5-Point Checklist for Awesome Automotive Photography

December 30, 2020

Photographer, traveler and Land Rover fanatic Bartek Kołaczkowski explains what style of shots are needed for great automotive photos.

Hi, I’m Bartek, a photographer from Poland. I taking photos for living, photographing cars, travelling my Land Rover and enjoying life.

As an automotive photographer one photoshoot is usually done in a number of locations that's why I need be able to carry all of my essentials comfortably. The Fjord 60-C is my backpack of choice, it is large enough and well organised for me to be able to carry all the gear I need with ease.

In my 60-C I pack my Sony A7III along with three prime lenses from Sigma (35mm 1.4, 50mm 1.4 and 85mm 1.4), Mavic 2 Pro with 3 batteries, power bank, additional batteries and a lot of memory cards. This is my go-to everday gear.

Preparations for photo shoot includes; location scouting, shot list creation, and studying the car to find the best angles. Below I breakdown my must-shoot scenarios in 5 categories:

1. Rolling shots - to do this you will need an extra car and thus two drivers. I like to use as natural looking angle as I can so this is usually shot with a 35mm. The main thing to catch the movement of the car in the right shutter speed, usually done at 1/20 of seconds.

2. Static shots - location, location, location. The most important thing here is the right location. It is really important to not deform the shape of the car. I recommend using angles between 28-85 mm.

3. Details/interior - are a great way to complement the automotive photo session. The best way to do this is to use a long or macro lens to show the as much detail as possible. I usually use my 85mm 1.4 sigma lens.

4. Drone shots - are a perfect way to show different perspectives. Create some minimal effects or show stunning surrounding landscapes.

5. Action shots - need a lot of cooperation between photographer and the driver. More sand, water or gravel add great value to these kind of photos.