Black cars are notoriously difficult to photograph due to unwanted reflections in the black paintwork, but also due to the fact that black surfaces “suck” light, which in turn hides the shape of the car. Black cars are however my favourite colour cars to photograph because of the possibilities hidden in the reflectiveness.
The shape of black cars will only be visible where light reflects in the surface of the car. Using your light source correctly will allow you to show the design elements which cannot be seen in normal lighting conditions.
Using a strobe light source very close to the car will underexpose the background completely and in doing so gets rid of the reflections of the surroundings. Add a couple of diffusers in front of the light source to create a matt finish in the paintwork which will show the real design elements of the car without any distracting reflections of it’s environment. This lighting technique is known as the FDL™️ technique.
