Cars that were manufactured before the end of World War II (1945) are classified as vintage cars while those manufactured between 1945 and 1975 are categorized as classic cars.
Before you venture to photograph the cars, either vintage or classic it will be a good idea to know the basics of car body structure.
From the exteriors, a typical car can be identified by its unique features like body contours, bonnet / hood, bumper, grill, boot / trunk, unique logo or insignia etc.
All modern cars are categorized by its basic type like sedan, hatchback, coupes, station wagon, convertible, luxury and sports cars. For the vintage and classic cars, these may not be the case! You will be surprised to know that there are many vintage cars that have engines in their back (boot) and trunk in the front (bonnet).
Let us now, get to the actual art of photographing these beauties.
One of the challenges in photographing the vintage and classic cars is to locate them! The best opportunity arises when there is a rally or exhibition organized in your locality or city. Remember always, that there will other photographers to photograph the beauties. Always, be courteous to the other photographers, who have as much right to click as you do.
Although, any digital camera will suffice, for best results take your Digital SLR camera. The selection of lens depends on various factors like location, lighting etc. The best would be get the opportunity to shoot in golden hours, ie. couple of hours after sunrise and couple of hours before sunset in outdoor location. On some occasions, when there is a rally being organized of the vintage and classic cars, the cars assemble at the start point in an open space where they are parked prior to the flag off. Generally, there is no race but only a rally from a location to another. It is indeed a feat to get these ancient cars up and running with mounting costs to maintain them on regular basis.
Select a car of your choice and then position yourself at a vantage angle so that you are able to capture the entire length of the car. Next shift your position so that the car is facing diagonal and then take couple of photographs. There are two angles from which the car can be photographed, first the classic standing position and the second is it to align yourself to the height of the bonnet, which in most of the situations will be about your waist height. A Digital SLR camera with tilting LCD will be an advantage.
Feel free to explore other angles like low angle and may be a higher vantage point, if you get such an opportunity.
At all times, keep safety in mind. There may be other cars which are being driven around the rally place and other people moving about.
Pay special attention to the detailed artwork of the logo / insignia and other metallic carvings on body of the vintage cars. These can be best photographed with a prime lens or even better with a macro lens, depending on the light and time available to shoot.
Once, you have covered the exteriors; focus on the interiors like the dashboard, steering wheel and back seats. In most of the vintage cars, the interior upholstery is made up of genuine leather and very finely articulated dashboard of teak wood or redwood with lacquer finishing. Always take permission, before taking photographs of the inside as you may require opening the car doors and seating yourself inside. Avoid using the in-built flash or dedicated flash, as some of the interiors components will be shinning stainless steel or even gold-plated art work.
A good photo session of each vintage and classic car will take you at least 10-15 minutes, so be well prepared and have a pleasant bearing towards the organizers and other photographers.
