Capturing Silver Flake

SilverLexus

SilverLexus

Super Enthusiast
Taking pics of metallic silver in sunlight is very complex I have found. I still need a fancier camera but I'm getting better albeit slowly.



Here are two shots that capture some of the reflectiveness and flakes I am achieving with Zaino Z-2 Pro:



fhood.jpg




fdoor.jpg
 
Great fleck-shots! I think you get better shots in full sunlight rather than at sunset.



Is that a dent in the rear door above the doorhandle?
 
Silver *is* tricky to really capture in pictures, IMO you're doing well. Better than I did recently:



Heh heh, I thought I was getting a good picture of the MPV's paint the other day- the light was just right to show that there's no marring (which had me all excited anyhow). Good close focus with the macro lens, nice and steady for a handheld shot, I was stoked. But I forgot to bump up the exposure compensation (manual SLR) and it turned out "18% gray". Too dark to really show what I was after...I gotta remember that my camera sees everything as middle gray unless I tell it different :o
 
There are lots of silver vehicles in my area. If the opportunity arises for me to detail one, I hope I can count on Lee and Accumulator to be my point men for advice!
 
Is that a dent in the rear door above the doorhandle?
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Nope, just how the light catches it.



But I forgot to bump up the exposure compensation (manual SLR) and it turned out "18% gray".
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This is my problem. I'm still learning how to do manual exposure settings.



I hope I can count on Lee and Accumulator to be my point men for advice!
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Anytime Bill. I'm enjoying Z-2 Pro the most right now.
 
SilverLexus said:
I'm still learning how to do manual exposure settings...
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You probably already know this, but the short version is:



The exposure meter in your camera is calibrated to capture "normal" shades (people, scenery, buildings, etc.) which are assumed to be "medium ~18% gray". If you spot-meter on the silver paint it'll try to make it too dark so it looks like medium gray- it does this by underexposing. So you have to make sure a silver subject doesn't come out looking that dark to get the right look. You can meter on something else that's more "normal", i.e., closer to medium gray. Or you can meter on the silver paint and then over-expose it a little to make it look "too light for medium gray", which will make it come out right to look like silver. Dunno if that made sense....



ScottWax knows a lot more about this stuff than I do :D



My pics of the MPV were a great lesson in this. They looked fine except for the close-up, when I quit thinking as hard as I needed to :o
 
docker- Heh heh, unless you're dealing with stone-age photog equipment like I am, what I said is a worthless waste of bandwidth ;) SilverLexus has shown an interest in over-riding his camera's auto settings and I suspect he's sometimes dealing with the same stuff I was on the MPV.



Certain cameras will make a black car or a white car or a gray car all look like they're kinda gray- equalizes them to some extent 'cause such cameras see the whole world as "medium gray" and try to make everything look like that.
 
Nice flake shots - great work, silver is a pain to show off really well. I take it the Zaino is a pure sealant, thus similar results to be expected with EX-P? I really like OCW on silver, but I have found it mutes the flake every so slightly.
 
WX51 TXR said:
Nice flake shots - great work, silver is a pain to show off really well. I take it the Zaino is a pure sealant, thus similar results to be expected with EX-P? I really like OCW on silver, but I have found it mutes the flake every so slightly.
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here is Zaino:



Picture023.jpg


Picture020.jpg




Here is ex-p:



IMG_0575.jpg


IMG_0571.jpg




They are similar, but Zaino lasts longer, and I think is a bit more pronounced in the clairity.
 
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