Photography Props – Vehicles

Vehicles make outstanding photography props when properly used. When posing your model with a vehicle as a photography prop, it is often the case that you find a location the vehicle can be driven to safely and that has even lighting. Then you can position your model accordingly. Be mindful that the vehicle may be as or even more important to the client than the model(s) posed with it. So, make an effort to ensure it look its best as well. Try to schedule these sessions either early in the morning or later in the evening, if possible, to make use of the softer light conditions. Dull days are also good. The light on the vehicle will be even and then you can add artificial light to illuminate the model/subject.

Once you’ve positioned the vehicle, experiment with different ways to pose your model with it. Vehicles provide a variety of areas to lean against, which is particularly useful for a male model. You can lean him against the door, the fender, the bumper, even the hood. Sometimes you can place a woman or child directly on the hood or roof of the vehicle.

For all poses, however, you must try to exercise good posing methods to flatter the model. This can be awkward, since you’re using uneven surfaces to pose on or against. This means that experimentation with various poses and camera angles is essential. Besides posing the model directly with the vehicle, try posing him normally on the ground or next to another s tructure or tree, with the vehicle as a secondary subject in the background. This technique is useful when the vehicle is very large, such as an airplane, and will be too dominating when you pose the model close to it.