RacerCub68

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I was taught by a couple of friends at Car & Driver how they take those amazing, unforgetable car pictures. Now, don't show your friends this, because you always want you car to look the best, not theirs.

I haven't done this with my SLK yet, so you're going to see the example of my Fiero GT. Using this technique, it's easy to make even an older high milleage car look like a gem. The Fiero you are about to see had 52,000 miles on it, and original factory paint except for nose cone and rear spoiler. This was after I wet sanded it, but trust me, this technique makes even a regular shine explode.

The two major factors to this technique is Time & Position. That is what matters.

Time:

There are only 2 times a day to take a great picture of your car, and they do not last long. No, never take a picture of your car at noon unless you want to see every swirl mark ever put on it.

Secret: The magic time is just as the sun rises at dawn, and just as it sets at dusk.

Position:

In order to work correctly, the position of the camera and the car are paramount. It makes the difference, even though your background may not look the best at the angle.

Secret: Form a direct line from the sun, to the camera, to the car. The camera must ALWAYS be between the sun and the car directly, not off to the side at all.

And now, class, for the results:

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Ikarus

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With this and the sunset/sunrise condition, how do you avoid the camera/tripod/photographer casting a long shadow on the car?

The most difficult issue for me has been getting the color look even remotely right in sunlight. That Mars red looks way too bright/flashy/saturated in my own attempts. What makes me feel a little better is that I have yet to see any Mars red photo in sunlight that was true to the color of the real thing.

Ynot

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thanks for the tips, check my sig, shot at sunrise, most were taken with the sunlight behind me. I thought it came out pretty nice, correct me if I'm wrong. delete the .th for bigger images.

RacerCub68

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You stand far enough away so that the shadow doesn't enter into the picture. The picture of my Fiero was taking with the camera out in the middle of the intersection.

RacerCub68

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Yes, and they look very good, much, much better the standard car pictures. However, in order to get that molten glass look on the car, the direction must be EXACTLY a straight line, sun, camera then car, with no variation at all.

SLKpower

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park on somebodys lawn and sit on your car....and to make your car look faster,hold a motorcycle helmet!! LOL
.....i will post my results soon :0)