This article was featured in speedarticle post 003.
Photography is something that isn’t learned overnight. You have to be curious, shoot a ton, suck a lot so that later on, you can suck a bit less and in the process of struggling, you will find out what you are made of. I know many of you may be tempted to go on Youtube and look how to shoot like someone else but I guarantee you that is the fastest way to not get noticed at all. Probably the hardest thing is learning how to develop your own style that you love but also everyone knows you for. Getting there is difficult but with time and consistency, you can find your way.
In this day and age of social media, having a presence in the sea of images flooding our devices is even more important than ever before. However, do not go out and buy a mirrorless camera and a stack of pricey lenses thinking you will magically create images that will stop someone from scrolling. There are levels to this but hopefully I can provide you with some tips to give you a better sense of direction and style to get to where you are going.
So who am I to be giving you advice anyways? I have dedicated the last two decades to this craft and after graduating UC Irvine back in 2003, I headed naturally into shooting weddings because that is where the money was. After 4 years of that grind, I moved on to commercial stock work with an agency called Getty where I spent the next 8 years building a portfolio that was used by large companies such as Jamba Juice, Costco, Walmart and Samsung just to name a few. In 2009 I started a camera rental shop where I helped countless photographers learn and grow their business and skillsets. Then in 2017, I started Cooled Collective where my passion for photography and cars came to fruition. Today I survive by selling my art to enthusiasts all over the world. I am very thankful and blessed to be able to do so and with the advent of social media, it has allowed guys like me to do so. So back to the lesson at hand.
There’s something I struggle with on almost every shoot and that is location. Location scouting is single handedly one of the most difficult parts of being an automotive photographer. From needing permits to being overcrowded, locations come with a lot of baggage. To pile on top of that, the spots on social media have been burnt by every starting photographer who has been shooting for a few years. However, the beauty is that some of the best shots are those hidden gems you probably never paid attention to. Look for those dim alleys, asymmetrical buildings and just odd ball elements that give your composition a good kick in the butt.
Now imagine you are a movie director. How many main actors does a film usually have? If you guessed one, that is correct. You typically don’t have movies that have 5 main actors because that would just be too confusing to the viewer. You have a main actor and a bunch of supporting actor’s who’s job is to support the main actor. That means that if you think your shot of your car is going to stand out in front of a very famous landmark, you better think again. Most of the time, a famous landmark and a subject, being whatever car you are photographing, are battling for the viewer’s attention. Who will win the battle? Finding a location with leading lines, texture, color, lighting, and energy is more important than shooting in front of the Disney Concert Hall because of how “cool” it looks.
There are many ways to bring more attention to your main actor and keep the supporting actor, well… supporting. You can do that with depth of field (how shallow your subject is from the background), lighting, color, motion, etc.oday we will just focus on locations that are great supporting actors.
This is an example of when I photographed Rick’s Hako GTX coming out of my old studio. To make it more dynamic, my focus was to shoot the old 70’s icon in a rustic area. It’s doing a burnout to fill the room with smoke and use soft lighting to set the mood. To bring you guys some behind the scenes, we didn’t actually do a burnout. Instead we used a high production smoke machine to fill the space and dusted the back of the wheel and the driver’s side a bit to give the illusion. Imagine trying to do that in front of a tourist attraction landmark. Just wouldn’t have the time before you get kicked out or fined. The building alone is just weathered, and with the right subject, time of day, good lighting and special effects, we got an image that has some soul to it.
Now in the case of this Defender 90, I was photographing for a key brand and wanted to capture the lifestyle of the D90 in its happy place. We drove up to the local mountains and noticed the large amounts of hikers going hitting the trails. So I used the subjects to help me frame what would otherwise be a pretty boring shot. I slowed the shutter speed down to 1/15th of a sec and got just enough motion blur of the people walking by. I could have sat all day to get the perfect timing of two hikers framing the D90 but instead I took multiple photos of hikers passing by and used Adobe Photoshop to mask them in. Always have a tripod in your arsenal. You never know when you need to show the shutter down, do multiple shots for a composite and get stuck after sundown and no external lighting but your phone.
Now in the case where the supporting actor is “acting up” and trying to upstage the main actor, you have to make sure that there is a reason for it. In the case below with the cafe and the neon sign, it grabs your attention but it also sets the mood for a late night cruise and fits the story telling. In this case, the supporting actor is doing its job. Find out where the balance is and run with it. Remember that rules are a guideline and they can be broken at any time but only because it was your decision to do so.
There are levels to this and the best way to get better at the craft is to learn a lesson and then go out and practice, practice, practice! Not to watch lesson after lesson and fill your mind with things you never try. That is how you get stuck in perfection paralysis. Although equipment is important, it is rarely the reason why you succeed in the game. So do not get caught up in having full frame, fast primes or the latest gadgets that only dull your senses. We will go over some good tools to start with in our next article so make sure you get out there and put the work in this month.
