Photographing Cars

CARS WANTED!

Cars Wanted for October 7th Event

Milford Photo recently hosted two exciting car photography events. We held daytime event featuring cool classic cars and had a parking lot filled with JDM stunners under creative lighting at night.

Our staffers put together their tips for capturing the beauty and power of automobiles. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting your journey in car photography, read on to discover techniques and insights to elevate your craft.

PHU NGUYEN

Master your aperture for optimal lighting. Use a lens with a low aperture, like f/1.8 or f/2.8. This lets in plenty of light, which is crucial for sharp, high-quality images, without having to crank up your ISO and introduce unwanted noise.

Frame creatively. Focusing on specific details, like the rear of the car and the wheels, can create a powerful and artistic impression.

Explore different perspectives. Get creative with a variety of angles. Shoot from low to the ground for a dramatic, unique view of the vehicle.

Don't forget the interior. The inside of a car can tell just as compelling a story as the outside. Capture interior shots to add dimension and perspective.

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JOE HOWARD

Transform a scene using long exposure. Capture the blur of moving people and vehicles while rendering a motionless subject in sharp detail. A sturdy tripod is necessary to keep your camera perfectly still and a neutral density filter acts like sunglasses for your camera, reducing the amount of light that hits the sensor. This allows you to use a much slower shutter speed even in bright conditions.

Introduce vibrant colors and dynamic effects. Portable, battery-powered ProMaster Chroma Tube Lights offer a full spectrum of color and brightness control, allowing photographers to paint light onto the car's body, rims, or interior. By "light painting" with a tube light during a long exposure, you can create streaks of color, highlight specific lines of the vehicle, or project a soft, colorful glow to change the mood of the shot.

Use a circular polarizer filter for daytime shots. Circular polarizer filters remove glare and reflections from water, glass, and other non-metallic surfaces; colors appear more saturated with better contrast. CPLs help you capture clear, sharp images without affecting color balance.

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ANDREW THOMPSON

Film is a particular thing. It’s something that demands certain conditions be met for the images to come out well. Digital has a cushion when it comes to that; you can figure out the proper conditions by taking pictures, seeing what needs to be changed, and tweaking setting until the conditions are met. There’s less leeway when using film in comparison. Add onto that a flash and now the margin between perfect exposure and abysmal exposure is fine. Keeping the flash’s settings is a game of dependents. The strength of the flash is determined by the ASA (film speed), which is then made manageable by the aperture and distance from the subject. Get too close or have your aperture open too much and the image is overexposed. Vice versa and it’s underexposed. Curtain shutter cameras like the Nikon F2 (which was the camera I used) can only go 1/60th of a second with the flash, as any faster speeds would open and close before the flash properly lights the subject. I like using low ASA film when using the flash because you can exploit the stock’s low grain and high resolution while it’s dark for sharp images.

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JESSE THOMPSON

I'd say less is usually more when it comes to photographing collectable or the more dynamic race/performance cars. Usually they have great extremes you can highlight that and get across the essence of the thing. Bring your telephoto so you can shoot tight. While static displays are often lit for dramatic affect your range of motion and background options are limited, again this favors shooting tight and looking for the most dramatic part of the vehicle.

Jaguar Formula E Hypercar in the paddock Brooklawns Raceway Weybridge England. I liked the contrast between the old school barn and ultra-modern racecar. I was lucky with the light: I think the car is lit by reflective light from the gravel in the foreground and seems to glow in the barn. 100mm Olympus E-M1X

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Mercedes 2007 MP4/22 V8 F1 at Mercedes World Weybridge England. Shot low to mimic a rear view vision and emphasize the metal sheeting that's on the outside of the building I thought looked like a garage door at a paddock. 150mm gives a tight compression between the tire, cockpit, and wing. Same camera.

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2005 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport at Newport Car Museum. again with the low angle and severe crop to eliminate the clutter of the rest of the room. Overhead lighting is custom made for a vehicle and looks great- often the best part of shooting in a museum. 80mm Fujifilm GFX100

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1997 Ferrari F310 V10 F1 These two images were made with a cell phone and illustrate the challenge and opportunity of window light. The first frame was made a couple of weeks before we went back and made the second. The first frame is backlit as I shot into the windows and the color and detail is muted; the second frame was a sunny day where the light just danced across the flaming Ferrari red and I had the person who took our picture stand with her back against the windows. Try to keep the windows out of your frame whenever possible and shoot with them at your back. iPhone 16

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photos by Jesse Thompson

Cars, Cameras, & Coffee

Milford Photo brought together an impressive array of automobiles right here in our parking lot for our community of photographers to capture!

☕ Café Atlantique provided locally roasted, freshly brewed coffee for attendees.

Date: Sunday, June 1, 2025

Location: Milford Photo, 22 River Street, Milford, CT 06460

This event welcomed digital and film photographers of all levels. It was a great opportunity to hone photography skills, diversify portfolios, and enjoy a day of photography with fellow enthusiasts.

Stay tuned for more online and in-person educational and portfolio-building events with Milford Photo.