There is perhaps no better way to highlight a car's looks than with a rolling shot. Car-to-car still photos where the subject is in the forefront while the background is blurred make designs pop, but they aren't the easiest to achieve. Here are some tips, tricks, and suggestions from an expert on how to capture high-quality rolling shots.
Road & Track contributor and photographer extraordinaire Kevin McCauley put together a video explaining the basics behind getting the best rolling shots. If you're an aspiring car photographer, it's a must-watch. He goes over the steps you should take to ensure the safety of yourself and others, and what sorts of cars work best as camera vehicles (we're partial to Dodge Grand Caravan rentals for the same reasons McCauley points out).
© KEVIN MCCAULEY
Let a professional teach you how to take rolling shots.
McCauley also explains which types of roads and environments work best for car-to-car shots, how to communicate with the driver of the subject car, which types of lenses to use, the different settings you should be playing with, and how you might want to attack the editing process.
Planning a shoot in the near future? Grab a suitable camera car, a driver, and the tips from this video to snag a few rolling shots. You might be surprised with what you end up with. And remember: Practice makes perfect. If you don't get the pictures you were looking for on your first time out, don't get bummed out. Keep on doing it, and eventually you'll see results.