Taking pictures of cars when it's cloudy

[matekelly]

Hey guys!
I'm new to the forum for a reason. I'm a used car dealer and I love photos. I have a beginner camera, a Nikon D5200 what does the job perfectly for me and I feel like the camera knows more stuff than I can use...
It is taking very nice pictures of the vehicles I'm shooting, but i seem to have a bit of problem with taking bright pictures when it's cloudy. And it's cloudy a lot lately...

So this is how the picture looks when I take it. I'd like it to stand out, and be brighter a bit! How can i do that? What settings should i try on my camera?

Please note that i'm an absolute beginner to photography!! I don't have time to set up a tripod, bc i'm right next to a high traffic road and there is no room for it!

All the help is appreciated already!

 

[goodguy]

In general is you want to brighten the picture you need to dial up exposure compensation, keep dialing it up to a point that you are happy with the results.
Mind you the car will not brighten but the whole picture including the car.
If you know how to post process then you can brighten, darken and do much more with this picture.
In this picture in lightroom I would use brushes to darken a slightly blur the background and brighten the car abit, it would really make the car stand out more.
Another thing you can do is if you have a prime lens like 35mm or 50mm you can open the aperture up and blur the background.
Main issue for me with this picture is background, just way too busy, take the car to a nice location and shoot it there.
You can also use some softboxes, flood the car with light.

Not really a specialist with cars but I would try many things till I reach the results that make me happy.

 

[jcdeboever]

You probably have the WB set on auto which may not be a good thing on overcast days. It is not on my D3300 or D7200. I usually set my WB to the cloudy setting. I think you have to be in at least P mode to be able to set that. You can also bump up the EC at least +1 in combination with the cloudy WB in order to provide better color and brightness. On sunny days, you would set the WB to sunny and - the EC to avoid blown highlights, especially with white vehicles. With blown highlights, you can see them blinking in the histogram while in preview mode.

 

[matekelly]

I really appreciate the answers! Yes the background is the worst, but unfortunately i have to keep the background this way somehow people see the location also on the pictures. I have a very basic lense whatever comes with the camera. Nikon AF-S 18-55mm and i shoot in auto mode with the flash turned off.

For the second answer, what is the WB? I know... I'm a beginner, but everyone has to start learning at one point!

 

[matekelly]

You probably have the WB set on auto which may not be a good thing on overcast days. It is not on my D3300 or D7200. I usually set my WB to the cloudy setting. I think you have to be in at least P mode to be able to set that. You can also bump up the EC at least +1 in combination with the cloudy WB in order to provide better color and brightness. On sunny days, you would set the WB to sunny and - the EC to avoid blown highlights, especially with white vehicles. With blown highlights, you can see them blinking in the histogram while in preview mode.

WB is white balance. i figured it out! Yes it was on auto.. i just set it to cloudy, changed the settings to manual. let's see what it does on an other car

 

[jcdeboever]

Nothing wrong with the kit lens. You can use program, it's like auto but gives you access to more settings, gives you more control while maintaining the aperture and shutter speeds for you.

 

[matekelly]

Nothing wrong with the kit lens. You can use program, it's like auto but gives you access to more settings, gives you more control while maintaining the aperture and shutter speeds for you.

Yes the apperture and shutter speed is the one messing me up mostly! I took pictures of a shitty little car now and it looks like i'll be able to figure it out. I set the whole thing to manual.
1/250 F4.5 and ISO 400 WB was set to cloudy and the pictures are better!

 

[fmw]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

 

[matekelly]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Thank You for the response. Since the pictures are taken for a listing, i have to take pictures of the car all the way around! So on certain pictures the position is set. I know the problme is not the equipment, it's me that's why i'm trying to learn about it a little bit. What does "underexposed" mean?

 

[jcdeboever]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Actually, he shooting it with back to sun, see the reflection in windows? His approach using manual was pretty keen on his part, now he has full control. The EC button can be helpful without a doubt.

 

[matekelly]

This is the picture i took with the above listed settings and minor editing afterwards.
This looks a whole lot better!

 

[matekelly]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Actually, he shooting it with back to sun, see the reflection in windows? His approach using manual was pretty keen on his part, now he has full control. The EC button can be helpful without a doubt.

What is the EC button?

 

[jcdeboever]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Thank You for the response. Since the pictures are taken for a listing, i have to take pictures of the car all the way around! So on certain pictures the position is set. I know the problme is not the equipment, it's me that's why i'm trying to learn about it a little bit. What does "underexposed" mean?

Underexposed means there is not enough light on the subject (dim or dark). Read up in your manual about the exposure compensation dial. When you get more comfortable, consider adding a polarization filter to cut down on reflections. Nikon 52mm Circular Polarizer II Filter 2233 B&H Photo Video

You turn the actual ring on the filter and you can visually see the reflections go away. This would be a nice finishing touch to your images but not necessarily needed.

 

[fmw]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Thank You for the response. Since the pictures are taken for a listing, i have to take pictures of the car all the way around! So on certain pictures the position is set. I know the problme is not the equipment, it's me that's why i'm trying to learn about it a little bit. What does "underexposed" mean?

It means you didn't expose the sensor in the camera to enough light. The image is too dark. Since you don't know how to select and hold a metering area the best bet is to give the camera some exposure compensation.

To be more precise, the metering system tries to break down the image to a medium gray. Since the car is white, the meter will underexpose by definition because it wants the car to be medium gray. My approach would have been to meter the pavement which should be medium gray and then hold the reading while I recomposed the frame. It is quicker and easier than using electronic exposure compensation.

The answer to dealing with the requirement to show all sides of the car is pretty simple. Shoot one side back lit as I explained then turn the car around to shoot the other side so that it is also back lit. It is a little more work but it will produce better results. I assume good images translate into good sales.

 

[matekelly]

OP, there are two problems with your image. The first is that it is underexposed. Someone above suggested using exposure comp. That is a good approach for a beginner.

The second problem is the angle between you, the car and the sun that causes the overexposed highlights on the car. My approach would have been to shoot the car from the other side to resolve that. It would require perhaps even more exposure since the car would be back lit.

As with most beginner images, the problem is not the equipment. The problem is experience. Go reshoot it from the other side and give it more light.

Thank You for the response. Since the pictures are taken for a listing, i have to take pictures of the car all the way around! So on certain pictures the position is set. I know the problme is not the equipment, it's me that's why i'm trying to learn about it a little bit. What does "underexposed" mean?

It means you didn't expose the sensor in the camera to enough light. The image is too dark. Since you don't know how to select and hold a metering area the best bet is to give the camera some exposure compensation.

To be more precise, the metering system tries to break down the image to a medium gray. Since the car is white, the meter will underexpose by definition because it wants the car to be medium gray. My approach would have been to meter the pavement which should be medium gray and then hold the reading while I recomposed the frame. It is quicker and easier than using electronic exposure compensation.

The answer to dealing with the requirement to show all sides of the car is pretty simple. Shoot one side back lit as I explained then turn the car around to shoot the other side so that it is also back lit. It is a little more work but it will produce better results. I assume good images translate into good sales.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Exactly right! I think i got the manual selection on the camera kind of figured out. I'll read up on the settings and will have this figured out. Will try the car turn around by the next car i'll shoot!

Also i have a polarized filter at home i believe! Will give that a shot too!!

THANKS FOR THE QUICK HELP GUYS!!! MUCH APPRECIATED!