Sebastiaan van ’t Hoog – Last updated on
Car photography is one of the most fun types of photography, we all have a passion for cars, and photographing them is fantastic. It is very difficult to find good car photoshoot locations, the places are often very busy or you are not allowed to get there by car.
With years of experience as a car photographer, I have done many photoshoots, often having to look up locations in advance. So I have quite a bit of experience with this and I would like to share that with you.
In this article, I will tell you exactly thebest car photography locationstips, so you can get started right away to find the most beautiful places for your next photoshoot.
- Match the location with the car
- Look for a quiet location
- Go to the big cities
- Find locations via Google Maps
- Find locations in real-life
- Find locations via social media
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What are the best car photoshoot locations?
The best locations for car photography are not monotonous, because it varies completely for every car. I often photographsports cars, so a forest is not that useful or beautiful. Several factors determine whether a location is suitable.
First of all, I would like to point out that you can have the most beautiful locations, but if yourcamera settingsare not good, they will not be of much use to you.
We all know that it is useful if a location is nearby, I will explain further in this articlehow you canfind a location.
The environment is also important and finally, the location shouldnotbetoo busy. I have noticed that a location that is too busy can be very annoying.
Why is location important for a photo shoot? Well, that’s because the location covers most of the photo, without a good location you can’t get by.
Besides the location, how you shoot a car is also important. I have shared someessential tipsso you can get better!
Let me tell you the first tip right away!
1. Match the location with the car
Now that you know why a location is so important for car photography, I will explain what you should pay attention to when looking for car photoshoot locations. First of all, the location mustmatch the car.
You can do this by looking carefully at thedesignand thetype of car. A sports car often has sleek lines, is very low and a modern location is often beautiful. You can look at modern houses, apartments, and buildings in big cities.
AnSUVis a completely different story. These cars are often very robust, large, and high. Then it is better not to place it in the city center. The purpose of an SUV is to access rough terrain, so aforestwould suit this very well.
The reflection of the car reflects the surrounding area, and you certainly shouldn’t always use a polarizing filter. Make sure it complements the car.
All in all, pay close attention to the type of car and choose the type of location based on this.
2. Look for quiet locations
So I’ve done quite a few photo shoots and this is a point I want to emphasize. Abusy locationis reallynot fun to photograph, while taking photos the car often has to be moved, which takes extra time.
When you have just parked the car in the middle of a road, another oncoming vehicle approaches, which is acommon phenomenonat busy places. In addition, a busy location can also be dangerous, often enough I have to stand on a road to take a photo where there is traffic. So not optimal.
If you want to take
rolling shots, quiet locations are even more important as there are certain risks you have to take,
Look for locations that arequiet, such as theroof of a parking garage, a remote road, a forest, or something similar. You can of course also go to busy locations, but choose a time that is the quietest.
A quiet location is also essential if you want to photograph your car for sale, make sure there are no distractions in the background!
3. Go to the big cities
What I’m about to say may seemcontradictory, but sometimes you have to try a few things to find the best photoshoot locations. You won’t find truly unique locations in themiddle of nowhere, at least not where I live.
So it is also crucial to go to thelarger citiesto find unique places here. It may be a little more risky, but it will yield the desired result. The photo below, for example, I took in Rotterdam, the largest port city in Europe.
Sometimes you have to wait a while until no one is in the frame, but when the time comes,it’s worth itall the time. And if someone is in the picture, you can fix it using Photoshop (AI).
Nowadays you have to be careful in big cities, if you want to photograph an old diesel you may not be allowed inside. You might have to take an electric car to the city center…
How can you find car photography locations?
Now you should know what to look for when you want to look up a car location, now comes the real work. You have tofind the locationsand that is slightly more difficult than it seems. I’ve found a few ways to do that.
It’s going to take you a lot of time, sometimes it takes me an hour to find one location, that could be just me, we’ll never find out. The two ways I have found are (1)Google Mapsand (2)driving aroundin real life. I’ll also give you a bonus, namely finding (3) locations viasocial media.
1. Google Maps
This option seems fairly easy, but it certainly isn’t. It is one of the simplest because youdon’t have to leave the houseto find car photography locations. To find locations viaGoogle Maps, I usually go to a large city (virtually).
UsingStreet ViewI can then go around the streets, and when I see something that I think: hey, that could be nice, I will imagine what kind of photos I could possibly take at that place. The process takes along timeand you do not always have a chance of success.
There are many advantages to Google Maps, but I must also mention thedisadvantages. Using Google Maps, you can’t see how busy it is, it can be very busy without you seeing this in the photo.
Google Maps may also be outdated, the location may suddenly look very different in real life. Remember that locations look different for every lens, so choosingthe right lensis also important.
2. In Real Life (driving around)
I think the second option is thebetter option, which is to drive through the city and save beautiful places on your phone. I have to admit that I don’t do this that often myself, I am often busy with a photoshoot and thenI come across all kinds of locations.
When that happens I quickly go to Google Maps to create a pin at that location, so I can find it again later. There are many moreadvantagesto this method, you immediately see how busy it is and whether it looks nice.
You can also see whether there is room to park the car, as Google Maps distorts some places. Finally, you are already familiar with the place, which makes a difference during the photoshoot!
3. Social Media
I think the third way to find locations is probablybetter than Google Mapsbecause there are many options via social media. OnInstagram, many photographers take beautiful photos, and often the location (city/village) is named above it.
You can then ask the photographer if he would like toshare the locationwith you, they often do not find this a problem. If the photographer does not want to share the location, you can do two things: you leave it as it is, or youdo your research.
I prefer the latter option, Google Chrome provides a handy tool for searching using images. If youright-clicknext to the image you will get a menu. Then you can click on ‘Search images with Google‘. This way you can select the photo and search.
Using this trick, I managed to find many locations where I later held photoshoots. A really useful tip!
Conclusion
In short, there aremany optionsto find good car photoshoot locations. Look for locations that suit the car, choose a track for a sports car and a forest for an SUV.
Aquiet locationis always desirable. This way you can take all the time to take beautiful photos of cars. Quite contradictory, I advise you to look for locations in the big cities. There are also quiet places to be found there.
You can search for locations onGoogle Maps, but driving around in real life is a better option. This way you will find all the great locations for car photography. Looking for locations onsocial mediais also an option, there are plenty of useful tricks.
Make sure to not always use a polarizing filter, but turn it around until you get a likable look.
Don’t forget toshare this articlewith fellow photographers, so we can all help each other and become a little better, thank you!
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Who is Sebastiaan?
Hi! I am Sebastiaan, the writer of this blog. With years of experience as a professional photographer, I want to share my expertise with you. From recommending cameras and lenses to giving tips that make a world of difference, that’s what I enjoy doing most.
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