Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/11 ISO 200 1/100th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-right

Cadillac CTS with Model Tampa Commercial Car Photography Part 1

This second set of photographs featuring model Amber and a Cadillac CTS photographed in front of the Tampa Convention Center feature some of the images chosen by the client (part 1 featured my initial favorites from the shoot). It is always interesting to me to see which photographs the client chooses as compared to the ones I chose. This time, only one photograph of the client's ten purchased images overlapped with one of my top three. We were close on a second, with the client choosing just a slightly different pose than the one I did. Too bad about that too because I had already done the major edit (removing several background buildings) on the pose I chose!

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS Setup: f/10 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame center-rightAll that said, the three featured client choices in this post are now also in my favorites as well. I believe it is really important to get one or more sets of eyes on all the photographs from a shoot in order to really discover all the best ones. If the client had not chosen these, I may never have bothered to give any of them a full edit and thus they would have never made it onto my site or into my portfolio.

The idea to have Amber look at her watch as if she were bored or waiting impatiently on someone was my own. The client had told me at the beginning of the shoot that he wanted an element of the unattainable, of something hard to maintain, hard to keep. So I thought if you want to have a beautiful woman and a cool car, you better arrive on time, at the very least!

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS Setup: f/11 ISO 200 1/100th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-rightThis was a great project to work on as the client provided me with a clear vision for the photographs while at the same time letting me put my own creative touch on the setup of the shots. Plus, add in a model who can pose gracefully on the hood of a car (not easy!). That equals pretty much the ideal situation.

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left, SB-600 @ 1/2 power to frame center-right

Cadillac CTS with Model Tampa Commercial Car Photography Part 2

I returned to the Tampa Convention Center for another commercial car photography shoot, this time though, with the added bonus of having a great model, Amber (her website). I was really excited about this project when contacted by the client and am very pleased with the resulting photographs. I have photographed cars before, and models too, but never a car & model together, thus the extra enthusiasm for this particular Tampa shoot.

I used my typical two speedlight strobist setup for all the shots. I mostly used the setting sun as a third, backlight source (see highlights on Amber's hair). To setup the shots I first directed the client where and how to park his Cadillac CTS. Then I showed Amber what type of pose I would like for the shot. Next I setup my speedlights around her. After this much setup the shooting part is easy, especially since Amber did her job very well. All this allowed me to put into a photograph what I first envisioned in my mind.

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/9 ISO 200 1/200th strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame left SB-600 at 1/2 power to frame back-rightI do not normally use my speedlights at 1/2 power, which is a lot, but the sun was really strong so using 1/2 power created the amount of fill light I wanted. I also purposefully tried to create some lens flare in shots, as seen in the above photo. I also wanted to make sure to leave some color in the sky and not have it just washed out white. The Tampa Convention Center can be seen in the background.

Model: Amber Car: Cadillac CTS setup: f/8 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/4 power to frame left SB-600 @ 1/4 power to frame rightI really like Amber's pose in the above shot. It was not easy for her to do so either while balancing on the front fender of the Cadillac CTS. I set my speedlights to only 1/4 power this time because I did not have to over power the sun to light Amber how I wanted to. Thanks again to the client and Amber for a very smooth, very effortless car & model shoot.