Automotive

Yu Tsai is an incredibly impressive fashion and advertising photographer. He also is an established film maker and director (check out his film section on his site). Recently Yu Tsai was faced with the task of trying to make a car ad stand out in one of the most popular magazines in the world: The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. His solution: have ace driver Rhys Millen drift dangerously close to SI supermodel Rianne Ten Haken and film the whole thing. I love the concept and it's nice to have a little behind the scenes video to go along with the final published images. Click the full post to see full resolution copies.

James Douglas was commissioned to shoot high end bikes for Riders Alley's catalog. He was kind enough to shoot a simple BTS so that we could also be a part of the fun. I enjoyed seeing the relatively simple background and lighting produce a great finished product.

One of our reader's emailed me this fun concept photoshoot by photographer Levy Moroshan and I thought I'd share it with everyone this new year's weekend. The styling for this is pretty straightforward: fashion evening gowns with retro style airplanes. Most of the images are lit with just two Photek Softlighters and both the out of camera shots are shown along with the final photoshop edits. Too bad we didn't get to hear from Levy himself in this video as I'm sure judging by his portfolio he has a lot of useful tips to share.

Every single time NASA launches a shuttle into space they film it from every possible angle. The purpose is mainly to give engineers documentation for later analysis but also to make sure everything is going as planned during the event itself. Video Producer Matt Melis along with researchers at the Glenn Research Center have put together this lengthy video outlining exactly what happens as a shuttle launches into space. It's pretty interesting to hear about the lenses and cameras they use on every launch as well as seeing the slow motion footage captured. Enjoy this video because on June 28th, 2011 we may see the final NASA shuttle launch as funding is cut from the space program. Video #2 is posted in the full post.

I'm starting to realize how many of our readers enjoy the mix of sports cars, photography, and behind the scenes so this one is for you. I'm really not sure what is going on here but what happens at the very end is pretty remarkable! I wish the audio was a little cleaner but I'm sure if you are into drifting fast cars you probably can't hear anyways! And when you get done watching this, check out the awesome DSLR video gear over at www.cinevate.com

Canon 5D MK 2 Drift Car Commercial with BTS from Cinevate on Vimeo.

From reading the posts over at the Fstoppers Forum, I've found that a lot of our readers enjoy taking photographs at motorsport drifting events. So if you enjoy fast cars and adrenaline you are going to love the commercial Audi created for their new 2010 R8 V10 sports car. This is all video but you can imagine what the results would be if you could mount a still camera on these cranes and drag that shutter. Big thanks to Dragos for sending us this video (check out his work in this field); makes me want to buy a new car :) <

I just ran across this quick BTS of a Land Rover photoshoot. The video itself isn't that impressive but the photography sure is. It's really interesting to see how Tim Wallace determined his lighting. First he focused on the ambient light for the background and then after he had that locked in he added 3 strobes to fill in the car but keep the sky dark. >https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDq8O5ia4Mk<

It's to easy to do things in post these days. If you can think it, someone can do it on a computer. To stand out, we are beginning to see a trend in TV commercials where directors do it "the old fashion way". So far on Fstoppers we have posted BTSVs for Old Spice, Lexus, Nissan, and Levi's commercials. Subaru didn't want to be left out so they decided to film an animation in a single take using a perfectly timed car. Check out the finished product in the full post. Keep'em coming! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6ROaFrFQvs<

Filming in 3D is still relatively new to videographers. So when Jeremy Hart and professional driver David Coulthard decided to film the world fastest 3D film featuring the Mercedes SLS AMG flying down the road, they had to design and test shots that had never been filmed before. The footage is absolutely stunning and will definitely make you want to travel to Ireland and race sports cars up and down the Isle of Man. Click the Full Post to watch a short clip of the final movie (in 2D). ><

The bar has officially been raised. Thomas Woodson and Grant Lankford just submitted an amazing BTSV for the contest. This video has it all; it is fun to watch, it is informative, and it has fantastic final images. The most exciting part to me though is that they did all of this with just 1 strobe and a bed sheet! These guys are both in College (Thomas looks like he may be in 5th grade) with minimum gear and yet they managed to created one of the most compelling BTSVs I have seen in a very long time. Feel free to ask them questions below and check out Thomas' detailed forum post about car photography here.

Behind The Scenes Corvette Photo Shoot from Grant Lankford on Vimeo.

Let me begin by saying that this BTSV is not very informative. I usually only post videos that will help others learn but I must make an exception. This video is the most beautiful behind the scenes video I have ever seen. As creative professionals this video should be inspiring to us all on so many levels. Who would have thought that you could turn a simple photoshoot into a work of art. Thank you Richie Thomassen, you have given me something to aspire to. It is time to step up the video production of our BTSVs. Oh, and I almost forgot; the photographer is Wynn Ruji and his car portfolio is fantastic.

Jaguar XJ | Behind the Scenes from Richie Thomassen on Vimeo.

Our website is finally working again as the traffic from the iPhone video slows down. We are going to get back to releasing 1 BTS video every day. Friday night we had an Fstoppers get together in NYC and it was a big hit. About 22 photographers showed up including Tkae Mendez. Tkae just sent this great BTS video over to me. Enjoy...

Zak Shelhamer has just submitted his contest entry; a behind the scenes video of him shooting his buddy on a motorcycle. The shoot isn't complicated at all and that is why I love it. Zak uses a van, 2 lights, and a stick to create very compelling images. You can join the dialog about this video below in the comments or head over to his forum post here.

"Can we make a transparent car?... Of course, we can do anything given the time and the budget" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3HM1bQzubw

In this video Adam Swords takes us behind the scenes on his sports car photoshoot. Make sure you watch until the end to see the images he has taken. After the video you can head over to his website here. Adam Swords: BTS // Audi R8 from Adam Swords on Vimeo.

Dan Bartolucci and Gevorg Karensky over at Influxlab have put together a little montage video for everyone to see how they rigged the car camera up for the latest BMW M3 commercial. I'm sure many of you have wondered how they secured a camera when being so wreckless in a car; I guess now we all know.

BMW M3 - Behind The Scenes - Complete from Dan Bartolucci on Vimeo.

Here's a really cool video of Oscar Van De Beek shooting a new car. What better way to show of the new car than with fire and explosions. You can check out Oscar's amazing portfolio here.

Behind the scenes of the New Seat Leon Cupra R photoshoot from Simon De Man on Vimeo.