Even if commercial car photography is not your thing, there is always something to learn from seeing professionals on a shoot. Especially when the results are this impressive and the gear used was minimal.
If you've ever wondered how those fancy car pics in glossy magazines are made then you'll enjoy this behind-the-scenes video from a commercial car shoot. This week, photographer Samuel Bassett of OpticalWander is tasked with shooting the Vauxhall Mokka and uses the city of London as his backdrop. Throughout the video, we are treated to Bassett's thought process as well as him explaining why certain things are being done in regards to photographing a car.
Light painting is used in this particular shoot and Bassett shows us how he was able to paint with light thanks to the help of a battery-powered light bar. It will probably come as no surprise to learn that car photography is often captured in multiple shots and this shoot is no different. What I like about this video is that all the individual shots made are shown on the screen along with the camera settings used. This helps us to understand why multiple images are required and what it takes to get the various elements of a commercial car shoot perfectly exposed.
You'll notice in the video that Bassett is mostly shooting alone with minimal gear and yet still manages to make images that would not look out of place on a billboard. If you've ever felt a little intimidated by the thought of shooting a car then this video will hopefully shed some light on the process and give you more confidence to do it yourself.
