Photographing IOM

[vinman]

As it says, wondering if there are some definite methods for capturing the IOM in all it's glory. I have a halfway decent canon camera with manual settings, it doesn't however do RAW pics. Is there a photoshop tool that I could use to bring out the orange? I've got great pics and angles, but it always ends up looking red 99% of the time

[rtcat600man]

Welcome to the club of having a difficult color to photograph. I too have a canon and cannot get as good of shots as I would like. Best advice I was given is get a camera that shoots RAW. I have a photo program that can manipulate the colors but with as many as I take I gave up on trying to mess with the settings anymore.

[velociSSimo]

Same problem here! I've given up!

[Jimbabwe]

The IBM folks have it is the same way :(

[Atlas]

Capturing in RAW helps with processing photos as you can properly adjust white balance and exposure as you would in camera. RAW capture allows you to do more with the photo without losing information. With that said, capturing IOM in JPEG can be done as easily as picking the right time of day. Ok, lighting becomes complicated real quick, and I'll try my best to explain, but even I get lost sometimes.

Here goes. If you don't have access to artificial lighting or strobes then best thing is to photograph your car at different times of the day. Working with your environment instead of against it. Photographers love twilight, not the crappy movie, but the two or so hours just before the sun sets. You get that natural light that flanks objects giving them definition without taking away details. I've never photographed IOM during this time, but my SIM looks best at this hour.

Once you've figured out your IOMs golden hour, and you're still not satisfied, you can move into post processing or photo editing. It's not really advisable to overly edit JPEG images because of the lack of information over the original, but simple adjustments such as saturation, brightening, contrast, etc... are fine. I use Adobe Lightroom, it's been been my go-to over CS-Photoshop. The key to a good photo is optimizing what you have. To me, anything too fancy is lying.

So I guess my advice for getting good IOM photos are; capture in natural light that compliments the color, without washing out its details. And, edit accordingly. Optimize photos using a simple medium. A great free photo editor is Picasa.

You can do some in camera tricks, but unless you have a DSLR you'll be limited. Honestly, the best way to capture true to life photos, are crisp lenses.

Hope I helped some! If you have any Q's, feel free to ask

Here are some photos I capture of IOM under direct (harsh) sunlight.

TaylorSS



Another forum members, slick ride. Can't remember the screen name. He's a socal fella though.


Revo1 sexy VR at night for shade comparison. A little soft, but you get the idea.


And an IBM. My new favorite color.

[2010 SSRS]

IOM kicks azz.

[Dznts]

Originally Posted by 2010 SSRS

IOM kicks azz.

+1000000000

[hot_rod]

Originally Posted by 2010 SSRS

IOM kicks azz.

Originally Posted by Dznts

+1000000000

++, XX

[Whiteside Customs]

Those IOM pics are great.

[itsorange]

yes Shooting in RAW helps, if you set your Custom white balance on the spot before you shoot your IOM that will help too. Here are some examples:


and a little more red looking



Photoshop enhanced

[rtcat600man]

Unfortunately I don't like the look of those photos. Almost makes them look like cartoons. But to each there own. I will take my slightly looking red and leave the colors alone for now. I know what I have and am OK with that.

[Purdue2011SS]

I used my brothers $1000 nikon camera for some shots of mine on sunday...about as good as i could get

[orange-prince]

^
i see red
joking

[Purdue2011SS]

Originally Posted by orange-prince

^
i see red
joking

exactly

tough to tell from a picture