---
title: "Porsche’s Official Race Photographer Shows You How to Snap Better Pictures"
description: "You're gonna learn today."
date: "2020-04-10"
modified: "2020-04-10"
authors:
  - name: "Chris Teague"
    job_title: "Contributor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/chris-teague"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/32970/porsches-official-race-photographer-shows-you-how-to-snap-better-pictures"
categories:
  - "News"
  - "Racing"
tags:
  - "porsche"
---

# Porsche’s Official Race Photographer Shows You How to Snap Better Pictures

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/04/b-Porsches-Thunderhill.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

If [doodling in a coloring book](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/32938/kids-wont-leave-you-alone-have-them-color-these-ford-f-150-raptors-and-mustangs>) or joining an iRacing team are too childish for you, Porsche is offering a series of classes from some of its most skilled employees and contributors. The automotive masterclasses are designed to help you become a better all-around gearhead, with lessons on everything from photography to automotive design, all available for free. [The first lesson](<https://newsroom.porsche.com/en/2020/sport-lifestyle/porsche-masterclass-part-1-photography-richard-pardon-20421.html>) is a primer on automotive photography from Richard Pardon, the official photog for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-yv0mGKJje

If you’ve thought of picking up a new skill while you’re in lockdown, this is a great chance to learn a bit about the world of automotive photography. You’re not going to come out of quarantine shooting [Pikes Peak](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/28799/in-photos-the-2019-pikes-peak-international-hill-climb>) for a major car magazine, but Pardon’s camera tips should give you a good baseline to get out and shoot some of your own cars—while following social distancing, of course. You don’t have to go out and buy a hardcore camera to start shooting, either. Pardon likes smartphone cameras for their simplicity, saying “having too much choice between lenses, apertures, shutter speeds, and so on can sometimes be a burden: if you think about a shot too much you can miss the moment, but with a phone, you’re always ready to capture.” He recommends using apps like VSCO for coloring and filtering, Adobe Lightroom for basic editing, and Unfold for creating layouts to [share on social media](<https://www.twz.com/32919/pilot-takes-amazing-images-of-area-51-and-tonopah-air-base-while-skirting-restricted-airspace>).

He likes shooting multiple photos across an entire day, which he says offers a variety of lighting and staging opportunities to get different perspectives on the cars. Shutter speed, lighting, and composition all play a major part in the process as well, but the technical details will matter less if you’re using a smartphone to get started, since they do most of the heavy lifting on aperture and other settings for you. Pardon suggests lighting cars from a higher angle, which he says creates more interesting angles and dramatic lines. He says to face toward the sun or light source to give a backlit look to your photos for more dramatic effect.

Porsche is encouraging its fans to submit their own photos on the [Porsche](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/26102/2020-porsche-911-carrera-s-first-drive-992-generation-brings-more-of-the-same-old-excellence>) Newsroom Instagram page using the hashtag #GetCreativeWithPorsche. More tips from Richard Pardon are coming to Instagram soon, and we can look forward to Michael Mauer, Porsche’s Head of Style, showing us how to [sketch a 911](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/32282/the-2021-porsche-911-turbo-s-might-have-just-leaked-on-instagram>) in the coming weeks.

*Got a tip? Send us a note:* *tips@thedrive.com*

## Author
After working in the technology and software industry for several years, Chris Teague began writing as a way to help people outside of that world understand the sometimes very technical work that goes on behind the scenes. With a lifelong love of all things automotive, he turned his attention to writing new vehicle reviews, detailing industry trends, and breaking news. Along the way, he earned an MBA with a focus on data analysis that has helped him gain a strong understanding of why the auto industry’s biggest companies make the decisions they do.

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/TeagueDrives>)  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/TeagueDrives>)