Photo Tips - Show Cars Illustrated

GREAT SHOW BOARDS START WITH GREAT PHOTOS

At Show Cars Illustrated, we take pride in making sure your vehicle looks the best it possibly can. Every picture we touch is manipulated in Photoshop to remove the background, and make sure the colors represent your car’s paint as closely as possible. At no additional charge we also remove small imperfections such as insects, scratches, minor reflections, and cleaning/finishing tires.

Since photo quality can vary widely, we reserve the right to request alternative photos if it appears those submitted won’t adequately represent the paint work on your vehicle. To aid your photo selection before submission, please review the example below and the SCI Photo Tips that follow!

Although the paint is identified as deep red, most of the color on this car registers as gray and dark brown due to poor lighting and many reflected shapes and colors. With the background removed, these distractions result in a low quality representation of the vehicle.

Taken in a setting with appropriate lighting and avoiding most reflections of surrounding objects, the color on this vehicle is pretty close to the real thing. While removing the background, we’re happy to make any color shifts necessary to get true, saturated color and dimension.

DIGITAL RESTORATION SERVICES

The visual quality of your main vehicle photo is extremely important to creating a great Show Board. We may contact you to request higher quality photos if those provided are blurry, low resolution, or if the vehicle appears degraded by shadows or severe reflections. If other photos are not available and cannot be retaken, we’re happy to offer digital restoration services for $125. For this service you will also be provided with a high-resolution digital file of the restored photograph along with your Show Board.

PHOTO TIPS – IT’S EASY AS 1-2-3

The most important element on your Custom Show Board is a great quality main photo. Low-resolution digital or degraded hard copy photos will not reproduce well, so we strongly encourage submitting only high-resolution, clear, and fully-focused images. If you don’t have professionally taken pictures, here’s a few Do-It-Yourself tips from our resident auto photographer!

1 – SHOOT AT THE RIGHT TIME OF DAY. The best light to capture the lines and details of your vehicle is 1-2 hours after sunrise or 1-2 hours before sunset on clear, sunny days. Park with the driver’s headlight pointed toward the sun to get direct light on both the front and driver’s side. Always shoot with the sun to your back, but try and position yourself in a way to minimize casting a shadow on your car. Even in bright sunlight, turn on your headlights!

2 – WATCH OUT FOR REFLECTIONS. Beautiful, shiny paint reflects just like a mirror. Find an open space in a large parking lot near a field. Avoid areas with buildings, trees and poles that will reflect onto your vehicle, and avoid parking on grass to minimize green casting on paint. Remember your mission: Show off the curves and lines of the car! Reflections are the spoiler of body design.

3 – FILL THE FRAME. Regardless of the kind of camera you have, fill the frame as completely as possible, but be careful not to clip off either end of the vehicle. If using a smartphone camera, TAKE THE PHOTO HORIZONTALLY, NOT VERTICALLY. This will fully utilize the resolution of your camera and capture as much detail as possible at the largest size.

COMPOSITION: When shooting the main photo for your Custom Show Board, take a few frames standing, a few crouching down slightly, and a few more kneeling. Shoot first at a 45-degree angle to the side of your vehicle, then shoot taking a step or two in either direction. These minor shifts in angle can make a huge difference in showing the lines of your car.

PRO TIP: If you have a tripod and professional DSLR camera, you might consider shooting a few minute before sunrise or a few moments after sunset. This softer light can work for some vehicles, but is best accomplished with professional-level gear.

HOW DO I FIND IMAGE RESOLUTION?

Mac users
Find the image file in your Finder, right click the image and select Get Info. A pop-up window will open with the dimensions of your image displaying in the More Info section. The dimensions show the pixel height and width of your photo.

PC users
On a PC, right click on the image file, look at Properties, and then view the Summary tab.

iOS
Here’s one free app – there may be others:
DPI – Dots per inch
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dpi-dots-per-inch/id1376445792

Android
Here’s one free app – there may be others:
Photo Compress 2.0
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saawanapps.photocompress&hl=en