UJ's EP Civic: My First Shoot | Blog 2

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Here are some select shots from my first feature shoot with UJ’s superb Civic, the shoot itself went really well and I feel like I learned a whole lot. I thought I’d write this in the style of a blog and throw in some recommendations based on the experiences from the day.

I’d like to thank UJ for letting me shoot his Type-R, it’s a car I’ve seen basically every time I’m walking between my house and the University I go to and from lecture/work. As you can see the cars a belter and she’s had a lot of work done, both performance and aesthetics have been addressed and the current progress is fantastic.

Honestly I’m not one for EP’s, when it comes to Hondas I generally prefer older, boxier numbers rather than their curvier and larger relatives (I’m a sucker for classics anyway) BUT UJ’s Civic has really opened my eyes to the potential that these cars can have. Regarding this I’ve seen a lot of smart looking EP’s since this, I think it’s just that I actually notice them now – so thanks UJ!

Let’s get to the shoot itself, since this was my first I didn’t want to do anything too complicated – having a lot to think about wouldn’t be when it’s your first shoot wouldn’t be a good move. This left me to worry exclusively about the essentials; lighting, camera and location.

The locational aspect of the shoot was dead simple, I chose a spot by the university that’s usually pretty empty and this worked out well for be UJ and I. We live pretty close to this spot, and it is now affectionately known as the ‘Honda Spot’. The area itself was lovely and open, there were barely any cars and had great access to sunlight. As well as that the surrounding environment was a plethora of different sized and coloured buildings, this gave me a great variety of backgrounds to shoot with.

The lighting for the day was phenomenal, minus a few spots of clouds we had all of the access to the sun that we needed. This very much reflects in the end result with the photos – using the sun or strong sunlight at least as a part of the image made for some shots that I was really proud of. There was an element of the Civic that I wanted to highlight throughout the shoot, the satin silver metallic paint on the car popped beautifully against the built up area and stood out so well. Capturing that was an essential to me, as well as the as the smaller details that UJ had dotted around the car itself; yellow Brembo brake callipers, Louis Vuitton seat belt covers, Buddy Club bucket seats and on top of that numerous yellow highlights (with some green too).

I wanted to show how to do an EP right, which is entirely subjective, but UJ has really put his money in the right places here. A lot of these car scenes ideals revolve around form, how the car looks, and function, how the car works. The balance of these ideals plays a huge part in your project whether you like it or not, its what you choose to do with these options that makes your car stand out – UJ achieved such a perfect balance of the two.

The camera was the clincher for the shoot, out of the 300+ shots that I took a surprising amount of them made the initial cut for me. The photo-shoot was not without teething issues though, since I was working with such a flood of light I had to adjust my setting accordingly. Also, and this is entirely on me, I didn’t bring a tripod – my legs felt it the next day to say the least.

I actually brought a zoom lens out with me as well but I never touched it, a nifty fifty was all I needed for this shoot since I wasn’t going for anything complex.

I’d say that this session was a great success, UJ was a treat and it was very kind of him to let me take pictures of his Civic. I’ve learned a lot from this shoot, and as they go this feels like a very safe and controlled experience. I’ve got things in mind for improvements regarding techniques and shot styles, as well as ways of my job easier for next time.

If I was to give myself some recommendations I’d say bring a tripod, may not even use it but having one for the sake of contingency is just peace of mind. Also regarding lenses, you’re basically set with a 50mm, I’m going to experience with a longer lens soon but for the bulk of what I needed a 50 nailed it for me. Bring a drink with you, hydration is super important, I was in direct sunlight for a few hours and having a Powerade with me kept me nice and cool. I’d say as well to listen to the owner, you’ll pick up on the little details way better while chatting to the person that has to drive it everyday.

I wanna thank UJ one last time for this opportunity, his car gets a lot of love within the Honda scene and having had no coverage of it before it was cool of him to let me be the first to shoot it for a feature. The experience was great and I’m really looking forward to the next shoot, wherever and whatever it is!