Now there’s something that I’m absolutely passionate about.  While studying at The National College of Photography (best photocollege around BTW, I would recommend anyone to completing a part-time or the full time course with them) we were shown the art of photographing cars.

We went to a studio situated across from Gallagher Estate named Foghound studios (apparently all the Hyperama ads are shot there)  The studio is humungous, you could comfortably fit at least 7 cars in there.  It’s hard to get used to the infinite space, as there is no sense of where the walls meet the floor, it feels like a gaping hole at first.  The walls have been made into an infinity curve. so instead of a ninety degree angle they are curved.

They prepaint the walls and the floor black/white depending on what your requirements are.  To photograph any car you need a lightsource that is twice as big as the car itself.  So the lecturers had to construct their own massive lightbank (basically a box with black sides and the bottom with white translucent material, with lights strategically positioned inside to create smooth lighting)  Once the lightbox was switched on we had the opportunity to walk around this setup (on our socks of course otherwise we would have left footprints all around the car)  I cannot begin to describe the way the light moves over the smooth contours of the car….  Engaging, awesome, breathtaking, just to use a few words.

Still studying I vowed to do my own car photos in studio.  One of my mom’s scrapbooking clients offered her husband’s car. Wait for it…. yip, a silver Ferarri360 spider!  I spent my months salary (I was working part-time at a studio) on hiring the lights and a SMALL car studio in Rosebank.  Because of the studio being so small it limited me to doing high-key photography) Have you ever looked at a car and seen how many things reflect on its shiny surfaces?  Well I hadn’t either until then….

It is the hardest ’still life’ I had photographed while studying and it turned out to be quite a challenge.  I had great fun and turned up I think 30 decent images out of a total of 200.  But you learn something every time you try something new.  Less isn’t more, more is definitely more.  Next time I will hire the big studio to be able to do more low lighting photos.

It was a fantastic experience and Louise & I are planning on doing it again sometime next year.  So if you know of someone with a great vintage or flashy sports car (or you want to have yours photographed) please let us know!

Riani