BTS – Car Studio Photoshoot

July 9, 2021

lotus emira shot in studio and composite image

Behind the scenes: Lotus Emira

June 2021

Calvert Studios, Leighton Buzzard

Duration: 4 hours
People: 4
Post Production: Alex Lawrence
Client: Petrolicious

Photographing in a studio is something that I really enjoy doing. This shoot was particularly enjoyable becuase it was an open brief. I pitched the idea as to how I would like to shoot it and I knew it would be a little different to most.

Usually when a new car goes to a studio, everything on it needs to be lit. All the angles, details, interior, scoops, vents, the lot. It is a big undertaking. The images you see will be provided to media outlets, sales and marketing, PR and social teams. A lot of the time they will be multiple frames that make up a single image.

I wanted to be different. I had a range of backgrounds that I had already chosen to use in post and so the main thing was to light the car accordingly. This post is to give you a glimpse of what I did.

Blank canvas

The Calvert studio LED softbox is a superb system. It allows you to control the full spectrum of colours, split them across the width and depth of the box and it really helped speed up my post production by being so adaptable.

LED lights in action

Watch the video to see how flexible the Calvert LED system is for yourself.

Calvert studios number 1 with Rotolight Titan lighting

Rotolight Titan system

Supporting the main lightbox source is the Rotolight Titan system. Total control in colour, saturation and power meant that we could quickly change the setup.

rotolight titan input system

Control

As you can see, the input system is intuitive and so much quicker than gels and filters that I’ve used on location previously. Great for both stills and video production.

lotus emira in the studio with some ladders
lotus emira in a smoky neon background

Little legs

Towering above the world at the giddy height of 5′ 7″ means I needed both ladders and the gantry around the studio ceiling for some alternate angles. The backplates and thinking meant that I needed to use similar angles to blend the two.

A little tip is always note down settings, angles, light direction when doing this to give you the best chance of a better end result. 

On this shoot I did all my own post production but it goes without saying that none of the visions can be created solely on your own. The lighting tech support at Calvert, the Lotus tech in moving the car, the PR at Lotus organsing the studio and the client for their belief, all make for a great team effort.

Lotus Emira

Last of the ICE age

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I will be posting more behind the scenes, hints and tips but if you have some time to waste, feel free to go through some old posts. If you like this, subscribe below and I’ll make sure that I let you know when there’s something new to come back and see!

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“Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”’

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