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Prior to auction, we were asked by FCD to come and capture the iconic trio of Jaguars before the XK120 and XK140 left for auction. The shoot took us roughly 2 hours to capture both photos with 3 hours of editing. Since going live with the photos we have been asked by many people how we achieved these iconic images. In this blog we will break down how we came up with the hero image.
Staging the shot
Due to how many cars we were photographing at once we couldn't do them all inside like we normally would. Waiting for a dry, clear night we positioned all three cars outside with the 120 and 140 taking the most prominent positions upfront and the 150 in the rear. Since we already have this in our cataloge it wasn't the main subject. Using a modelling light each car took 3-4 passes to light up.
We were originally going to keep the jags in this frame, but after much consideration decided it didn't suit the cars and chose to composite a new background.
Editing
After a bit of tinkering with the light layers we came up with this finish which we used a mask to cut free of the background.
We then built the background. Using a custom stock floor we created, we laid the pattern to match the perspective and colour toned it with shadows and highlights to blend the floor.
With the cars back in scene, they look like they're "floating".
To combat this we made custom shadows which now match the light source.
This looks great.. but could it be better? All three cars have their lights on but there is no reflection on the floor. Using a reference shot, we can see how the lights interact with the floor.
Because the floor has a different texture to our destination, blending the two will be quite difficult so what do you do? Make them! Using this image as reference we built the reflections onto our image, cutting the shadows and making new cross section shadows and highlights.
With a few final touches we were left with...
We always aim for the best result in camera, but when it is required our Photoshop mastery comes into play allowing us to create the perfect digital image.
Are you in need of digital photography for your business? Call the team on 01202 287088