Photo help needed.

fyrffytr1 · Jul 24, 2013

I need to take two good pictures of my 67 GTO for possible inclusion in an upcoming calender.
But, every time I take a picture the true color of my car does not show! My car is Mariner turquoise but it comes out blue. I have tried three different cameras, shooting in low light, bright light and direct sunlight. It doesn't matter. This is the closest i have come to the correct color but the reflections in the paint really detract from the car.

old digger · Jul 24, 2013

Cool Car!

I'm not sure, but maybe try out some different filters?

DizzyDigger · Jul 24, 2013

Let me take a shot at it and see if I can correct the color. Be back in a bit
with a couple versions, as I don't know exactly what "Mariner Turquoise"
looks like.

[back again] Did my bst to try and make some corrections to the color, but
with the car sitting on that green grass it's near impossible to "bring out" the
turquoise color. Also, the entire background of the pic (sunlit areas) is completely
"blow out", meaning the brightness of that area is more than the camera sensor
can manage.

I would try taking the shot on a different surface (not green), and early morning would
be best as then the colors are a bit sharper. As the afternoon warms up the ambient
tends to "soften" a bit in the heat.

Also, be sure the WHITE BALANCE of the camera is set properly, as that sensor is
trying to bring in all those colors and sort them out, and if the balance is off that
alone can make the colors appear just a bit off (or way off..lol)

JunkShopFiddler · Jul 24, 2013

If you have a camera with white balance options take a picture using each white balance setting. On less expensive cameras the white balance choices may be labeled something like "indoor, cloudy, bright sun, shade, etc. Try them all, (if you haven't thought of that already)...good luck.

Sorry, didn't see Dizzy's post about the white balance...yes to what he said!

DizzyDigger · Jul 25, 2013

Guess I just can't pass up a challenge...

Went back to work on it, and aside from the color change (is that closer?)
I also cropped out as much of the blow-out background as I could get away
with, and then removed a couple of distractions that were in the pic. The red
bush near the passenger door is gone, along with another one that was near
the passenger side front. Cloned out the leaves that were just in front, and then
modified the cars color using manual brush and color chart.

Still didn't like that uber-bright background, so that got toned down a bit
(in the sunny areas) as well.

Better?

And here they are together, with original on top.

If that 's still not the right color, then jump on Google and find a photography
club near you, and see if one of their skilled amateurs might be willing to come
by and take the pics for you, and then also properly process them. Most all
of the photographers at that level will shoot the pic in RAW format, then
will process it for the exact color and convert it to a .jpg.

If you were close by me I'd be happy to get together with you and take the
pics (n/c). The GTO would be a great subject, and it would be interesting just
to see how good of shot we might get, and I'd love to take one of it silhouetted
against a nice sunset... 8-)

ronwoodcraft · Jul 25, 2013

Here's my try at it. I know it's still the same color, and don't know what to tell you. It's a JPG. and my editor can only change white balance in raw files. The part I don't understand is, that the white balance looks right for the surrounding area.

Beautiful Car though! :thumbsup:

fyrffytr1 · Jul 25, 2013

Mike and Ron,
Thanks so much for the effort to fix this photo. Mike, the color in your photo is a lot closer to the real thing. I am going to try taking some more pictures this weekend on a paved parking lot. Hopefully, I will get some good ones.

rginn · Jul 26, 2013

Man, I think all those pics are just great. I don't know a whole lot about photography and am not a professional, but you might try movin that indoors. You have total control over the lighting. If it still doesn't work, maybe a model, like one of those girls in the Low Rider mag would draw attention away from the color. Definitely a cool car though, in any color.

fyrffytr1 · Jul 31, 2013

Well, Last weekend was a washout! Foggy mornings and rainy afternoons are not the best conditions to take pictures, especially of a convertible! And, they are calling for more of the same this weekend!
Hopefully, I will get the pics I need before the end of the month.

SC_hunter · Aug 1, 2013

I'm not sure what type of camera you are using, but if it is a dslr, set your image output to RAW. There is no loss of photo information that can be used in your editor. Place a gray card somewhere in the photo so you can set the white balance correctly. You can try a few shots...overexposed...underexposed..and one that you think should be correct. If you have LR, you should be able to get it just to your liking and then be sure to save it as a .jpg. BTW...great looking car.

rginn · Aug 1, 2013

Well I was hoping you'd have them. Another thing you can do is get it way away from a green background, as it conflicts with turquoise and will reflect off the car. If you can't get an inside location, and it's raining, a wet black asphalt parking lot might bring the color out. Good luck, and I don't think too many folks will nit-pick over the color.

fyrffytr1 · Aug 7, 2013

Any better?

SC_hunter · Aug 9, 2013

You did very good...getting it off that green grass. Nice ride for sure.

tamrock · Aug 10, 2013

I'm just moved with emotion no matter what shot I look at.

DizzyDigger · Aug 11, 2013

fyrffytr1 said:
Any better?

Absolutely beautiful...Well Done! :occasion14:

fyrffytr1 · Aug 11, 2013

I took the car out this morning to get some more pictures of it. I went to four different spots and took many many shots. Surely I thought, one or two would work. When I got home I opened my camera to get the card out only to discover that it wasn't in it to begin with.

I looked down at my computer and saw it sticking in the card reader. And, my camera does not have any internal memory so I get to do it all over. :BangHead:

Mekong Mike · Aug 19, 2013

That baby is ready for show. Great pics.

Alexis · Sep 4, 2013

Yeah this is good information about photos i like this actually i am also a professional photographer and i was thinking to make this type thread for this information but i have no need to make any thread after read out this information anyways thanks for this and have a nice day .............

DizzyDigger · Sep 4, 2013

Alexis said:
Yeah this is good information about photos i like this actually i am also a professional
photographer and i was thinking to make this type thread for this information but i have no need to make any
thread after read out this information anyways thanks for this and have a nice day .............

Welcome Alexis.. :hello:

Couple of us around here are retired from the biz. I try to help where I can,
as there are many pics where just a bit of processing will improve them
greatly. Only so much you can do with a .jpg, and having another skilled
tog on the site with processing experience can only be a benefit.

BTW, be sure and make a few posts in the "My Daily Snapshot" section.
I can't get out and shoot much any more, but still have about a thousand
frames stashed in files that are still RAW, and never processed. Just to
keep my processing skills up to speed I'll post one up now and then in
the "Daily" section.

fyrffytr1 · Nov 14, 2013

Just wanted to let Y'all know that my car won best muscle car and second place overall in the O'Reilly Auto Parts 2014 calender contest. This was a nation wide contest open to all O'Reilly employees. And, this was my first trophy with this car.