How to Take Good Photos of Cars

Cars offer an array of artistic photography possibilities.

Whether for automobile magazines or sales ads, cars make excellent photographic subject matter. Taking a picture of a car can entail more than simply pointing a camera and shooting. A car's lines and angles offer photographers a wealth of artistic material to work with. By taking advantage of these lines and angles, you can turn an ordinary car into an extraordinary subject.

Things You'll Need

• Digital SLR camera Polarizing lens filter

Instructions

1. Choose a cloudless sunny day to shoot your photographs.

2. Place a polarizing lens filter (CPL) over the lens.

3. Set the aperture (AV) to 5.6 (f stops). At a 5.6 setting, you will bring the car into focus and blur the background, making the car the center attraction. Depending upon how out-of-focus you want the surrounding scenery, you may want to set your aperture higher or lower.

4. Select the automatic standard setting of your camera. The standard setting will give you a crisper shot than the landscape setting, which typically highlights the colors for more natural subjects.

5. Shoot your photographs. Lie down on the ground and shoot at unusual angles. Kneel at the front bumper and shoot along the length of the car.

Tips & Warnings

• Natural light is best as the rays of the sun glinting off the chrome add an artistic touch to your photographs. Polarizing lens filters cut down on unwanted reflections from surfaces and highlight the natural elements of the sun. This lens filter will also help saturate the colors of the car, giving you a more vibrant image. The more interesting the angle of your shots, the more likely your car images will be to attract attention.

References

• Hyman LTD: How to Photograpah a Classic Car
• DrivingImages.com: Car Photography, Tips and Turorials