Pictures not coming out as crisp as others

Monaco · Jan 22, 2008

Hello everyone.I am really into taking pictures of cars.And recently have purchased a new camera in hopes of getting better quality pictures.But to no avial I keep getting the same quality pictures as I did with my old camera.
I want my pictures to look like this:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2039/2109678917_cb8029e1b4_o.jpg

But im getting these:

I usually take my pictures on a tripod with an shutter remote that the camera brings.Camera In use is a Sony DSC-H9 with a sony .75 wide angle lense.

Is it the camera or is it just editing?Most ppl say I take great pictures and I know I don't when I look at pictures as crisp as the first one.

Monaco · Jan 22, 2008

It looks like the background has been edited in some way and part of why the first picture looks so clean is becuase the paint is glossy and immaculate.Am I right in what I'm thinking?

adolan20 · Jan 22, 2008

The 1st picture definitely had some post processing done like Photoshop.

LaFoto · Jan 22, 2008

Heya Monaco, welcome to ThePhotoForum.

As you can see, you post has been edited by me. I changed the first photo presented to a link only since apparently that one is not your own. You do say you want your own to look like the one shown, so leave no doubt about the fact that the first is not yours, but it has become a very valuable forum policy that our members only ever post their own work directly into their threads, and other work as link.

Monaco · Jan 22, 2008

I apologize for that, thanks.

Alpha · Jan 23, 2008

The shot you linked to has a saturation and contrast bump in post.

To ensure sharper images, you can start by removing your UV filter if you shoot through one, when you're not in adverse weather conditions. Then there are a number of processing techniques to increase sharpness (and not all of them involve sharpening).

AmericanJesus · Jan 23, 2008

i think that first shot is done with an HDR technique.

JerryPH · Jan 23, 2008

I do not know if HDR was used, but if you look at the lighting... there are at least 2 off camera strobes firing.

- One low to the ground on the wheel/tire

- One softer high that bouces off the car and the wall behind it.

Colour of the car also makes a HUGE difference. Dark colours have a higher glossy look where lighter colours are less reflective looking. Of course, if the car has a good wax or paint, it will look glossy no matter what:

No matter what, some post processing will likely always be needed to help get the most out of any photograph.

Monaco · Jan 23, 2008

Did some editing in photoshop and I think I achieved the results I was looking for:

The colors from the store pop more and I tried getting the most of the paint.Especially the unpainted lip thats installed.What do you think?

LaFoto · Jan 23, 2008

There you are! GOOD.
Your pp work looks subtle enough, yet the change to the better is clearly visible! Well done.

gtwosaints · Jan 23, 2008

The pic you showed has done some editing as the saturation looks like it was bumped up. Also, the car looked very shiny and new. I'm not saying your car isn't because your car is really clean but, that car has a shiny gloss to it. Probably also some photoshop.

nagoshua · Jan 23, 2008

hmm well the pic you posted will have probly been taken with some really nice glass and looks like theres been quite a bit of post processing done. A dedicated wide angle lens would be much better than a wide angle converter but for that you would need to buy an slr. You should really have saved your cash for a true slr, i made the same mistake with my first camera.

Happy Hour · Jan 23, 2008

i have a little experience in this area since my husband custom paints cars. for one you are not going to get the same sharpness off a stock white car as you would the Candy blue custom paint. My husband says lighting it so critical when taking pics of the paint because you want the light to only reflect off the car as it would naturally like off the curve of a fender or the lip of a wheel. Someone posted a orange car above and you can see how the flash gave a great glow where it was hitting but it also looks unnatural because of the positioning. i think for what your picture is of it looks great.