06/09/2026
Anyone can throw up a key light, take a photo and call it good.
And honestly? For a lot of applications, it probably is good enough.
But “good enough” isn’t how I approach commercial automotive photography.
When I’m photographing a build, every detail in that frame matters. The paint needs to be color accurate. Brand labels need to be readable. Welds, fabrication, hardware and craftsmanship need to actually be visible, not disappearing into shadows. The front of the vehicle needs to be just as sharp as the back, with controlled highlights, clean shadows, minimal noise and no blown-out areas distracting from the work.
That’s why light painting is still one of my favorite ways to photograph vehicles.
Instead of rushing and trying to light the entire vehicle at once, I photograph it section by section, controlling exactly where the light falls. Then I layer those exposures in Photoshop and paint the best-lit portions into one final image.
It absolutely takes more time on location and more work in post.
Ironically, it usually saves me time in the end.
Give me 30 minutes with strobes hitting all four corners on location and I’ll probably spend the next several hours pixel peeping and fighting shadows, reflections and details in Photoshop because I know I could have made it “pop” correctly in-camera with light painting 😂 not saying I can’t do it or that I haven’t but it’s not my preference.
Of course, light painting isn’t always practical. Budget, location, available time and ambient light can all dictate how I approach a shoot. No matter the method, my goal is the same: create top-tier automotive imagery that actually shows the craftsmanship.
But when I have the opportunity?
Light painting is where my automotive photography becomes the art of the car; or in this case Jeep.
And there’s another huge advantage to creating high-resolution commercial photography this way: the assets become incredibly versatile.
The same images can be used for social media, websites, advertising and high-resolution print marketing. I can even take sequential photos, like a door open and door closed, and turn them into animated content for Reels or website GIFs while still retaining the original high-resolution photographs for print.
One shoot. Multiple assets. Multiple platforms. Consistent quality.
That’s why businesses should invest in a professional creative instead of relying on AI or whoever happens to be nearby with a camera phone.
You’re not just paying someone to press a button.
You’re investing in someone who understands lighting, color, composition, retouching, commercial photography and how to create assets that can actually work across your entire brand.
That’s the difference between creating content like throwing spaghetti on the wall and hoping it sticks and creating content with a purpose.
K10 Media
Commercial Automotive Photography • Content Creation • Brand Assets
