Depending on your intentions, car photography can be a fun hobby or a lucrative career. As a commercial photographer, I have previously worked with clients to capture marketing materials for brands such as Chevrolet. Now, I’ll be sharing the tips and tricks I’ve gathered while photographing vehicles — along with some of my most-trusted gear — so you can use them on your next photoshoot.
Best Angles for Car Photography
For most purposes, I typically photograph a “front ¾” or “rear ¾.” This means — rather than standing centered at a side of a vehicle — I’m typically featuring a corner of the vehicle. This is to showcase two sides of the car in a single shot, which shows more of the design elements. I also tend to keep a relatively large distance between myself and the car. By doing so, you use compression which helps to communicate an accurate scale of the vehicle.
There’s no restrictions or rule to angle. I also love to capture side shots and draw attention to the lines via lighting. Here’s four of my go-to angles that I implement on nearly every vehicle I capture.
Front ¾
This view captures the grille and driver’s side. For larger vehicles, I tend to step slightly to the right of the driver’s side headlight to show more of its length.
Rear ¾
This view captures the trunk and driver’s side. For SUVs and cars, I keep a distant and compressed perspective here. Although, for pickup trucks, I’ll move in closer to increase the dominance of the bed.
Side View
Pointing directly at the vehicle’s side will diminish the trunk and grill presence, but this perspective is still important to me. It communicates the size of a vehicle well, and highlights the design of body styling. I only do this when I have very even lighting — or the opportunity to use my own — as distracting reflections can really ruin this perspective.
Elevated
This is typically easy for coupes and sedans, but even SUVs deserve an elevated perspective. To me, this shot communicates as much of the vehicle as possible. It shows the grille, vehicle side, hood, and top of the vehicle. The only drawback is it diminishes a vehicle’s height. So, while it’s fine for a larger vehicle, if clearance is a selling point, you might want to avoid this look and opt for something really low.
What Lenses (and Other Gear) to Use
Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens
This is my ultimate lens for auto work. Because I’m outdoors, the f/2.8 maximum aperture is plenty fast in all scenarios. It covers everything from a wide angle to a strong telephoto when the car is really far away. By having a single lens capable of nearly everything I want to capture, I reduce the amount of time I’m digging through the case and swapping lenses and filters. Unfortunately, this lens is strictly made for Sony cameras, but I think a 24-120mm f/4 lens would give a similar experience.
Sony G Master FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens
When I’m capturing rolling shots vehicle-to-vehicle, the wide edge of the Tamron is a bit too tight. For this — or other wide angle purposes — I swap to the Sony G Master FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens. You can also use a 16-35mm, 12-24mm zoom, or slower 24mm prime to serve this purpose, as again the wide aperture isn’t often required.
Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master Lens
While I almost exclusively photograph between f/5.6 and f/11 when doing car photography, I occasionally like the extreme shallow depth of field when applied to the right scene. In those scenarios, I grab my Sony FE 50mm f/1.2 G Master Lens as it’s my widest aperture lens, handles headlight flaring well, and provides a flexible focal length.
In addition to cameras, lenses, and lighting, the only other things I carry are CPL filters, ND filters, and a tripod. CPL filters are for reducing reflections in paint and glass. I use ND filters to cut ambient light when capturing rolling shots car to car. And, I use a 3pod aluminum ballhead tripod when I know compositing multiple shots is necessary.
Best Lighting for Car Photography
I’m torn to use the word “best” here because it’s objective and largely out of my control. Although I’ll say this, my day goes a lot smoother when it’s overcast out. Cloudy conditions are exceptional as the cloud-covered sky acts as a massive softbox. The lack of contrast in the sky creates smooth gradients reflected in the car’s paint. Additionally, any objects like buildings, trees, and roads that are reflected in the car body and windows are much less distracting than sunny conditions. Overcast is also less intense light to compete with. So, when it comes to lighting a vehicle with flash, it’s less demanding.
Flashpoint XPLOR Power 1200 Pro R2 TTL Flash and Pack Kit
As far as flash goes, initially I started by using an Xplor 1200 Pro with a softbox and compositing multiple images together. But I quickly discovered that compositing should be kept to a minimum for efficiency in post production. I also found the large reflections that a large softbox created difficult to work around in post.
From there, I moved to harder modifiers such as the Glow Magnum reflector. This works great because it reflects light very efficiently, making it useful in even direct sunlight at long distances. The hard light and small specular reflection is very similar to the quality of light you would get from the sun, which looks authentic when used outdoors. Most recently, I added a 12×12 butterfly to pair with the Xplor 2400 Power Pack. This was with the intention of being able to light an entire vehicle from above. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to apply this setup to a car as the weather in Michigan has become undesirable lately.
Best Camera Settings for Car Photography
For outdoor car photography, there’s a ton of freedom in camera settings. Given this freedom, I think it’s best to let the aperture guide the rest of your exposure. First, I dial in an aperture that will retain sharpness throughout the depth of the car, while still allowing the vehicle to pop from the background. If I’m at a wide angle, this generally means around f/5.6. The longer the focal length, the more I’m likely to crank this up to f/8 or f/11. Next, I pick a shutter speed that I am comfortable with handheld. Finally, I use the ISO to balance the exposure to my desired brightness.
This is my approach for static vehicles. Although, if there’s motion in the scene, things can change drastically. For instance, when we put a pickup through puddles and want to freeze the splatter in the air, I’ll choose a faster shutter speed and decrease the f/stop if necessary.
Finally, there’s the rolling shot (like the featured image of this article). This image is synonymous with car photography as it retains sharpness in the vehicle while demonstrating speed through environmental motion blur. This is accomplished via mounting a rig to the vehicle so the camera can stay fixed to the car, or by having a second vehicle match the speed of the car being photographed. In either scenario, you use a long shutter speed to create the motion blur. I tend to halve my shutter speed relative to the car’s speed. If the car is traveling 30 mph, then I use a shutter speed of 1/15. I use an ND filter to cut the ambient light since even minimum ISO and maximum aperture aren’t enough to balance this low of a shutter speed in daylight.
Tips for Car Photography
Watch the Paint
Reflections are really sneaky and can easily ruin an otherwise fantastic image. Even on overcast days, bright objects on the ground can create distracting reflections along the body of the car. Circular polarizing filters are the best tool for combatting reflections, but you must also be aware of how they work. Circular polarizer filters work best when the sun is at a 90-degree angle to your subject. That means, if you have your camera pointed at a car, you want the sun behind you or at your left/right side. They will not be effective when the sun is behind the subject. Rotate the filter until the reflections are mostly diminished. This will work on both the body of the vehicle as well as the glass. If you’re showing multiple sides of the vehicle, you may want to composite multiple shots with the CPL positioned for each side of the car.
Use Locations with Purpose
Find an appropriate location by considering the vehicle’s purpose or utility. Is it a 4×4 with huge tires and high clearance? Get it off pavement and surround the vehicle with the rough terrain that it is built to conquer. Built for speed? This car needs a highway or track to shine. Towing capacity? This would look great with a full bed on a job site. Placing a vehicle in the environment it’s built for adds a layer of basic storytelling to the image.
Implement Color Theory
Color can be a primary reason someone chooses a vehicle, so consider its relationship to the surrounding environment. If the car is the focus, it’s best to let it stand out by placing it in an environment where it will appear more saturated and eye-catching than the background. Additionally, you can apply color theory and find locations with complementary colors. You can use the Adobe Color Tool to create palettes and explore color combinations.
Compression is Control
I cannot underestimate the power of compression in car photography. Regardless of my preferences, it’s important for anyone photographing vehicles to understand the role that compression plays. Remember that lenses do not control compression, distance does. The act of getting further away from a vehicle will make its features more accurately scaled to each other — whether you use a wide angle or telephoto lens.
The opposite is also true. The closer you get to a vehicle, the more you will distort what is nearest to the camera, making it appear larger relative to the rest of the vehicle. Compression gives you control over how the view perceives the car.
That’s plenty to consider before you jump into car photography. I really wish I could have read this article before I first photographed a car, I sure would have come home with a lot more keepers. I hope the above provides you with plenty of ideas on how to find compelling perspectives, how to troubleshoot common outdoor problems, and how you can warp the appearance of a vehicle to communicate with viewers.
