From Landscape to Horsepower
Why I Began Photographing Cars
You might be curious about why I'm sharing this blog or why I've started photographing cars.
I'm here to explain.
When I go out to capture landscapes, I look for specific weather conditions. I love the beautiful colors and pretty scenery, but the weather isn't always ideal. When I'm not taking photos, I'm usually working at my full-time job or selling my prints at markets.
One Friday afternoon, I was discussing with my husband the idea of trying something new, so I could enjoy being behind the camera again without the pressure of selling my prints.
Don't get me wrong, I love selling my photography and seeing people connect with my work. However, when most of your time is spent working and weekends are dedicated to selling your prints, you start to lose sight of why you started.
So, I decided to explore photographing a different subject. You might wonder why I didn't choose weddings, families, or babies. I'm not interested in those areas. I've tried a few, and while I've received positive feedback, I'm not satisfied with it. I don't feel comfortable, I don't think the work is that good, and I honestly don't enjoy it.
Returning to the topic of horsepower, I decided to focus on photographing cars. It was my first attempt, learning angles from my husband, and I have to admit I really enjoyed it. I felt a bit out of my comfort zone, but that's how you learn.
I used my 6D Mark II camera with a 50mm prime lens for the equipment.
For all the photos, I set the aperture to F1.8 to maximize background blur. This was a learning experience for me, as I wanted to focus primarily on the cars, which were close together, rather than the scenery. I believed this was the best approach.
I had a clear vision of how I wanted to photograph the cars, and the images turned out exactly as I imagined.
The editing process was particularly interesting for me. I don't usually do extensive editing, so this was also a learning experience. My goal was to highlight the details of the cars, not the background or scenery, so I used a lot of masking to minimize the background. I didn't remove anything from the photos; instead, I adjusted the exposure and lighting in the background to make the cars stand out more.
I'll let you choose if you think they look good or not, not everyone will like it, but at the end of the day, for my first attempt I loved how they turned out and really enjoyed the day.
I've created a seperate Instagram handle if your interested in following my journey @carscollective.nikki
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