Car photography is known as automotive as well. It is many things to many people and consists of a group of specialities. In car photography, the photographers capture the best feature of every car and shoot great photos that touches the viewer’s feeling.
If you have a car, definitely you like to take some memorable photos of it. Some photographers prefer to take photos of cars instead of taking snapshots in front of buildings or mountains.
Car photography is a fun and enjoyable thing to do, but it can be unpleasant unless you know some important tips. There are plenty of techniques for a professional car photography.
No matter your skill level, if you follow these main tips for a car photoshoot, then you can learn how to photograph cars like professionals.
Table of Contents
10 Essential Car Photography Tips and Rules
1. Choose the right shooting time
The most common mistake people make when photographing cars, shooting during the middle of the day. At this time, the light is strong, unflattering and not good at all. The rule of golden- hour photographing is crucial. One or two hours after sunrise and before sunset. These times offer the best light for photos because the light is soft and there is no direct sun.
For close-up images, use a reflector to manage annoying shadows.
Pay attention to clouds, and do your best to get the shot dialed-in, relative to the exposure. Another thing that you have to consider is the ISO, try to keep it as low as possible, to lessen the degree of grain in your final image. The best solution to do that is to use longer exposures.
2. Control your depth of field
There is a technique in photography called bokeh which highlights the subject you want to photograph. You can use these techniques for your car photography. You do this by adjusting the aperture as much as you can(f/2.8,f/4) and adjusting for the lighter image by enhancing the shutter speed. If you arrange the shot in a right way, surly the image will be better.
3. Pay attention to the color of the car
Different types of colors react differently to changing light. It was mentioned before that you should avoid direct sunlight, and rightly so, but sometimes you find colors that work well in direct sunlight.
So do not be afraid to try different lighting conditions. And always review your photos thoroughly and make notes about its color and appearance.
In car photography, If you want to start your understanding of car lighting and its color, go to a parking lot at different times of the day, after that go and (cautiously) take pictures of cars. Of course, you have to use good judgment and be cautious. While the car owner is standing and watching, avoid taking full pictures of the car and beware of cars that may accidentally hit you.
4. Avoid shooting at eye level
A common mistake to make is all the time shooting at eye level – like the image you get when standing in front of a car. Although this is the most normal starting step, it is also the least flattering angle for a car, to some extent because it is familiar, but more so because the cars do not have the best view. So go high or go low. Surly, you can use a ladder or step- stool for the high angles, but in such case You just have to hold the camera as high as You can.
5. choose the background carefully
An attractive background gives an ideal finishing touch to a car photo, whereas an unpleasant background can ruin the shot straight away.
Anything that does not distract you, considers as a good background, it should emphasize the main theme and even complement the car (and fit the theme). At the same time, inappropriate backgrounds are distracting, they draw the eye, and gives the car color, shape, or theme. For example, trash bins, power lines and can ruin the photo.
6. shoot vertically
Vertical photos seem better on mobile devices, so remember to consider some into your photographing. The main tip is to create agreeable vertical composition of extremely horizontal subjects. To achieve this, do not photograph the car from the side- yet it involves finding pleasantly balanced strategies for filling the frame, you can do this by using a part of the car or having remarkable foreground or background objects.
7. allow the car to interact with nature
Some photos speak to the viewer, you can capture such photos by following simple tips. Avoid parking the car in a parking lot or along the road and take some shots. On the contrary, make the car interact with its environments.
As an example, if you shoot a car and rock together, the combination of these two highlights the ruggedness of the object. In addition, by using a wide-angle lens and photographing from down low, you make the car loom, as it is dominating the mountains.
8. Try photographing a moving car
Most of the best images of a car are the ones where motion is captured. You can do this by focusing on something fixed on the car while it is moving. Try and use a quite longer shutter speed. Lets say that your camera meters the scene at f/8 to 1/250 of a second. To extend the shutter speed for that motion blur shot, lower your aperture down to nearly f/11 and keep your ISO as low as possible. Your shutter speed will lengthen to compensate and will make for longer exposure.
9. The human element
Definitely, cars are driven by people, and no doubt that humans play an essential role in car photography. Try to photograph some photos includes a person, this adds that human touch.
When you include a person while capturing a car, your photos are captivating serious buyers of the car as well. They can imagine themselves in place of the person you’re taking photo of.
So, photograph with a human element, this will add something additional to your photos.
10. shoot at night
Night car photography might seem worrying, but you will be surprised by how easy and interesting it is. The main point here is to seek a spot where it is fully dark; any lights in the streets or even a full moon could make life tricky.
Whenever you find the exact spot, adjust your camera on a tripod. Adjust your ISO to 100, the shutter speed to 30 seconds, and the aperture to f/9.
When the shutter opens, take a strong constant light source and wander around the car, as if you are painting the car with the light. A normal household flashlight will be beneficial in this situation.
Car interior photography
Whenever you think of car photography, surly, exterior shot occurs to your mind, but remember that the interior of the car provides a whole new perspective. Car interior photography used in commercial photography to display the details of the interior, and they can make for some exciting compositions. So, get inside the car, choose an appealing shape or detail, and do your best to find an interesting way to display it properly.
Here are some tips for car interior photography:
1- Look for interesting or unique textures, patterns, or shapes. Car interiors normally have many to choose from.
2- Choose something (like an emblem, button, or knob) and get right up near to fill the frame. Be careful, if you include many things, your photo may lack a clear focal point because the car interior includes countless details.
3- Try photographing the world through the front window, and experiment with using the interior to frame your composition.
4- Try photographing interior with controlled lighting. Firstly, you have to adjust artificial lights. These lights can make disorder because they create reflections. Because of this, you have, always, use large and spread lights. The larger the light origin, the softer the light created.Don’t be hesitated to open doors and windows to let more light in, and adjust your camera settings accordingly.
5- Interior car photography will be much easier with cars which have a back seat, but for two- seater cars, you may need to make some changes in your camera to get the position you want. You can try shooting the interior of the car from the outside as well.
What to do with your photography after you shoot
Now that you learned important tips about exterior and interior car photography, you may think what you are going to do with these photos. For example, if you are looking for a way to earn money from car photography, there are various options for you.
You can use stock Photography sites. There are plenty stock photography sites that you can choose to sell car photography. Something that you have to take into account is the pay rates, exclusivity rights, and how much exposure which each site can provide. One important benefit of selling your car photos as stock images is the chance to get money frequently from the same photos, without the need to add any extra work.
Some of the most popular sites To Sell Your Photos:
• Shutterstock
This site is famous for offering consistent earnings and fair pay rates starting at 20 percent.
• iStock
Here you can find numerous people that can see your images with its customer base of over 1.5 million people.
• Adobe Stock
Adobe Stock site provide high starting pay rates at 33 percent and you don’t have to sign over exclusivity rights.
• Sell directly from Your own site
your own online store to sell your car photos directly to customers. This way doesn’t have many advantages over selling stock images. Initially, you can control to determine your prices completely and keep all the proceeds. Another main benefit is that you can choose precisely the way you want your images displayed. And above that, you can have your photos listed just next to your competitor’s work, viewers can give their entire attention to your photos.
Arranging your own online store is so easy, as long as you choose the right portfolio builder. You should find one that’s made particularly for photographers, as they make it simple as possible to get an attractive and professional-looking site up and running.