Auto Focus: Tips for Getting Great Car Photos

Taking pictures is a great way to document your project car’s progress or to simply share your love for your daily driver online. While you can hire a professional photographer to shoot your vehicle if you have the means, it’s possible to take the pictures yourself and make your vehicle look like it’s straight out of a motoring magazine without spending a lot.

Armed with your camera and willingness to learn, you may find the art of car photography to be quite rewarding. Who knows, it could turn into a hobby you’ll love.

How to Take Car Photos Like a Pro

Here are some tips and tricks to step up your car photography game:

Brush Up On Photography Fundamentals

Studying the basic composition rules can help you capture visually appealing photos. An online search will lead you to a lot of articles discussing basic photography concepts, such as symmetry and framing.

Rule of Thirds

An important and popular fundamental composition rule in photography is called “The Rule of Thirds.” To take a good photo, you must mentally divide your image frame into three horizontal and three vertical sections. This will create a grid with four intersection points.

Place your subject on one of these points. Remember that it’s important to balance the elements in your frame to make the photo more pleasing to the eye.

Modern cameras usually come with a built-in setting to show you these grid lines. However, it will be best to know this rule by heart. Once you’re used to doing this, it will be easy for you to visualize where to put your photo’s subject no matter what kind of camera you’re holding.

Check the Lighting

Lighting is one of the most crucial elements in photography. According to experts, it’s best to take photos an hour before sunrise or an hour before sunset. During these times, the sun is at a low angle, adding warmth and texture to your photos.

If you try to shoot when the sun is at its highest, you may have a problem with highly contrasting colors. Harsh lighting can also emphasize your subject’s flaws.

If you need to take photos during midday, make sure to use a polarizer to remove glare and reduce unwanted reflections. This filter can also increase color saturation in images.

If you’re using your phone’s camera, you’re better off shooting when the sunlight is at a low angle. You can try to use your hand to block sunlight from directly hitting your phone’s lens. However,  it can be too risky. You might end up taking a glare-heavy image.

Avoid Shooting from Eye-Level

Eye-level shots can come out as plain and boring. That’s because we always see cars from that angle. Look for the angle that will make your photos more interesting. You have to surprise people.

If you’d like to make your car larger and more intimidating, you can try a low-angle shot. To do this, you must place your camera close to the ground.

Professional photographers also recommend shooting from a high angle if you want to show off your ride’s design. A high-angle shot is also recommended if you’re in a car show and want to focus on a specific vehicle.

You’re going to need a ladder or a step stool to do a high-angle shot. Make sure that these things are available before the shooting date.

Pick an Interesting Shape or Detail

If you’d like to show off your car’s interior, don’t just take random photos of it. Your interior is filled with a lot of details, patterns, and shapes. If you take a photo of everything all at once, your image will lack a focal point.

Try to find a unique shape, texture, or pattern to focus on. For example, focus on a knob or a button. Use your creative juices to get a nice shot.

Explore Nighttime Photography

Taking photos of cars at night can be a fun and interesting experience. If you’d like to try it, make sure to adjust your camera settings for night photography. If you’re not sure how this works, you can ask a professional photographer for advice.

Preparing your camera for a nighttime shoot includes getting a tripod, buying a wide aperture lens, and using a slow shutter speed.

You can begin with a 15-second shutter speed. You can adjust it for longer exposures as needed. Don’t forget to set your camera’s aperture between f/5 and f/11.

In photography, “long exposure” is a technique where you leave your camera’s lens open for an extended period, allowing more light to be captured. This can create various artistic effects like light trails.

Play with Reflections

Another way to get creative photos is to play with reflections. For example, you can make a fake puddle on the ground and take your vehicle’s reflection. This can add a visually interesting element to the shot.

Photographing a Moving Car

Photographing a moving car might produce intriguing and artistic results. But remember that taking moving vehicle photos can be more complex than taking still shots.

You’ll need a tripod to stabilize your camera and prevent blur. Position your tripod on level ground.

Set a low shutter speed. This technique can give the impression of motion and speed.

You can also try the panning technique. Follow the moving vehicle as it moves. This will also create an impression of motion in your photos.

Car photography is limitless, and you’ll have a lot of opportunities to explore and experiment. Just remember to choose a safe location for you and your companions to enjoy your session.