How I Improved My Car Photography

I don’t consider myself much of a car photographer, but I like to take a nice picture of a car from time to time.

13 May 2016

I don’t consider myself much of a car photographer, but I like to take a nice picture of a car from time to time. I’m that weird guy who’ll stop in the middle of the street and start experimenting some gymnastics positions and everybody around would ask themselves “what the hell is he doing?!”.

Right, so let’s see how my photos looked like THEN and NOW.

Then

Now

Between THEN and NOW there were some hard way self learned lessons, which were good, self learned lessons are the best, you kinda never forget them and you can share them with others too.

LOW ANGLES ALWAYS LOOK BETTER

If there’s a thing I learned the hard way this would be it, getting to do gymnastics in front of a ton of other people may seem a little bit awkward, but when you just stop caring and focus on the shot everything gets a lot better. Don’t forget you’re actually the one doing stuff they’re just lame walking around you 😉

Please don’t make me explain this one, I don’t have an answer, but for some odd reason this is a super valuable tip.

Smartphone photography is good, but DSLR photography is GOODER 😂

I’m always trying to do everything as cheap as possible and don’t get me wrong smartphone cameras are amazing these days, I’ve got an accessory set of lenses for my iPhone 6 that completely blows it out of the water.

After getting to play with my brother’s DSLR (a Samsung NX30) last summer when I did that whole #MuseumWalk thing I really saw the difference, even if you don’t have a DSLR, a camera completely dedicated to taking pictures is amazing. My latest Gumball 3000 Album was completely shot with my new Sony Alpha A5000 which is great, it basically is a compact camera with a DSLR sensor inside it.

Here's a picture I shot with my phone quite recently.

Try to integrate the car in the scenery

It adds depth to the picture, there are an awful lot of pictures that don’t stand out from the crowd, you have to! 😄 And try not to shoot the car where it always sits, the boring parking lot, but if you do try to make it interesting like I did here.

Don’t fear to get up and personal with the car

Show the car’s curves, vents, bolts, badge or whatever you feel like it’s worth showing 😄

Don’t overdo post-editing

Seriously, nobody likes a photo where you’ve got a filter over a filter. over a filter. I try to keep it as classy as possible, but it depends, you can always do that black and white thing where you let just a colour shine through, it’s a taste thing, it refines in time.

That would be about it, told you I’m not much of a car photographer… what did you expect? 😂

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube or Snapchat at alexandrei64

Comments

Here’s a tip I learned in my photography class: Always use manual, never automatic

Unlearn that - that kind of mentality will do you more harm than good.

One from me: Outside is sexy, but inside is too!

That’s a very good one I should apply myself haha!

Very interesting article. It’s always neat experimenting with the light in a photo. Getting just enough in to make things pop from the angle you want but not enough to get wash out.

The problem is the best cars are only there when you don’t have your DSLR. And I quite like the wide angle of the IPhone.

Going to Berlin on Saturday for a week, now I’m for sure taking my DSLR! Thank you Alex!

Have fun mate! Berlin is surely full of nice cars :D

Some good tips here especially with the low angles, however more than anything this provided me with some good inspiration for when I next find myself with my DSLR in a place full of cars :)

A few months I started an automotive photography instagram account (BHAutomotive) so this post is extremely helpful! Im only 14 but here is some of my photography so far, hopefully i can improve it with these tips though!

Great tips, man! Congrats!
I would also advice photographers to use the light to emphasize the curves and angles of the car. Also, shoot as many photos as you can from all kind of angles. This way you can select a number of great photos and also see what style it fits you and what angles put the car in the best light. I tend to shoot hundreds of photos and select the 10 best photos. I play with exposure, light, focus, etc. The most important tip for a begginer photographer is: Practice, practice, practice. Practice is the key of learning. :)

THANK YOU!

At first I was like: Yeah cool tipps n stuff but I have to wait until I get out of my town because there aren’t any photoworthy cars around…

Just now I went home from the Gym and spotted a cheeky 365 and instantly whipped my phone out :P and I have to admit.. I’ve never taken a better picture (except from a 918 picture I took)