Custom Metallic Flame & Pinstripe Seat for a Softail
Hey folks.
You know, sometimes i just want to be a better photographer. Taking pictures of this seat is one of those times. I just couldn’t figure out the lighting/camera settings to make the metallic colors pop out… instead they just look lighter or like they’re reflecting light…
This is a seat a made for a custom softail. I matched the colors and design to the paint job itself, which happened to be a metallic flake paint. The really cool part of this seat is that when i color matched the paints, i also matched the metallic. Since i end up mixing almost all of my own colors, i can mix in stuff like metallics and pearl.
I asked for a paint swatch or painted test panel with the colors of his bike on them, so that I could colormatch… Instead he sent me his whole finished and painted fender, so that I could not only color match the seat, but also match the flame design and bright blue pinstripe from his paint job.
After tooling and dying, the super shiny tooled leather got paired with alligator panels, and lacing to make one very nice custom seat. The blue pinstripes were no easy trick to pull off, either. Since leather is already browish color, non-opaque colors like blonde, yellows, and blues are very tricky to mix and color correctly so that they come out how you want them too on the seat.
Enjoy the Pics,
SPiKE
2 comments to “Custom Metallic Flame & Pinstripe Seat for a Softail”
JSDiamond - April 30, 2010
Take the picture outside in direct sunlight. Take it form me (I’m an illustrator)direct sunlight reveals everything. BTW your seats –and work in general, is stunning.
Spike - April 30, 2010
i’ve tried using the sunlight, but i can never get it lit just right. The shene off the leather just seems to catch the sun and glare in my lens. I’ve been considering taking some sort of class for photography just to get better at it for these pictures.
Thanks for your comment!