Here’s a Free Preset
My neighbour bought a classic Morris Mini Cooper 1100 and asked if I could photograph his car. So, on a nice sunny weekend, we both decided to grab an afternoon coffee and go for a drive to scout different locations to take some photos. There is an interesting looking dock where a lot of photographers take car photos, so we decided to go there first. It was nearly Golden Hour, and the light was warm, soft and beautiful. Perfect time for photography!
After taking a few shots down at the dock, we decided to go to another dock, which was nearby. This dock had fewer distracting elements such as bridges, fences, buildings and random signage. However, there was a massive cargo ship, which I decided to add into the frame to give the photo more context and to add a bit more interest.
After a short while, I got bored of the same old aesthetic and decided to go for a bit more of an urban feel. Therefore, we took the car to a nearby old abandoned wool factory. This location is pretty popular locally for photographers and also recently for cinematographers (the newest Mortal Kombat 2021 was filmed here). So, I thought it would be fitting to go there with the Mini for a quick photoshoot as well. The great thing about this location is that it’s always quiet, which means no cars or people getting in the shot and no waiting around for them to pass.
The light was slowly getting low, so I thought that I would be dynamic and get my neighbour to drive around in different spots while I snap some quick photos. One of them was at a junction in the road with the car in the middle. The shot didn’t come out as I wanted, but it looked interesting enough. Personally, if I had more time, I would position the car more meticulously in the middle with a better angle, but since we were losing sunlight, I didn’t want to fuss around too much.
While messing around, we also found out that the Mini was so tiny that it was able to fit on the sidewalk! So we thought why not give it a go…
I think the image came out pretty nice since the background matched with the car and the overall color grade. Everything in the shot is either green, white or orange/brown. Makes the image look a bit more purposeful and cohesive.
Finally, as the sun was setting and we were running out of light in the suburbs, we decided to chase the sun and head towards the beach. The light here was glorious and soft. So, I whipped out the camera and started shooting. However, I realized that I didn’t take any shots of the interior, which in this car looks very nice. The vintage feel of the car and interior really melded well with the warm summer vibe of the beach. The sun rays entering the car interior just added so much character to the shots that I think out of the whole day, the interior shots were my favorite!
We finally ended the day with a cold drink and a nice editing session on the computer. As I was editing the images, I really wanted to play with the “vintage” feel of the car and the summer warmth of the sun rays. Therefore, I ended up creating a look for the whole set of images from the day, which not only makes the photos look cohesive, but also helped fast-track my workflow as I didn’t have to think about how I would edit every image from every location because the preset really went well with all the locations!
I was super happy with edits, so I ended up making a preset from the photoshoot and named it “Vintage Sun”. I know, I know, it’s not the most creative of names, but I just named it how it felt to me. The main thing I found that adjusting the temperature slider was the only thing I needed to do to make the preset work with the different locations. For example, I adjusted the temperature slider towards the warm side for the shots at the beach to accentuate the warm orange sunset rays, whereas I pushed the slider towards the cool side for the shots at the wool factory to give it a bit more colder and urban tone. The vibe doesn’t differ too much as I still wanted the photos to look like a part of a cohesive catalogue, however, these minor tweaks really helped give the images more mood according to their respective context.
To view other photos from this shoot and other car shoots, visit the car portfolio page on this website.
And as a “Thank You” for reading this long-winded blog, I have made my preset available as a free download. I really appreciate you visiting my blog/site, and it would be awesome if we can connect on socials (links can be found in the navigation) so you can see more car photography stuff from me. If you want to support me further, follow my YouTube channel (link should also be in the navigation) to keep up with my photography journey.
Click the button below to download the Adobe Lightroom Classic .XMP preset file.
How to use a Preset:
Using a preset in Lightroom is an easy way to quickly apply a specific look or style to your photos. Here is a simple guide on how to use a preset in Lightroom:
Import Your Photos: Open Lightroom and import the photos you want to edit.
Select a Preset: In the Develop module, scroll down to the Presets panel on the left-hand side of the screen. Choose a preset from the list by clicking on it. Lightroom comes with a variety of presets built-in, but you can also download presets from third-party websites or create your own.
Apply the Preset: Click on the preset you want to apply, and Lightroom will automatically apply the preset to your photo. You can see the changes made by the preset in the before and after views located at the top left of the screen.
Adjust the Settings: Presets are designed to be a starting point for your editing, so you may need to adjust the settings to suit your photo. Use the sliders in the Basic panel to make adjustments to the exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, and other settings. You can also adjust the preset itself by going to the Presets panel and clicking on the small triangle next to the preset name.
Save Your Edited Photo: Once you are happy with the editing, save your photo by clicking on the Export button located at the bottom right of the screen. Choose the file format and destination folder and click Export.
If you want to know the difference between a Preset and a LUT, have a look at this post to get a better understanding about their different properties and use cases.
And a More in-depth explanation of a LUT can also be found here.
