Defining Environmental Automotive Portraiture

Like any photographer, I can see reoccurring themes in my work. Thoughts or ideas that I go back to, again and again, in order to re-explore or develop further. One of the most organized motifs that I find myself revisiting often is a genre that I like to think of as equal parts traditional commercial automotive photography and gritty environmental street portraiture – call it Environmental Automotive Portraiture, or EAP for short.

EAP was born out of an appreciation for cars, an enthusiasm that parallels my interest in cameras – like cameras, I want to own and experience more than is really practical, and I also feel deeply that in many ways, they just don’t make ’em like they used to. So photographing them becomes a sort of scavenger hunt, and a way for me to vicariously experience ownership and briefly connect with more cars than I could ever hope to own in my lifetime. The tenets are simple: capture a vehicle, unplanned and unstaged, in its natural environment. The vehicle should be distinctive or notable in some way – this is of course wholly subjective, but I find myself especially drawn to classic European and Japanese cars from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. I especially like examples that are a little rough around the edges, which to me suggests a story to tell, perhaps of a life well-lived. We should all be so lucky.

Of course, the challenge of EAP is that, unlike the commercial automotive photographer, the street photographer does not have the benefits of studio lighting, location scouting, or the ability to stage a vehicle according to his or her whims. We must simply photograph what is. But at the same time, like any good portraitist, we want to bring out the best in our subjects, highlight interesting aspects of their design, and ideally even capture a bit of the world around them for the sake of context. So how do we do this?

Well firstly, we put ourselves out there, because every great street image requires a bit of luck – and just being there. Of course, we can look for opportunities for good light – the golden hours of dawn and dusk come to mind, but also an overcast day with diffuse lighting, or after a storm when the world is slick – these all present opportunities for seeing the world in an interesting way. I would even argue that shooting a flattering automotive portrait in harsh midday sun can be done – it’s ultimately about working with what you have and doing your best with it.

The other key component of a successful environmental automotive portrait is good subject isolation, which can be difficult in the real world. The car just is where it is, likely surrounded by distracting elements seeking to ruin your composition. But through careful framing, and manipulation of exposure and depth of field, and dumb luck – sometimes you can pull off a shot that works.

The great thing about EAP is that it becomes almost like a game, and it’s something that you can do literally anytime or anywhere. Cars are everywhere. I have pulled over on the way home from work to take pictures of a car that I just happened to pass. I have stopped dead in my tracks while on vacation with my family to shoot a car that looked interesting. And if I’m ever feeling uninspired or unsure of what to shoot – well, the right car parked in the right place is always low-hanging fruit to just keep my head in the game. It may not be ground-breaking, or the most stimulating subject matter for everyone, but the lesson here I think is just to find your thing (or one of your things, in my case), and get out out there shooting.

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All work managed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-ND)

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