How I Made a Career Out Of Car Photography (and you can too)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 มิ.ย. 2024
- Car photography has been a passion of mine for the last 12 years. When I was able to turn it into something profitable, it was a dream come true. Today I want to share with you what I did, and what I learned. From shooting R35 GT-Rs to Scion FRS, I've gotten to shoot pretty much every make and model.
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TIMESTAMPS
What it’s like when you start taking photos 0:00
This is what we’re covering 0:32
My credentials 0:50
The #1 rule and some tips 1:13
Going out and location scouting 3:52
What gear do I use? 4:29
Let's take some pictures 6:02
How I edit my photos 7:19
The most important part 14:33
#photography #photoediting #cars - เกม
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I’m a car and portrait photographer and I’ve been at this for several years. This video is honestly great and you and I seem to have started out the same. I had some older photographers give me the line “never work for free” and yeah that’s great in theory, but that’s also a great way to instantly ruin your reputation if you charge people way too much for work that’s not good. Really I think the best way to think of it is “don’t let yourself be taken advantage of” - build your portfolio, experiment, learn soft skills and how communicate like a business person. You’ll know when you’re ready for the next steps. It’s a great job to have and I love every day that I get to wake up and take photos. Good stuff, man 👍
EXACTLY! You nailed it completely. There’s a fine line and you just have to use your best judgement
im looking into doing photography and videos but do you do it full time or on the side? if full time are you able to make enough to cover all your needs? and do you only do cars?
I remember you taking pics of my brothers ford Taurus show a long long time ago, I love seeing how successful you have become doing what you love!!
That’s awesome! Thank you so much, appreciate you watching and commenting 🙌🏻
I’m at the stage where I’m now comfortable charging a decent amount for shoots, been shooting cars for about 4 years now and recently upgraded to an A7IV and got my first few exotic car shoots. Great video man keep up the good work! Also for anyone reading, go to every single cars and coffee event you can, those are the best places to meet high profile clients
Photography has always been so intimidating to me. There are so many elements to it. It's such a new artform that has been progressing at an absurd speed, yet the artistic expression of it is obscured by the fact that people don't usually know or recognize the artist, like the sound engineer on a record. Please make more of these type of videos to lift the veil for us newbies.
it is incredibly difficult to establish a unique signature style when it comes to photography. Alot of the artform has become algorithmic to certain extents.. Perhaps as the tech advances, it will become easier to craft different and unique styles unrelated to subject matter.
I started Photography a little over a year and a half ago after I joined the Fitment Industries team. I always go back and look at old photos and see where I can improve. Weather that be camera settings or in editing. I've come so far in that year.
Some good value in this! Love the realistic approach to how the process works. And the photo edits were good, simple, but way better than over editing. Loved this video man. Well done!
Thank you so much! Appreciate the feedback a ton 👏🏻
Love this video. I started doing photography in October. Obviously I'm not that great right now and still got a lot to learn but I go to the cars and coffee meets with my friends and they've taught me some. Videos like this are always super helpful. I haven't messed with editing yet, I really need to try that. The photos you took look sweet.
So glad you liked the video! I don’t think you ever stop learning with photography. Best advice is to just keep going. Glad you started and hope you really enjoy it!
I literally just bought my first real camera yesterday so this is epic.
YO! I’m so excited for your journey! Picking up my first camera changed my life. Hope you enjoy it!
This is inspirational and honest... You've done a lot of stuff I just hate... Yelling and being generally obnoxious. This is some stand up redemption. To me you're absolutely at your best when you bare your soul and show who you are and how you got here. I'd watch this sort of content endlessly.
You got my sub with that tube TV in the background
Love me some retro games. Thanks for the sub!
This is a amazing video, I’ve been wanting to get into photography myself and I even bought a camera to do so. Just didn’t know what or how to start. This really gave me hope and motivation to just go for it. Thank you!!
So happy to hear that. You got this! Get out there and start taking photos 🙌🏻
Great video, Dakota. Was thinking of picking up that 85mm G master myself. More videos like this. It's great to see your editing walk through. I learned a lot from that.
Thank you for this comment!! Man it gets me so excited when you guys enjoy content I’m so passionate about. I’d love to make videos of photoshoots I do and break them down
@DakotaStone as an amateur photographer and quite new to the car scene/community, I'd love for some more insight on how you do your fotography and editing. I also find it easier to under expose😆
soooo many pictures and practice! You have been doing photography for a hobby for a very long time and I have always loved your photos!
Thanks Jordan! 🙌🏻
Please do a in depth video on how u set up your camera I’m new to photography and got a Nikon z50 it’s pretty great but I have a hard time setting it up FOR CARS in manual !thank you!! Loving the content !!
I’d love to make a video like this!
I would love to see a video that's more in depth on the different setting for a camera, I've always wanted to get into car photography, but haven't had the knowledge of where to start and what all to mess with before picking up a camera
I could definitely do that! It can be tricky starting out. The biggest thing is so get out and learn. Don’t be afraid to fail. I’ve gotten to this point by learning from where I failed. You got this! Hopefully I can make some more photography videos to help out
I had my first photo shoot last weekend. It was so much fun! Utah winters make for amazing backdrops. Keep the great content coming!
Utah is BEAUTIFUL! I used to visit there every year. Congratulations on your first shoot, keep it up!
Awesome sauce man! I’m taking a photography class in college rn. It’s cool to hear another perspective! and I’d even recommend using the brush mask for like maybe a headlight or a tail light if u don’t want the whole car to be quite so sharp. But overall love the editing process!
a D minus in digital photography? ....my kind of guy ...subscribing
🫡 🤝
Thanks for the subscribe
What I learned is that more noise appears when you brighten it up in post compared to while your there so in my opinion i would go ahead if I need to is to raise the iso and then in post I can darken it if i have to because less noise will appear and after all in post you can do noise reduction to get rid of some noise but when you do that make sure you don't over do it because it will get rid of the texture.
Love this video my dude, would love to see more on your channel!
Appreciate the support! Thank you!
GREAT JOB! Thank you so much.
Awesome video, lots of good information! 🔥
I am using the same camera and lens, it's an incredible setup!! Love shooting supercars and hypercars with it 😊 Nice video on car photography!
Common W Dakota Upload! Commenting before I watch the video, don't have the chance to watch atm, but sooooo glad you are making more photography content! Excited to watch this when I can! Much love!
I appreciate you ❤️
@Dakota Stone I just finished the video and loved it! Makes me want to go out and get back on the grind of photography! I haven't been able to for mo ths because how busy I have gotten, but man you scratched my itch lol. I look forward to the day I can score a paid shoot, thanks a bunch for making this video!
Love this video. Great insight. Keep it up man 😎🤙
Thank you so much Andrew!
Just found this video but I absolutely love it, been doing photography for about 7 years but car photography seriously in the past 3 years. The saying is outdone but practice makes perfect, it'll come naturally as your own style. Recently one of my jobs was as easy as going to a show I was going to anyway and taking pics for the customer and the show then edit (was gonna end up doing anyway) and then bam you got a decent profit. Don't sell yourself short and have confidence!
i started off shooting cars and watching portrait tutorials and apply that to car photography it works then came motorsports which i apply portrait landscape and well motorsports(panning ) all combine to tell a story in an album and for the first year i told myself shoot in all type of light and when i understand it fully then started to charge, then inbetween each shot i will do random shots at different aperture numbers and save that to practice in phot shop and lightroom for color grading and composting edits
Thanks for making valuable content like this!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Forgot how i ended up here, but glad I did. Keep up the amazing content!
Wicked video man, I've taken thousands upon thousands of pics of my cars (as we do lol), just got some shopping, ooh that looks nice in the car park with the shop logo all lit up and people with trolleys walking about. Just finished a good gym sesh, oooh baby she looks good under the tree with the pothole ridden ground.
Seriously though, I never even thought about giving a bit more flair to the photos I take than a simple filter and faff around with that a touch. Given me a bit of inspiration there mate, thanks!
Awesome comment and happy to hear you’re having a blast taking photos. If I inspired someone that is one of the best compliments I could receive so thank you!
🔥 thanks for the info. This is gonna help alot.🔥
Really enjoying the content!
Thank you! Lovin your name!
This video deserves a subscribe. 😊
Okay, but the turning of the filter to get that cool wave effect on the supra was siiiick lol
hahaha, the intro was great. ALSO, great to see you with that sexy AE-1, maybe some film car photography is in our futures
YOOO! Thank you for watching! You’re an inspiration to my film photography 100%. I’d love to collab anytime! 💕
Great content Dakota!
Thank you Ryan! 🙏🏻
Little late to the comment party, but great video. I am more on the fence with photography, I end up taking more photos not really of cars, but other things. I do have a DSLR (older kinda budget Canon Eos I picked up some time ago) but need to pick more lenses and practice. Only problem with cars is then I’d have to go to meets and actually talk to people. 🙃
I don’t exactly share sentiment of many things with most people (generally) in my area, so bit of a lack of motivation (do know some. Everyone in my town seems like they’re into cars, even the older lady neighbors on my street are because they’ll stop and chat with me when I’m cleaning my very not muscle car in the driveway).
Don’t feel you NEED to take photos of anything! Take photos of what you enjoy. Sounds like you’re on the right path. Never stop creating!
I only take pictures if it’s ultimately weird or rare when it comes to cars (California is great for that). Most of what I end up taking are scenery or architecture, but it’s all experience and practice! Fortunately phones like Pixels and iPhones also take decent photos for being as convenient as they are, so I usually end up using those. I mostly use free applications like GIMP for editing, since I don’t do it often. Maybe I’ll get to a show this year to practice.
Some of my favorite photos have been the ones you shot of the Grom!
I remember that shoot vividly! Thanks so much man!
As a content creator the first 28 seconds of this video is the most relatable shit I've ever heard in my life
😂😂😂😂
As always another great video! I forwarded it out to a couple people I know who are either into or are getting into photography. That being said I'll be "that guy". How old is that TV? 😆😆😆. Sry, had to do it. Love ya man. See you in the next vid.
Thanks Daniel! That tv is pretty old, specifically because that’s my retro game corner! That’s where I play SNES, N64, GameCube, PS2, etc! They look so much better on an older TV and you can find these suckers for free nowadays!
OH SHIT, we're getting a photo vlog in this episode too?? lets gooooooo
I tried to jam pack as much as I could into this episode!
Great video dude! got any recommendations on good camera's to start with? I've been trying with my phone for awhile but would like to try out some better quality stuff.
Thank you! I started with a Nikon D3100. I'd recommend any entry level DSLR or mirrorless camera that has interchangeable lenses. I use a Sony A7iii now and love it. Would 100% recommend that but I know it can be a bit pricey. Look up some reviews, go to some camera stores and hold some, nowadays pretty much any of the big brands are going to have a solid entry level camera.
The amount you charge can also be a good high level way to control the amount of work you're getting on a weekly or monthly basis. Like you said, when you're starting out you don't charge or charge very little because you're trying to build up your potential pool of clients, but if you're good, you'll eventually starting getting to the point of becoming too busy and upping your rates as you go can help keep your workload exactly where you want it. This actually can apply to a lot of businesses.
100% great advice
Dakota can you do a video like this with a nighttime setting, I really want to see how you take and edit photos during night time.
Yes! I love shooting at nighttime and it can be a bit challenging. Great idea!
I made a habit outta only taking the lens off with the camera facing down so stuff won’t fall in it
Can we just take the time to appreciate the fact you don't go crazy with dutch angles?
OH I WENT THROUGH THAT PHASE! Hahahaha
@@DakotaStone everyone does. Not everyone makes it past that phase.
you should do a video on how to charge for the photoshoots depending on your level
I like this idea! Because this was one of the things i struggled to figure out most as well
@@DakotaStoneThanks for the reponse, I am having issues charging people, I started making reels with my phone on a gimball and people liked my editing skills, I now moved into a Canon M50 markii and people are asking me, how much I charge and know what to answer 😅
Eyyy High cliff state park is a cool place for pictures, Hev you ever been to calumet county park by stock bridge?
I have never been!
Would love to see a video explaining settings on Canon cameras!! 📷 🤔
I’ve only ever shot my AE-1 from Canon. I’ve never shot a digital Canon camera!
can we talk about that carpet on the pole behind you there....
Lmao please help me make it better
Hey u mentioned that u underexpose. Y how much. ? And do u still underexpose when using a CPL since that will take it down somewhat ? Thanks
I'm fat ...and I have a beard. I think I was born for this.
You have 90% of what’s needed. The camera is the least important step
I want to start car photography what is a good budget camera?
Im Here!
THANKS FOR BEING HERE! 🙏🏻
Aye thanks mane
Dude is that a Supra 😅 Great Video
BMW if you ask 90% of the community!
@@DakotaStone 😒 I mean technically they are right. It is 90% bmw 10% Toyota still a beast of a car!
Ahhh couldn’t quite tell at first cause it was just a quick flash but is that a black canon ae-1?? I myself have a canon ae-1 program with a autowinder! It was my first 35mm film camera and I got it for a steal compared to what people charge for em now 😂
Yes, it’s an AE-1! My first Canon camera actually. Bought it a few years ago and I was so impressed with its photos
@@DakotaStone Nice!! Surprised I spotted it 😂😂 My first Canon was a T6, now I’ve got an 80D along with 19 film cameras 💀 (I wish I was exaggerating)
"ill barely even edit the photos" Dead
Tbh it was one of my biggest pet peeves when I’d take photos for someone and they’d go and put 5 IG filters on it haha.
Hey! Do you know any cheap cameras I could buy? Don't have a lot of money right now:(
I have a VR6 Jetta too. Mines silver, I love this car! One of the best sounding cars. What do you think of yours?
I love it! Has been my daily for the last two years. It sounds FANTASTIC
@@DakotaStone So I’m running stock cat to a resonator delete with a magna flow muffler. What are you running?
Ive done some photoshoots with my phone. But It seems like I might need to take it more seriously lol
Hey, no shame starting with your phone. However if you’re going to start doing photoshoots with others or for people I would 100% recommend getting an actual camera
@@DakotaStone I appreciate the advice. I definetly need to start looking into getting one because photography seems fun
Before I type my feedback/thoughts on the video, can anyone tell me what a "shoot" should consist of? Like I understand we probably create our own packages like 25 unique photos for x amount or w.e but is there any rule of thumb? I'm still very early on in my research for this stuff so before I get to googling and furthering my research I'm asking here in case a fellow commenter has an answer they'd like to share.
This was actually really really dope. As dumb as it sounds, I never thought to go to my neighbors who have dope cars and ask them if they wanted me to take a shoot of them and their car. I had it planned to contact dealerships who may have poor photos of their inventory, etc. on their websites and offering them services but never thought to approach my neighbors. Possibly because my neighborhood is sus but we gotta do what we gotta do if we want to make a name for ourselves lol. Really solid information in here, and big thanks for sharing the camera/lenses that you use along with the software and editing tips.
used the first song in a video edit recently 🤣
Ayyy good taste 😅
Should I buy a GoPro Hero 11 for car photography or should I look for a camera?
GoPro is great for doing some video, but I wouldn’t recommend it as a dedicated photography camera. An iPhone is better for photos than a GoPro. Definitely get a camera!
Finna make presets that I can use that reverse engineer all the insta filters so they look like shit if you add it ontop
FIRSTTTT
Thanks for being here!
Man can I ask something? So I am thinking of choosing my career as a automotive photographer as I am into car since I was 9. Now I am 17 and got my high school diploma. I am applying a photography college in the US. But the thing is I am not sure whether I should go to college just for photography because you can practice it on your own right? However I really need to leave my country since there's been political problems and some shits. That's the reason why I need to leave my country and study abroad. Plus, I am from Asia... Hopefully you know what I was trying to say and sorry if my English was bad lol! Just need some advices from ya!
I think going to school for something can be very beneficial and I won’t tell you not to do it. I will say that I am 100% self taught and was able to do paid shoots and find a career in media without going to school for it. Everyone learns in different ways so take the path that is best for you! Follow what you love. Figure out what inspires you most and chase that. I hope nothing but the best for you and hope you can take photography to the next level!
@@DakotaStone Thanks for answering and your advice man!
Yooo fellow photographer with my name
I'm a car photographer, and I can't find anyone to do a photoshoot for free, and it's impossible to find someone who wants to pay for my pictures. I have a good camera and good equipment and I have great pictures and I can't even get 100 likes on Instagram and it's been going on for years no matter what I try and nothing
0 career advice. You just walked us through your process or a day in the life. You didn't say how to get access to cars. You didn't talk rates and how to price your time. You didn't say how to communicate with clients. You didn't say anything about how to advertise your services and where.
It’s one short video, I wanted to provide some tips for someone just starting out. Could definitely make a part 2 and start to get more in depth. Thanks for watching.
Hi! I am looking in to photography too :) and I am always wondering about these photoshop things. Let me understand better the photography importance if we still use photoshop on those pics? I mean the biggest pros is still using photoshop, but I can't find an answer about it 🥲
Adobe software like PS or Lightroom are perhaps the best way to polish photos (e.g. for more professional or outstanding results). Editing also allows you to add your own language to the photos and produce them with a unique style that is like a trademark (not as a beginner, but eventually and with practise!)
However, editing is definitely not a necessity as your photography skills will tell their own language, which will still be different from everyone else's (if you work hard at it!)
Personally I think you need to ace the raw photo in the first instance (get the best angles/perspective, exposure settings etc.) and that although that in itself is a success, you can take your work so much further if you edit them afterwards!!
The key is balance; you don't want to over-edit as that eats into the photograph itself and deflates the natural beauty of the subject. Adding subtle tweaks using lighting or colour techniques can enhance the subject to bring your work to a whole new level of incredible!!
Give it a go! But also know that you don't need PS or lightroom to be a good photographer 😊