or ceiling that will reflect in the car.

sorry what i meant was i moved the flash around until i didn't see any 'hotspots', but i do agree with your comment.

i did take some bracketed shots without the flash. i went back and added some reflections back into the paint. i'm not real used to shooting cars so thanks for the feedback. let me know if this works better. i guess i was going for more of a dark post-processing technique.

i think this edit looks much better.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/48943194@N02/4​988167744/

TDI's rule

Not much better for me. It's OK as one mood shot in a series, but does it look better than this shot taken in a parking lot?
http://img.photobucket​.com …rtQtr_25.jpg?t=​1284475022

Black Cars & Strobes = A nightmare!

Its really difficult to get decent results when using flash on a black car!

PhotosGuy wrote in post #10906270
Not much better for me. It's OK as one mood shot in a series, but does it look better than this shot taken in a parking lot?
http://img.photobucket​.com …rtQtr_25.jpg?t=​1284475022

yes, it does look better.

PhotosGuy wrote in post #10906270
Not much better for me. It's OK as one mood shot in a series, but does it look better than this shot taken in a parking lot?
http://img.photobucket​.com …rtQtr_25.jpg?t=​1284475022

I don't understand the pic you posted (which you think is better then the TDI shot), the post production of yours makes it look it's floating or it's some sort of clip art. But then, you kept the bad reflections on the panels. It looks like a 1/2 complete job.

MHO wrote in post #10914041
Black Cars & Strobes = A nightmare!

Its really difficult to get decent results when using flash on a black car!

As long as you know the concept and the right equipment then it's going to be a piece of cake

that looks more like a light painting vs strobing... am i close? nice looking shot. what is the green?

^Exactly, lol


Nice Shot Rikaro.... now would you like to explain to the rest of the class how you did it...