Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

[Retouchdone]

Hello, I'm new to forums and Capture One!

I have experience with the use of Photoshop but not for retouching images.

I am looking for anyone with experience in Capture One and Photoshop for retouching photos (in particular, auto show vehicles)

I've attached some photos:
1) Is an original auto show vehicle photograph that I took of a 2015 Dodge Challenger
2) This is the 2015 Dodge Challenger after I spent way too much time retouching it in Photoshop and Capture One
3) Is an original auto show vehicle photograph that I took of a 2015 Honda Civic.

#1, the Dodge, is what I would consider an "easier" car because it has less reflections than #3, the Honda. But I would like to learn how to make the best of both images, the easy one and the more challenging images.

[klev]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

What are your goals for it? The editing on the "easy" one doesn't necessarily improve it. The drop shadow isn't created in a sensible manner. Refer to other similar images and you'll see that extremely blurry edges in the front and sharp in the back will appear obviously wrong to a typical viewer. I think you should rethink some of your choices. For example why did you darken the wheels? They're a significant feature. The same goes for the grill, although it bothers me less. Why did you completely alter the fender? The shape in the final seems to improperly characterize the feature.

[Retouchdone]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

Thank you for your response! I appreciate your critique.

My goal is to turn the photo from auto show to showroom. Most importantly first off, is to remove the reflections of light, carpet, people, and other cars of my photos.

Yes, my drop shadowing needs more work I can see that now. How do you create drop shadows?

You have a great point, I didn't consider highlighting/brightening the wheels or grill at all. Thank you.

With the fender, I wasn't quite sure how to remove the huge reflection of carpet that was reflecting white on the fender so I took the darkest part of the shadow and added it to the whole fender. Please share with me what you would have done? And what tools?

Also, do you have any suggestions for working on the interior with the windows/seats?

Thanks!

[Repairman]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

Take a look at other car images to see how shadows work. They are not just solid black splodges but witnesses to the shape of the vehicle and the ambient lighting. You can do a sharp edged black shadow, as a considered design element, but work on gradations of tone for now. If you are going to have a white background the bodywork reflections should reflect that (literally!) otherwise it will never look right. All the detailing should open up rather than fill in with black. Remove any unnecessary details from the reflections, and clean up the windscreen but keep it transparent (unless these cars have blackened windows). Hard to see the details at such low res but go over all the panel gaps with black and make sure they are of consistent width. Keep practising!

[skoobey]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

car_example.jpgYou have to paint the shadow in. Closer to the object shadow is darker and sharper, further away it's softer and lighter.

Also, put some highlights into it, it doesn't have to be photo realistic, the whole point is that it's attractive, I did this mess in 5minutes, I'm sure it can be done better, as you have a pretty grat image to start with.

[Repairman]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

If you make a black only shadow you need a sharp edge; it gives a better dynamic to a sports car. You could also try coloured backgrounds! See very rough viz attached…

[klev]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

If you make a black only shadow you need a sharp edge; it gives a better dynamic to a sports car. You could also try coloured backgrounds! See very rough viz attached…

I'll add that for a final version, the shadow density should also work visually with the density of other shadows in the shot.

Yes, my drop shadowing needs more work I can see that now. How do you create drop shadows?

You have a great point, I didn't consider highlighting/brightening the wheels or grill at all. Thank you.

I might write about shadows later. I only have a few minutes right now. The grill and wheels actually appeared darker in your after image. There are some situations where that might be okay, but I thought in this case that it downplayed some important features. I would try to find closeup references. If you're going to highlight them, you want to show off their shape as much as possible. Those things involve significant engineering time.

With the fender, I wasn't quite sure how to remove the huge reflection of carpet that was reflecting white on the fender so I took the darkest part of the shadow and added it to the whole fender. Please share with me what you would have done? And what tools?

Also, do you have any suggestions for working on the interior with the windows/seats?

Thanks!

Let me give it a little thought. I didn't completely work through what I thought would look good. It just stuck out at me as obviously wrong, because it conveyed a misleading impression of the fender shape. I thought that in itself made it a bad decision, but I have to think about what might look good that's feasible from this. As for tools what do you mean?

[Retouchdone]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

Klev, Repairman, and Skoobey

Thank you for your responses. I really appreciate your advice and I will apply them as I go!

[Retouchdone]

Re: Auto Show Vehicle Retouching Tips & Help

Klev, When I was talking about tools, I was referring to tools in photoshop and/ or Capture One, thanks!