Larry Lefever Photography

Audi

… unless you have to light it! If you throw light on red, it’ll become a brighter shade of red. Same with any other color in the spectrum. The color will become brighter. And then there’s black. Throw more light on black (Shiny black, that is) and it’s … well, black. So, to bring out any sense of a cars shape you have to photograph reflections, either the sky or your light source. This is why giant 20′ overhead light boxes are often used in car photography. My goal is to replicate that effect by painting the sheet metal with my small 8″x24″ strip light. In theory, keeping the light moving, in total darkness, during a long exposure will create the same smooth, shapely highlights. To say the least, it’s a challenge. The light needs to move smoothly, at a constant distance from the surface or the result will be uneven. It’s also difficult to know exactly where your placing the highlights. All of this complaining aside … I like cars and trucks and love photographing them, so I’ll keep borrowing black cars, like this beauty, to practice on until I get it right.