Car Photography is more than parking the car in a beautiful location and then capturing it. There’s a lot more to it. Meet Noortje Blokland. Noortje is a big car fan and fantastic car photographer. She captures the most beautiful images and we asked her about her secret. Read her story here!
No risk, no fun
Since I got my hands on a mobile phone with a camera, I started taking pictures. I’ve worn out a relatively large number of smartphones, always looking for the phone with the best camera. One day I won a photo contest in the mobile photography category. The prize was a mobile photography course from none other than the (world famous) photographer Eelco Roos. He advised me to buy an SLR camera. After thinking about it for a while, I bought a Canon thinking: ”No risk, no fun.” At that time, I didn’t know that purchasing this camera would completely change my life…
Why Car Photography?
I’ve always had an innate interest in cars and everything that drives and speeds. After the purchase of my first car (MINI Cooper from 2005), this interest has only grown bigger. I can really enjoy seeing/photographing or – even better – driving a special car and hearing the impressive roar of an engine. For many enthusiasts, their car is an extension of their personality; the expression of a style/preference. For example, I have completely personalized my current car to taste. The seller would barely recognize the car now.
More than just an image
Photographing a car is more than parking the car in a beautiful location and then capturing it. It goes much further, deeper. With every shoot I ask myself a number of questions, including: what feeling should viewing these car photos evoke? What story do I want to tell? What is the goal? For example, should someone fall in love with this car (when it is sold), or is the series for private use of the proud owner who wants to hang a number of photos on the wall and therefore does not want to see any dents in the picture?What mood does the car photo show best (adventurous or modern/sleek, etc.)?By reflecting on these elements, I automatically come to many different places, both at home and abroad, I meet weekly (sometimes dozens) new, fascinating individuals and at the end of almost every day I have an interesting story to tell.
The Challenge
The challenge is to achieve a spectacular result every time under completely different circumstances, regardless of factors such as time pressure, weather conditions and type of car. Sometimes you have to row with the oars you get.Finding a perfectly matching location also remains a challenge. Although I have now turned that into a sport. I really get a kick out of it every time the car and location merge perfectly, exactly like I planned. If you shoot with natural light, it is also extremely important that you are shooting at exactly the right time so that the light falls optimally.
Car Photography Basics
Study the exposure triangle, experiment with slow shutter speeds when using a tripod. Where possible use a polarizing filter for car photography to filter out unwanted reflections. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Not quite sure what to do? Don’t forget that YouTube is a treasure trove of technical knowledge!
Bonus Tip
Make sure the car you’re shooting looks clean (okay, unless you’re planning on going off-road). Learn about different compositions. “Learn the Rules Like a Pro, So You Can Break Them Like an Artist”.
