Help with dark colours

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GoJohnnyGo

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21
Name
John
Edit My Images
Yes
Wonder if I can pick your collective brains for some advice. Be gentle, I'm not hugely clued up!

This is my car:

5054075176_2ccf08ca64_b.jpg


Not quite sure how to word this, but I am having trouble getting the right exposure - if I focus (no pun intended) on the car, the camera's metering presumably measures light being reflected from the dark paintwork, which means lighter colours (headlights, wheels, background, etc) are often over-exposed. I've since read on Ken Rockwell's site that the matrix metering on the D40 isn't much good and have switched to centre weighted/spot metering (is that right?!). I took a few shots like the one above by trying to meter on a light area, or the tarmac, or the wall, etc, using AE lock and then re-focussing on the car. I think the bottom of the car (and in particular the darker areas) are under-exposed and lack detail, but it's also been suggested that the reflections in the paint are also causing this.

I take pictures in JPG format and am not much good with photoshop (I know how to blank out the number plate :LOL:).

All help/advice gratefully received.
 
Taking a meter reading from a grey card is going to be the most accurate. However Black is going to look black, if you need more detail in the darks you need to compensate, then watch highlights blow, so with any high contrast subject a bit of post processing is required. Shooting RAW gives you the most flexibility.
 
Thanks Artyman - the car's pearlescent blue but because it is dark, its coming out almost black - I'd like to try and capture the colour as well as the detail. I don't have a light meter, can I just point the camera at grey card, lock the exposure and then compose my shot?

Thanks
 
That's an option - unfortunately the D40 doesn't have an auto setting for this, but certainly something I could try.
 
I feel your pain.

Dark coloured cars are a nightmare to get right.

You're on the right lines with your metering and the downside is like has been said above. To get the detail in the paint you will need to sacrifice the lighter parts of the shot (headlights, wheels etc).

Only other option for you is to try some continuous strip lighting. You will need to be good with photoshop first though.

Strip lighting example
 
Thanks Darren - what will I need to do in Photoshop if I want to use strip lighting? I'm not very good at present and not sure I'm going to get much better :LOL:
Does the use of strip lighting only really apply at night or can it work during the day? In terms of sacrificing detail in the lighter areas, I'm just looking for a middle ground on how to get the best out of shots like the one I posted - I guess it's a case of trial and error. I suppose metering from the (grey) tarmac or from the inside of the camera bag might work though.
 
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