A Start To Finish Walkthrough of Editing a Commercial Car Image

If you're interested in taking pictures of vehicles and wonder what it takes to get a commercial grade result, sit back and enjoy a complete walkthrough.

If someone were to ask me what is the best method for learning a new discipline in photography, I'd say a paid tutorial with a proven professional. In some ways, I'm biased; as part of working here, I watch most of our tutorials at Fstoppers, and the value of these resources cannot be overstated. As with any profession, there is so much nuance and so many unknowables that you usually have to make mistakes to reveal them. Comprehensive tutorials overcome most of that, or at least guide you through them. However, if you don't have the money to spend on premium tutorials, what other ways can you learn?

There is an array of free tutorials available on video platforms and in written format, all to varying standards. One of the best ways I have found, however, is to watch a professional in a behind the scenes capacity. In this video, automotive photographer, Moe Zainal, edits an image of a beautiful, gray Audi RS6. He starts with the raw file, and then edits it from scratch to end up with a stunning final image. Some of the steps Zainal takes you may not have thought of, and most surprising to me when I saw the final image before watching the video, was that the sky had been replaced. It goes to show just how great sky swaps can be now!

Rob Baggs's picture

Robert K Baggs is a professional portrait and commercial photographer, educator, and consultant from England. Robert has a First-Class degree in Philosophy and a Master's by Research. In 2015 Robert's work on plagiarism in photography was published as part of several universities' photography degree syllabuses.

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2 Comments

I don't know what it is about the RS6 but I love that thing. Maybe because I'm a dad?

Moe just flies through it way too fast. It's more like look what I can do rather than look what you can do.