Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Elske Photography at the Porsche Museum, Stuttgart, Germany

On one of my recent trips to Germany, I had the pleasure of visiting the Porsche Museum located just outside Stuttgart.

As a self-confessed petrol head and long-term fan of the Porsche brand, I was like the proverbial kid in a candy store!

Right opposite the museum is a Porsche car showroom.  I made this my first port of call and was not disappointed with the exotica on display.

For example, below you see an image of the Porsche 918 Spyder, a mid-engine hybrid petrol & electric sports car. 
The 4.6 litre V8 engine develops 608-horse power and two electric motors deliver an additional 279 horsepower… 
That gives a combined output of 887 horsepower and a top speed of 210 mph!




With such severe power to go, you need equally severe power to stop… 


The brakes on this car are HUGE and serve to both stop the car and to generate power for the batteries.

Heading over to the museum, there were a few cars outside.  Most people were simply taking photos of the cars on their mobile phones and heading into the museum. 

Elske photography tip:  Always look around (and up) – you never know where your next great image will come from (see below).

The picture above is reflections of the cars from the museums roof. 



Once inside the museum, you are treated to cars old and new.  One of my favourite oldies is the 356C shown above.  The black and white conversion on this image seems to capture the era of the 1960s.


The racing heritage is everywhere to be seen.  Here is the winner’s trophy from the 24 hour Le Mans race.


Right up to date we have the 911 GT3 R Hybrid racing car.


And finally, a poster for every boy’s wall - the Porsche Carrera GT.


If you are in or near Stuttgart, I thoroughly recommend a visit to the Porsche Museum – you will not be disappointed.

Elske Photography tips
In public places such as museums, you are very rarely allowed tripods.  Make sure your ISO is boosted to a high enough level to allow for fast shutter speeds to minimise camera shake.

Museums are busy places!  If possible, arrive early to ensure you have more chance of getting shots without people in the frame.

Sometimes, it is unavoidable – especially around a very interesting item.  In these cases, be patient and (hopefully) the people around will be kind enough to move out of the frame long enough for you to get your shot.

Another top tip in crowded areas is to get down low and shoot upwards or shoot with the camera tilted slightly to the side.  This gives you a much more dynamic final image.  This is especially useful when capturing images of cars.




Monday, January 4, 2016

Corporate Shoot with Model – Elske™ Photography Studio

It has been a busy week so far with a full day shoot for the brand Luxar Photo – www.luxar.co.uk. 
Luxar Photo are a new photographic supplies company specialising in background and lighting solutions for the amateur, enthusiast and professional photography markets.

The shoot was set up to capture three things for the client:
  •     The model shown against a full background to show the relative size of the backgrounds
  •      A ¾ length shot
  •       A headshot

Model: Nerim 

Make up artist: Susan

The backgrounds we used were mainly pop up versions with 2 different sides.  Each side has a long floor covering for continuity.  The backgrounds fold up into a circular bag and do not take up much space in the studio.  These would be easy to transport and set up should you be undertaking location shoots.  
All that you need is a flat wall or a hanging point and you are good to go.

I must admit, I was very pleasantly surprised by these backgrounds and was delighted with the final results.

Indeed, I was so happy with the results that I bought a few for my studio!

The main light used here was a Bowens 500 head with either a 60” Octabox or a beauty dish.  In some images, utilised two Bowens 500 heads with strip softboxes with grids for edge lighting

I would like to say a huge thank you to my model Nerim – you were a superstar.  

I would also like to thank and highly recommend my make up artist for the day – Susan Hardman – facebook/susanhardmanmua.  

Her work was outstanding and I will certainly be using Susan again for upcoming work at the studio.

I wish Ian and his team at Luxar Photo all the best in their new venture!

You certainly have Elske™ Photography as a customer!

ELSKE™ has a simple philosophy
to deliver an exclusive photographic experience and create luxurious photographic wall art
Twitter: @elskephoto
Faceboook: elskephotographyscotland