Check out all these cool Hot Rod pictures coming at you live from Flickr!
Automobiles are beautiful things, but it sometimes baffles people as to how they can make interesting pictures of cars. Here are a few tips as to how you can make your ordinary pictures really stand out and show the beauty of the machine that you are photographing:
1. Bottom Angles – the most common mistake people make when they take pictures of cars is that they think that establishing shots always have to be from the bottom. This is such a waste, because cars can look so much more when they are taking from a different angle. For example, if you have a muscle car such as a Ford Mustang GT, you might want to try shooting it from a “belly angle” meaning from below, so that it looks stronger and more menacing, which works to the advantage of the car.
2. Close up shots – this technique is perfect in taking pictures of cars because there are so many details that are missed when you always take wide shots. Try to take shots of the details in close up as well, so that people will get to appreciate the small things about the car that make it beautiful.
3. Background – make sure that the background fits the car that you are photographing. If you are taking pictures of a classic car, you can either match it to an old looking background, or contrast it with a simple background, like a field and the sky. Either way, there is a certain message that each background gives. Make sure to match the background to that message when you are taking pictures of cars.
And last but not the least, you should have fun. Photography is about the connection of the photographer with the subject, and if you make that connection, it will show up in your picture. Having fun with the subject will make you more creative, sensitive, and versatile.








Tom Fritz , of Ventura, CA, was one of the first American fine artists to “break the mold” and depict the cars he grew up with;not LeTourneau et Marchand Bugattis but good ol’ hot rods he saw on the streets of San Fernando, an LA suburb. Tom’s vivid childhood recollections of the motorcycle and automotive cultures prevalent in Southern California during the 60′s and 70′s are reflected in his work.Among his clients are Harley Davidson and his paintings hang in many corporate collections and museums including the NHRA Museum.
And once you’ve opened Pandora’s box, how far do you go, because there’s a deep dark secret about hot rods. Now neat and clean hot rods are one thing, but deep down if you research the genre, you find out there’s another vein of hot rodding called the “rat rodding.” Because back in the day hot rodders had enough money to buy Smitty mufflers or Rajo axles but didn’t have enough money to paint the car so they ran them in flat primer. There’s a whole subtext/genre of hot rodders who have no intention of ever finishing their cars to normal “finished car” standards. To them, it is an outlaw statement on four wheels to leave it unfinished.