The trend among consumers today is to do their product research online before making any purchasing decision, and purchasing a car is no exception. A study shows that 59% of car consumers spend time online researching, and 64% of shoppers compare different models.
The most efficient way for brands and dealerships to attract customers is by using eye-catching automobile images. For that, one must hire a professional automotive photographer who can provide jaw-dropping vehicle images that will help boost sales.
Read on to learn about some of the expert vehicle photographers you can hire for your upcoming photoshoot.
What you’ll learn in this article
What does an automotive photographer do?
Car brands, dealerships, magazines, repair shops, and even ordinary people use automobile images for various purposes. For instance, promoting recently released vehicle models, showcasing cars in stock, advertising special offers on multiple models, demonstrating the quality of service, selling used cars, and many more.
Consequently, an automobile photographer is someone who contributes significantly to creating beautiful images of vehicles using their knowledge and creativity to serve all of these purposes.
I’m sure many of you are wondering,
What exactly are an automotive photographer’s duties?
You can get a better understanding of their responsibilities from the following list.
- Capturing promotional images for website, brochures, flyers, and other advertising materials
- Taking promotional photos of vehicles for dealerships
- Photographing new vehicles at auto shows or other advertising events
- Choosing the proper lighting and background for various photography projects
- Capturing test drive photos of new cars to make sure they meet company standards
- Image editing to transform vehicles into clients’ dream cars
- Shooting vehicles in different venues like on a highway, mountain roads, race tracks, etc. to show the strength and versatility of the vehicles
- Taking pictures of used cars to display their current state
- Photographing various car components from the inside to the outside in order to capture even the smallest details
- Capturing car servicing and repairing shots
- Photo documentation of vehicle damage following a collision
Top10 Automotive Photographers to Hire
A qualified automobile photographer should be able to handle all aspects of photography, including lighting setup, framing, designing compositions, selecting locations, photo editing, and other tasks. Thus, comparing your options will help you find the best car photographer because not all photographers are experts in every type of photography used in this industry.
The following is a list of some of the top-rated photographers in the USA that we have put together:
1. Jeremy Cliff Automotive Photography
Jeremy Cliff is a Chicago-based automobile photographer. His love and passion for capturing cars in the best achievable style have made him one of the best well-known car photographers you can name. He has worked with most of the well-known world-renowned brands, including Audi, Nissan, Chevrolet, Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, and many more.
He is an expert at filming in any setting you can think of, including studios, highways, and exotic locations. Besides, he provides manipulated images such as white backgrounds, dark backgrounds, or colorful themes.
2. Michael Furman
Michael Furman is a Pennsylvania-based vehicle photographer. He offers his services from his car photography studio in Philadelphia. He has been photographing automobiles for 35 years and has developed a style that emphasizes the motivations, ideas, and social and political context of the designers and engineers who created the vehicles.
He is a prolific author of books on automobiles and a frequent guest lecturer at professional conferences and art schools across the country. The International Historic Motoring Awards, American Photographer, Automobile Quarterly, Automobile Magazine, Auto Aficionado, and Communication Arts and PhotoGraphis have also recognized him.
3. John Zhang
John Zhang is a Los Angeles-based commercial and editorial vehicle photographer, photo retoucher, and automobile enthusiast. He also goes by the name 1013MM. He loves to travel and experiment with different locations for the shoot. His composition shows his skills in capturing motion and making the vehicles look fascinating.
His extensive client list includes companies like BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Vossen, SpaceX, Ferrada, Mazda, Rotiform, TSW, and many more. So, you can guess that he is indeed one of the top-ranking automobile photographers you will find.
4. Mark Delong Photography
Mark Delong is a USA-based photographer providing his services in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, and Nashville. He not only has expertise in photographing automobiles but also works in other genres of photography, including commercials, fashion, celebrity, lifestyle, and beauty.
His unique vision, refined technical skills, and 17 years of experience have made him the perfect photographer and director you might look for for your future projects. Throughout these years, he has worked with renowned brands like Nissan, Mercedes, BMW, and many others.
5. Jason Thorgalsen Photography
Jason Thorgalsen is a USA-based freelance vehicle photographer. His love for exotic cars drove him to frequent car shows and dealerships, which eventually paved the way for his career in automotive photography. He has traveled around the country, improved his abilities, and accumulated experience.
With his hard work, dedication, and proficiency, he managed to get his work featured on the covers of numerous publications, including Dupont Registry in 2011, Vette magazine, Exotics Boutique, Fast Lane Daily, Ferrari Club of North America, Lamborghini Club of America, SSC Automobile Company, and many more.
6. Easton Chang
Easton Chang is a self-taught, award-winning commercial automobile photographer, providing his services in North America, Australia, Asia Pacific, and Pan-Europe. He offers both studio and on-location vehicle images. His creative car photography demonstrates dynamic visuals, speed, drama, and action.
With his collaboration with many well-known brands, including Porsche, Jaguar, Audi, General Motors, Cadillac, Mazda, and many more, he has built a solid reputation as an accomplished auto photographer. His works have been featured on various prestigious magazine covers and won Automotive Photography Awards Judging Panel in 2011 and Australian Advertising Photographer of the Year in 2012 & 2013.
7. Enthusiast Spec
Dave Tormey, an automotive enthusiast, is the founder of Enthusiast Spec. His devotion to cars and over 15 years of experience have motivated him to build a platform that facilitates the experience of buying and selling vehicles for everyone. Enthusiast Spec provides photography, videography, and listing services for famous automotive auction sites, including PCar Market, Bring a Trailer, Collecting Cars, and many others.
Their eye-catching automobile photography is bound to draw in customers and sell your vehicle. Their service starts at around $400, where you would get 150+ Hi-resolution digital images. They charge 4-6% of the final sale price for vehicle listings. Most importantly, they would only charge $1000 if your car isn’t sold.
8. Ted 7 Automotive Photography
Ted7 Automotive Photography is a passionate automobile photography organization in Irvine, California. He owns a car photography studio from which you can obtain professional studio shots of automobiles. Besides, he provides automotive photography services at events like car shows, track days, rallies, cruises, and so on.
He is skilled in taking tracking shots, panning shots, and rolling shot techniques through which he can capture the action of cars and motorcycles. Additionally, if you require an automotive inventory photographer, he is unquestionably the one who can produce the best images for you. His clients include STRUT, Caterham, CarVerse, BBS, Magnum, and RIVIERA Magazine, to name a few.
9. Domproof Photography
New Jersey-based photographer Dominick Quintela founded Domproof Photography in 2020. Basically, he is a dealership photographer, providing his services in New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. He also offers quality promotional posts, video reels, and customer testimonials as a part of their social media marketing and video production services to promote brands on online platforms.
He creates captivating vehicle images and videos with his team of skilled photographers that you can use for marketing and advertising on various eCommerce platforms and social media sites. Additionally, his services are reasonably priced, ranging from $200 to $1000, and include roller shots, drone shots, cinematic videos with a storyline, and edited photos.
10. C3Photography
Your search is over if you’re looking for a New York City automotive photographer. With 10 years of photography experience, C3 Photography’s founder, Chris Guamanzara, is the ideal photographer to work with on your upcoming project. His proficiency in automotive photography has led to his work being displayed on the front covers of numerous publications, including Dub, European Car, Performance BMW, and others.
His use of color contrast, compositional style, angles, selection of location, and the best possible use of natural light demonstrate his versatility and creative proficiency. Without a doubt, he has the ability to turn your car into the ideal car for your prospective customers.
What to Consider Before Hiring a Professional Automotive Photographer?
The marketing of auto dealerships and the promotion of recently released vehicles both rely heavily on high-quality automotive photography. For this, hiring a professional photographer is essential. However, before hiring an automotive photographer, you must consider the following to ensure their expertise level.
1. Technical proficiency
Technical knowledge is required both in terms of vehicle specifications and photography gear. A vehicle photographer with technical understanding knows about the different elements of the vehicle, like the tires, engine, etc. They can visualize how these elements can be captured to their fullest potential.
Besides, technical familiarity with the photography equipment is essential to adjust the camera settings, lighting setup, select the best lens, and many other aspects as per the needs of the setting and the design of the composition. So, talk about some essential technical terms to see how well-versed they are with them.
2. Creativity
The frequent release of new car models and a large number of car photographers make car photography challenging. So, photographers must develop fresh creative concepts and plan the composition to present a car in a distinctive way that elevates it above competing models.
In some ways, a photographer’s level of experience affects their creativity. So, observing a photographer’s photography style can give you an idea regarding their creative knowledge and aesthetics.
3. Automobile photography techniques
Automobile photography is a versatile genre of photography. It requires a variety of photographic techniques, such as still images, moving images, or aerial photographs captured in various settings, such as in a studio, on a racetrack, or on a highway.
However, not every car photographer has expertise in all these styles. So, it’s better to discuss the photography style that the photographer has more control over to see if it’s compatible with the photography style that you want to use for your business.
4. Communication skills
Professional car photography requires communication between the photographer, clients, marketing team, and other photography team members regarding the shooting strategy and making necessary setup adjustments. Therefore, a photographer must be able to verbally communicate effectively to explain and carry out his plan while working with the team.
A one-on-one conversation with the photographer can help you better understand their communication style and personality.
5. Post-production skills
The stunning automotive photographs that we see in the advertisements are all the work of post-production skills. The raw images are not publishable due to issues related to lighting, color, reflection, and many other factors. Besides, vehicle images often need manipulation to provide an eye-catching effect and create 3D and 360-degree images.
The photographer’s experience with photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. should be made clear when talking about post-production. It’s better to clarify the details beforehand to confirm whether they will provide edited images or if you will have to outsource images for post-production.
How much does an automotive photographer cost in the USA?
Automotive photography is far more challenging than other genres of photography. That’s why an automotive photographer may charge a bit higher than you would expect. Besides, the cost of the photography session varies depending on several factors, such as the photographer’s experience, location of the shoot, production and post-production costs, purpose and size of the project, brand status, and many others.
As per the US national standard, automotive photographers may cost-
| Photographer Category | Cost |
|---|---|
| Beginner | $100-$150 per hour |
| Professional | $200 – $500 per hour |
| Higher experienced | $300 – $2000 per image |
However, prices also vary from one state to another. For instance, the cost is higher in Los Angeles by 45%, New York by 27%, Princeton by 20%, San Francisco by 30%, Raleigh by 7%, Seattle by 23%, and so on. On the other hand, the price is below the standard average in Dallas by 9%, Jacksonville by 4%, Asheville by 32%, and many more.
Final Thoughts
Without a doubt, the success of your auto business depends significantly on the quality of your vehicle images. For that, you need the assistance of a professional photographer. So, get in touch with one of the professionals listed above to create exceptional promotional vehicle images, develop your brand, and attract more clients.
