Elliot’s Automotive Photography Top Tips

We all love a good car picture every once in a while, especially when the picture in question is of our own vehicle. The problem is there’s only so far you can go with a phone camera and hiring a photographer for a private shoot can prove horrendously expensive.

But despite this, there are still a few ways you can improve your imagery without needing a Photography Degree. So we asked our own photographer Elliot what his advise would be to those looking to up their game!


1. The Camera Isn’t Everything

When it comes to taking photos of anything, having the latest and most expensive camera doesn’t necessarily mean you will be taking the best photos, having different camera equipment can open up the doors to differences in image effects such as bokeh (the quality of the out-of-focus parts of an image) and depth of field (distance range of the objects in focus) but with just a small amount of artistic prowess, you can take awesome automotive photos with just a phone. 

Learning how your instrument of choice works is the best way to take the best images. Most phones will even allow you to put the camera into a manual mode, allowing you to have greater control over the exposure (amount of light), colour balance (colour intensity), focal point (the point of interest in an image) and shutter speed of an image (amount of time the camera shutter is open). So be it with your phone, DSLR or a mirrorless camera, learning how all the different variables can tweak how an image comes out is, to me, by far the most important tip when it comes to taking any good photo. If you know how your equipment works, you can optimise a situation to create the best photo possible; by utilising the strengths of your equipment.

2. Composition

My second tip is to play with the composition of your images (essentially what your picture consists of). I find having something filling the negative space in the foreground of an image with a focal point in the back works for me. But it may not for you. Playing with portrait or landscape images are great and you can really alter the overall aesthetic of an image with this simple conversion.

3. Experiment

Like with all art, photography and automotive photography is subjective. You may like images that others don’t so stick to your guns and don’t let other peoples’ opinions put you off. I find a great source of inspiration is platforms like Instagram. Using them as a way to source new automotive image inspiration, I (or indeed you in this case) can then work out how to utilise those styles in my own work. There is no definitive right or wrong way to take a good photo of a car, so just experiment. 

Spend 10 minutes having a mini photoshoot with your vehicle, and just try everything you can think of. Different angles, different compositions, different exposures and filters etc. Try everything and see what works for you. At the end of the day, if you’re happy with the images that is what counts most!


If you want to be the beneficiary of Elliot’s photography skills, then come join us on our second Photoshoot event on 13th September. Get some 1-on-1 time with a professional photographer and come away with a set of stunning photos of your pride and joy against some fantastic backdrops. Details and tickets are available here

(PS, all the above pictures were taken by him!)