Photographing Cars
As a kid, I could name the make and model of virtually any car on the road. I love cars but my appreciation of older cars runs deep. Since my earliest childhood memories, I have been fascinated by anything with wheels, particularly cars.
My dear old dad was a mechanic from when he was 14 and went on to work in car dealerships, and later to have his own panel beating business. So as well as working in petrol stations in my youth and modifying my own cars, I’ve had a fair amount of exposure to the automotive industry.
As my commercial photography career progressed, I had the odd opportunity to photograph cars but they were few and far between. Eventually, the opportunity to immerse myself in studio car photography came through Adelaide Hills car restoration company, Finch Restorations. I was called in to look at photographing a coffee table they had created from a Porsche engine and gearbox. When we looked at the potential areas to do the shoot, I was taken into their huge vehicle storage area. A repurposed industrial cool room that was full of restoration projects in various states. Unable to contain myself I asked if I could have two minutes to have a quick look over the cars in the space so I’d have some chance of concentrating on our conversation. The disclosure that I was not just a photographer but also a car nut, sealed the deal.
The photo shoot of the coffee table went very well and I was asked back to discuss studio car photography for Finch moving forward. Finch has a need to have vehicles shot in-house, often within a very short time frame. We concluded that we could set up an area in that storage space to create a studio space to photograph cars, it has high ceilings, drive-in access and no windows, perfect really. We drew up a plan and work got underway. The floor was painted in a mid-grey epoxy, a truss system was created to hang dark fabric for the walls which could be hoisted to move cars about in the space and a false polystyrene ceiling was hung and the joins painted. It was a huge undertaking but the images I can make in that environment speak for themselves.
An unrestored car can be driven or rolled into the space, and photographed relatively quickly, exactly as it arrives. These have been some of my favourite cars to shoot. I don’t know what it is about the look of a dirty, rough car under beautiful light just does it for me.
A completed restoration can be photographed between road testing and client pick-up without having the complication of the vehicle having to leave the building. And best of all, there is consistency across all of the photography of the vehicles which acts as strong branding for Finch.
Newer cars have certainly got their appeal but older cars were made in an era when design could be the last word. The design language of the automobile has an ever-changing face. Safety regulations play a massive role in the way modern cars look. Lights must be at a particular height and in particular positions. Rollover and collision protection have influenced roof structures and bumper bars, while a greater understanding of aerodynamics and packaging has shaped cars to greater efficiency. This progress has been immensely important as it’s saved countless lives and made cars more useful and efficient. The outcome is that audacious design is a thing of the past.
Photographing cars, motorbikes and trucks in a studio environment is a great pleasure but also very challenging. Old vehicles hold immense appeal for me as objects, the individuality and boldness of design either beautifully resolved or bizarrely clunky. Some vehicles are boxy some are curvaceous so I need to create a lighting state for each car to render their design legible. Added complications come in the form of compound curves, and various surface types with various finishes ranging from highly reflective to matt. Add to that the sheer size of some cars and I can end up trying to manage reflective surfaces that might be five meters long.
Some old cars are incredibly elegant and some are just out-and-out odd but that to me is a huge part of the appeal. I’m not caught up in what cars are worth but more taken by their idiosyncrasies. I appreciate what modern cars are capable of but driving an old car is a cultural experience. The noise, the smell, the materials they used, the design and then the physicality required to operate them. The older the car the more engaging they can be.
An excellent symbiotic relationship has developed between Eyefood and Finch. I get to do professional studio car photography in a purpose-built studio 5 minutes from my own studio in the Adelaide hills. Finch gets someone passionate about cars and photography to shoot their projects.
Another wonderful by-product for Eyefood is that I now have a large-scale studio space to photograph cars commercially. We have gone one further too, launching Finch Studio’s. We are offering photographic packages to the public who can have their cars professionally detailed and photographed and get a personal tour of the workshop.