Car Photography Tutorials - CHRONOLOGICAL UPDATES
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV - Canon EF500mm f/4.0L IS USM - 500mm 1/250 f11.0 ISO 100
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CarPhotoTutorials is run by professional car photographers, our group has years of experience shooting high speed races, car events both indoor and outdoor, individual automotive shoots and just about everything you can do to capture a stunning exotic on camera.
Below you will find an overview of the updates to this site. On a regular basis we post a brand new, exclusive tutorial, case study or article so you can learn first hand how to improve your automotive photography skills even further.
Virtual tuning in post processing | |
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Sometimes the car you want to photograph just doesn't exist in real life, so you start with a regular model and virtually customize it in post processing ... and this time I show you all the steps in a video |
Running PhotoShop actions with a G13 or G510 gaming keyboard | |
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I am a big fan of automating workflows in PhotoShop to speed up post processing, after a while I had a lot of ctrl and alt key combinations so I bought a gaming keyboard, first the Logitech G510 and later on I added the Logitech G13 |
Scale car photography explained in detail | |
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In this article I guide you into scale car photography, from the preparation over the setup including lights, aperture, shutter speed and then taking the shot ... a lot of these tips can be used on full size cars too. |
Action photography using a car rig with suction cups | |
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Suction caps are commonly used to attach a boom onto a car so you can position a camera at a fixed point from the car and take a photograph while the car is moving to create impressive action shots. |
Buying a dual screen setup might be the best idea you ever had | |
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Instead of going for one very large and expensive monitor why not invest in two smaller ones and expand your 'monitor real estate' even further, allowing you to post process photos full screen with all the tools out of the way. |
Photographers need a website and a personal email address | |
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I have seen it a thousand time, people trying to attract business with a general e-mail addres ... don't do this, just get a smal website and a personal email address. |
Photographing a major motorsport event | |
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Motorsport like car races are always very interesting events to capture as an automotive photographer, we explain how to make the best of your experience. |
Creating a derelict at dusk look in post processing | |
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Brand new cars always look good in an abandoned house location, and even better at dusk when the warm light is available, unfortunately finding both and still being safe enough to put an expensive car in front of the derelict house could be difficult. |
Creating a photo from a showroom snapshot | |
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Sometimes you just don't have the option of setting up a nice area for a shoot, for instance when you are in a showroom, but fear not, we show you how to make a photograph out of a snapshot in post processing |
Using actions to add a watermark to your photos | |
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We show you a way to add a custom watermark to all your photos, no matter if they are in landscape or in portrait orientation using actions that require no manual intervention. |
Off camera flash car photography, part 2 of 2 : the shoot | |
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You managed to buy the necessary items to get into off camera flash photography, in part 2 of our tutorial we explain how to use it. |
Off camera flash car photography, part 1 of 2 : the shopping list | |
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In this first part of the off camera flash tutorial I take you over the required equipment to get started using additional light sources. |
FAST TIP : a polar filter in car photography | |
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In this tutorial I show you just how to use a polarization filter correctly and combine multiple layers together |
Case study - deTomaso Pantera | |
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I take a reasonably good shot and put it through some extensive post processing to create a photograph |
FAST TIP : using soft light layers | |
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Post processing can be a tedious job that could take hours, but one simple trick will put some extra punch in your shots in a matter of seconds. |
Post processing automotive event photographs | |
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We all know the drill, we’ve been to a car show or outdoor event and we’ve encountered some amazing cars but our shots have bad backgrounds so we'll have to revert to post processing to get it right. |
Use a mouse or a tablet for post processing | |
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Perhaps a mouse isn't the most appropriate option when working on automotive photos in post processing, so let's take a look at a pen and tablet. |
Do I need a fistful of dollars ? | |
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We get this question on a regular basis : how much do I have to invest to get started as a car photographer ? We explain our vision in this article : don't go for the cheapest way but get it right from the start. |
Car photography that sells the car | |
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Selling a high performance car isn't easy, but as they say : a picture speaks a thousand words. We'll show you how to get the winning shot that will sell the car quickly by selecting the correct background and perform the right post processing. |
Black and white car photography and selective coloring | |
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We take a look at how you can achieve the best results converting car shots into black and white one, we even take a look at selective coloring to put some color back into the image. |
Case study - Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 | |
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We take a look at one of the most difficult scenes, a black car during a bright, sunny summer day in the early afternoon. |
Buying a tripod for car photography | |
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A lot has been going on about tripods, do you really need one when your main objective is to photograph cars ? We go over the advantages and the problems and help you to select the best one. |
Adding authentic looking motion to still images | |
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Sometimes you just have to get a sharp image of a car, but spinning wheels would be nice, we explain you how to achieve this in post processing. |
Case study - DOF, Depth of Field | |
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This shot was taken while the black Ginetta was leaving the pit lane at a famous circuit in Belgium, it looked good straight out of the camera, but a little bit of tweaking made it perfect. |
Behind the scenes of a professional car shoot | |
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You've managed a nice exotic super car for a private photo shoot, but how do you manage an outdoor shooting ? We will explain 10 of the best tips for you. |
Outdoor car show - Best practice tips | |
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one of the best opportunities to get a nice, exotic super car in front of your camera is during one of the many outdoor car shows during the summer, we take you over some tips to get the best shots. |
Sharpening techniques explained | |
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A lot has already been written about how to make your images look better, getting them sharp is one of the essentials when it comes to improve your shots |
Our TOP 10 tips for post processing using PhotoShop | |
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In this tutorial we present you with 10 interesting and quick tips that will make your post processing automotive photographs in PhotoShop a bit easier. |
Background replacement made easy | |
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There are times you've managed to photograph a great looking car, but the background is far from good looking ... no problem, just replace it with a different one. |
Filters in the digital age | |
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On a forum you might have red a discussion about using filters before, is it necessary or not ? We give you some tips. |
Race photography, a day at the track | |
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You must admit that being track side must appeal to you, but it takes some technique to get the best shots from that position, we explain how to get it right. |
Your second shopping list | |
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You have all the basic equipment, and you feel comfortable working with it ... now it's time to take your gear to the next level. |
Photographing an indoor car show like a pro | |
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Indoor events and motor shows are great venues with many stunning cars, shooting them is not at easy as it might seem however. |
Case study - Geneva 2009 Auto Show | |
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In this in depth article we take a look at the specific settings and technique you could use for a high profile car show like the one in Geneva |
Photographing scale cars | |
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Scale cars are really magnificent, they allow you to admire cars you would normally rarely see in real life, photographing them is an art on it's own however. |
Must have base equipment | |
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In this article we talk you through the large amount of camera's you could buy to get started well in automotive photography. |
Case study - Countach | |
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In this specific case study we will take a look at how to remove unwanted clutter from the backdrop of a shot. |
Make panning shots like a pro | |
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We all made these mistakes at first, but after gathering some more experience we could pinpoint these mistakes and share them with you so you can avoid them. |
Lenses, what do all those characters actually mean ? | |
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Looking for a new lens but got at bit confused with all those terms ? We explain them in understandable English for you. |
DOF - Depth of Field | |
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In this article we take a look at the different aperture settings you can use while photographing cars, setting your DOF can create some amazing effects. |
Common mistakes when shooting a car | |
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We all made these mistakes at first, but after gathering some more experience we could pinpoint these mistakes and share them with you so you can avoid them. |
Old fashion digital photographs | |
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In this tutorial we show you how to recreate the look and feel of the good old days on a modern day digital image. |
The secrets behind a great car photo | |
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Ever wondered why your shot doesn't look as good as the one of the same car in that magazine in front of you ? We give you a few tips to take better photographs here. |
Our 60 second workflow on automotive photos | |
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Only have a minute to spare ? Don't worry, that's more than enough to make your photograph stand out of the crowd. |
10 tips for your first outdoor car shoot | |
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You've managed a nice exotic super car for a private photo shoot, but how do you manage an outdoor shooting ? We will explain 10 of the best tips for you. |
Taking care of your equipment | |
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You should take really good care of your photographic equipment given it's price, but it also helps you to get better images in the long run. |
Note : commercial use or publishing of our tutorials in any way, written or electronic, is strictly forbidden, we present these for your personal development only. None of our material may be published in any way without prior, written permission from the Car Photography Tutorials founder. All workflows and photographs are copyright protected and owned by the Car Photography Tutorials team unless stated otherwise
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Interesting articles
Photographing a major motorsport event
Motorsport like car races are always very interesting events to capture as an automotive photographer, we explain how to make the best of your experience.
Photographers need a website and a personal email address
I have seen it a thousand time, people trying to attract business with a general e-mail addres ... don't do this, just get a smal website and a personal email address.
Off camera flash car photography, part 1 of 2 : the shopping list
In this first part of the off camera flash tutorial I take you over the required equipment to get started using additional light sources.
Race photography, a day at the track
You must admit that being track side must appeal to you, but it takes some technique to get the best shots from that position, we explain how to get it right.
Black and white car photography and selective coloring
We take a look at how you can achieve the best results converting car shots into black and white one, we even take a look at selective coloring to put some color back into the image.
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