Can you photograph cars? If your are reading this post, you are most probably interested to know how to do it. But being able to photograph cars beautifully can be useful to you in the future, for example, when selling a vehicle or to publish beautiful car photos in your social media.
We decided to collect ten tips for you in order to make successful, high-quality and beautiful photos of cars.
1. Location of the vehicle on the ground
Initially, for a successful vehicle photography you need a beautiful background. Surely, to make a photograph of a car to look as on the cover of a glossy magazine, you need a scenic place and use expensive equipment. But, nevertheless, there are still options to take high quality pictures of any car with little or no cost.
In order to make a beautiful picture, it is necessary that the car is in the center of attention, regardless of the background and weather outside. You do not want the attention to your car to be lost at the expense of other objects in the frame. Choosing a background and weather for photographing a car, remember that you can take a high-quality photo at any time of the day and in any weather conditions.
2. Natural setting around the vehicle
You should take photos of a car in a natural setting. For example, in a parking lot or on the driveway. Remember that the choice of location will impose an imprint on the meaning of the picture. So, for example, photographing a used car in a garage or near it would make it seem that the car was stored in the garage. But everything will depend on the color shades of the photo. If the image will be dominated by bright colors, it will acquire a positive mood.
If you want to create a clean and bright image of your car, then photograph it in the business district of a city, against the background of business centers and beautiful modern office buildings.
If you want to get a snapshot of a classic view, then photograph the car in nature, putting it on some hill with an open landscape horizon. You can get especially beautiful photos during sunset. For that, the background of the car must have a western horizon.
Also, pay attention to the objects around the car and the background colors. It is desirable that several tones around the car were similar to the car color, which will allow the various objects on the photo to complement each other.
3. Light for vehicle photography
The next step for your successful car photography is the light. This is an essential element of any photograph. It is advisable to use natural daylight, choosing to shoot daytime, if possible. The best time to shoot is the time just before sunrise or during sunrise, and also immediately after the sunset. Thus, you will receive soft light colors of the car, avoiding excessive brightness of the midday sun.
If you want to take pictures using artificial lighting, for example using a photo flash, then we advise you to take a few test photos to determine where the light goes more optimally, without forming a glare.
4. Angles to shoot vehicle photos
Choosing a beautiful scenic place and finding out that the car is sufficiently lit means everything is ready to shoot. Before starting, you need to understand exactly what you would like to highlight on the photo, what to focus on (body, color, wheels, etc.).
But the most important thing is to decide at what angle to shoot. Of course, you should start shooting at the level of your eyes. But it is also worth taking a series of shots from different angles in order to later select the best photos. But, unfortunately, this does not work for all makes and models of cars. In order to find out how your car will look at such pictures, take a series of test photos.
When shooting from a corner, pay attention to the objects on the background. Try to avoid extra objects on it, such as trees or electrical wires, which will distract attention from the car.
5. External details of the vehicle
After you have taken photos of the car in full size, you can now begin to photograph certain details of your vehicle. Upon closer examination of the car, you will notice that you can take close-ups of a few pictures, which, for example, emphasize smooth body lines or take a close-up shot of the logo. Again, do not forget that you can also take a picture of the car details at an angle.
6. Photographing car interior
Your car interior has a lot of interesting details that can be photographed by creating high-quality images. When photographing the car interior, make sure that there is enough light for it, especially if you decide to take photos in the afternoon. The most common mistake when shooting a car is a lack of external lighting.
What to shoot? Of course, the steering wheel, focusing on the brand logo and dashboard, car seats, doors from inside.
7. Choosing the proper camera for car photoshoot
Forget your iPhone. Despite the fact that the latest smartphone models is able to make beautiful photos, this phone is not suitable for high-quality vehicle photography.
Of course, it is not necessary to use an expensive camera. The main thing is that camera should be able to shoot in a wide range, in various conditions.
8. Rule of thirds
Rule of thirds is one of the main rules of photography, which is based on nine sections. The meaning of the rule is as follows: the picture in the frame should be divided into three equal parts horizontally and vertically.
According to the shooting rule, the object on which you want to focus should be located on these intersection lines, which will create an impression of emphasis, greater tension, energy and greater interest in the composition.
9. Get inspired by others' photos
There are a huge number of people who are engaged in car photography. There are also photographers for whom taking pictures of cars is a simple hobby. But these people have a lot of knowledge about how to shoot cars. You can see other car photos on Flickr, where photographers post millions of photos.
You can always rely on Auto Image Services for professional car photography or video production.