A car is never just a car, particularly a luxury car like a Porsche. Just as each image should tell a story, so does every car. One photographer who understands this is automobile light painter Dominykas Liberis from Vilnius, Lithuania. Every one of his images and car portraits oozes personality, elevating them from ‘just a car’ to each having a story of its own. We found out how he went about photographing this vintage Porche 911.
The 1934 Chrysler that Brought Us Out of 2020
It wasn’t that the phone hadn’t rung for an entire year. It was that the shoots were always too risky; my urge to be on set was always overruled by my commitment to ensure that making art did not lead to someone contracting COVID. Yet once the vaccine began to make things safer, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before I was behind the camera once more, and with that I wanted it to be an automotive photoshoot. In a way it was like dipping your foot in to test the waters before taking a plunge by putting a celebrity or athlete in front of the camera.
Friends brought together by an automotive campaign
If there was a theme in automotive advertising photography for 2020, it would be minimalism. This not only applies to aesthetics, but also (and more importantly) to production. We have seen some campaigns attempt “socially distanced” productions, but the approach can sometimes go wrong, and with a vaccine so close it simply is not worth it. A few months back we found out what a virtually collaborative photoshoot looked like with a Porsche Macan. While it made for some great images, and good laughs, it still felt a bit, well…distant. However, there were some aspects from that production that we wanted to take to the next shoot; one in particular being the iPad.
A mighty Lamborghini in these epic photos is actually a model car shot by the pool
The pandemic might have limited our traveling, but India-based photographer Kunal Kelkar found a way to shoot a car on an Italian coast without leaving India. Well, sort of. He took some epic shots of Lamborghini Urus by simply placing it next to a swimming pool. And the car isn’t really a car – it’s a scale model that just looks so real in Kunal’s images. We spoke to this creative photographer about his process, and he told us more about how he turned this idea into reality.
How I planned and shot an entire automotive campaign remotely over FaceTime
We set out to see what collaborating on an automotive campaign would look like when done virtually. In the words of the always colorful Jeremy Clarkson, “How hard could it be?” TL;DR: Not that hard!
The traditional automotive advertising shoot involves the meticulous planning of every detail. It is typically a carefully scripted production with many moving parts that can involve road closures, permits, police presence, a large crew, a host of lighting and rigging equipment, and more. All of which is obviously much more difficult to produce in light of COVID-19 and current social distancing requirements, especially since some cities have returned to a near lock-down state due to a resurgence of the virus.
Pro automotive photographer switches to a treadmill and toy cars for these epic photos
Motorsports are moving online due to the coronavirus pandemic, but it appears that automotive photographers are also finding new ways of shooting fast cars in action. Kunal Kelkar is a pro automotive photographer who has found a brilliant way to shoot fast cars without leaving his home. He put a model car onto a treadmill and got some epic photos that look like the real deal. Kunal shared some of his photos and BTS shots with DIYP, so check them out to see how to take fantastic photos of racing cars at full speed – all while staying indoors.
Porsche: lighting and photographing the racing icons
Photographing a Porsche is a special experience for me, as I am a racing fan, and Porsche is racing. They are the essence of speed on the curving tracks they have graced around the world, and on a photoshoot they are just as incredible sitting still. It is for this and many other reasons that I count myself lucky to stand behind the camera while photographing the art pieces that are Porsche race cars.
Today I wanted to show some that you may have seen before, as well as some that have not been shown until now. Each car is unique in its pedigree and history, but all share the common trait of being absolutely stunning in front of the camera. While there are many that can go into great detail about every turn these cars have taken, I cannot, but I can describe what it was like to photograph them.
How to build this heavy duty DIY camera car rig for only $30
Mounting cameras to cars is a lot of fun. It can allow us to get some unique and unusual perspectives in photos and videos. But how do you attach a camera to a car? There are a bunch of different ways from inexpensive triple suction cup mounts (that work surprisingly well) to extremely expensive commercial solutions.
But what if you have a big load to carry that the little triple suction mount can’t handle, and you don’t have the budget for a high-end mounting system? Well, you can make your own. And you can do it for $30 or less, too. In this video from filmmaker Rob Wayne at PremiumBeat, we see how.
This photographer created awesome LEGO promo mailers for his clients
If you run a photography business, then you know that photography skills alone aren’t enough for success. Good marketing is one of the important aspects of business, and automotive photographer Clint Davis has made a brilliant move promoting his work. He used Lego kits to create personalized promotional mailers for his clients. Clint invested a lot of time and creativity into this project, and the end result sure shows it!
This short documentary shows what it’s like to photograph a 24-hour sports car endurance race
I generally shoot on location, and those shoots often last a good 8 hours or so. When I tell people this, they typically sound shocked, wondering how a shoot can go on for so long. But 8 hours is nothing compared to what motorsport photographer Jamey Price has to deal with when shooting a 24-hour endurance sports car race.
In this 13-minute documentary, we get to take a peek inside a world where the photographer’s endurance is put to the test just as much as that of the cars. Narrated by Jamey, we see and hear about the work that goes into such an event, and how difficult it can be to keep up.
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