Beverly Hills Photo Shoot: 5 Looks, Vintage Mercedes 560 SL & Golden Hour

Jessica

I was so excited to be working with Jessica again, and she was excited too. The last time that we worked together, a couple of years ago, we did a sexy teacher-inspired photo shoot from my job series.

Look 1

To start the day, Jessica wore a playful floral suit as the bright sun shone over us.

Things went well throughout this first part of our Beverly Hills photo shoot. Even the breeze cooperated, causing her hair to fly just the right amount at the perfect moment. The vibe that we created during these images was perfect.

This is also when I noticed the car’s license plate. I loved it. It was “LOSTNLA.” One of my favorite shots of the entire day showed a close-up of that license plate with Jessica, wearing this first outfit, standing next to it.

I was already so impressed with Jessica’s posing, and she loved how cute these pictures had turned out.

The Car

To get this old-money Beverly Hills vintage vibe that I was looking for, I knew that it was important to not only focus on the outfits but also have an iconic classic car. That’s where the 1987 Mercedes 560 SL came in.

On this day, I spoke with Michael, the car’s owner, to get some more information about his iconic luxury lifestyle car. He said that this convertible “was the most luxurious thing you could buy” in 1987 and that it cost $58,000 to buy it new then. He added that it has a 5.6-liter V8 engine and can go from 0 to 60 in about seven seconds.

Michael also said that it’s fun having other people enjoy it, like Jessica and I did during our Beverly Hills photo shoot. I really felt so lucky to be able to take photos with this car, and it perfectly matched the shoot’s style.

Look 2

For her second look, Jessica wore a vintage black-and-white dress and cat-eye sunglasses. During this part of the shoot, she got into the convertible, which had its top down the entire day. And when I excitedly shared one of these images with Jessica mid-shoot, she was excited too, saying, “Oh, my gosh.”

For some of these shots, she played with her scarf, waving it in the air. Those were really fun images.

Look 3

At this point, the sun started getting lower in the sky, putting us in the shade, so we moved across the street, where it was still sunny.

This time, Jessica wore a blue suit that really matched the softening light, and she was out of the car again, starting off on its hood and then leaning against the driver’s side door, before getting back in while still in that outfit.

So many of these photos were so beautiful, especially one in which she was in the driver’s seat with her feet on the open door next to her.

Look 4

Jessica now had an edgy black outfit on as we experimented with doing more engaging and bold poses. One of those was her with a seemingly broken-down car as if she were looking for help, an idea that had come to mind when she was waving that scarf earlier.

But first, I took some photos of her in the passenger seat and next to the car. Those were stunning, and Jessica said that they were “so pretty.”

Then we popped the hood to show the engine with a concerned Jessica looking at it with a black jacket draped over her shoulder. The idea here was that she was tired and didn’t know what she was going to do with her broken-down engine.

Next, Jessica got on the ground and was looking up at the engine, like she was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Showing her with the license plate right there, between her and the engine, was so cool. I was obsessed with those images.

At that point, I went with what felt like a baby lens in comparison to the 28-70mm that I had been using and took several photos that were 24mm instead. Jessica was still on the ground analyzing the engine from below.

Then, I went and lay down inside the trunk but with good reason. I wanted to get some shots from that vantage point of Jessica over the open trunk. After that she got in and did some poses there. A few of those looked really uncomfortable, but they came out so well. Beautiful images.

All of these photos also had that perfect, soft lighting that golden hour provides.

The outfit that Jessica wore for this fourth look turned out to be her favorite of the day.

Look 5

At this point, we were past golden hour and only had a few minutes left to shoot before our light would be gone. However, this lighting really made the scene cinematic.

For these final images, Jessica wore a white knitted suit and classic Dior shoes, which helped portray that old-money glamour look that we were going for.

That’s a Wrap

And with that, we were done. The entire photo shoot was amazing. We’d even planned to go shoot at the Beverly Hills Hotel but decided not to because we loved taking these vintage car shots so much.

Pro Tips

Do you want to shoot cinematic photos with a car? I have some tips for you that will help those images turn out well.

Tip #1: Treat the car like a scene partner

The car isn’t in the background. It’s a scene partner. Have your model interact with it in different ways. That can involve leaning against it, walking by it and lying down in it. Simply doing anything practical in it or next to it can work. The important thing is to not have this situation be just the model posing and the car as an afterthought.

Tip #2: Watch out for reflections

Glass, including the windshield, and so many other things can give off reflections. If you want, you could use those reflections to create a more cinematic effect. But if you’d rather reduce their impact, you can use a polarized filter or simply switch the angle of those shots.

Tip #3: Keep in mind the best time to shoot

Expect the best lighting to shoot with a car to be the golden hour as that’s when soft highlights and beautiful skin tones will be prominent, so plan accordingly.

Tip #4: Match poses with the car’s lines

I recommend that you match poses with the car’s lines. That means to have your model do curvy poses when by its more rounded areas and be edgy with the poses when near its straight lines.

Tip #5: Choose outfits that match the car

Match the car’s style, its era and tones, when deciding on outfits for the model to wear. That will help make those images much more cohesive.

Tip #6: Add motion

To make your photos more cinematic, add motion. Have your model open a door, walk by the car, look into its mirror, analyze its seemingly broken-down engine, things like that.

Tip #7: Be careful with the car

Protect the car. Ensure that nobody steps on its leather with heels or sits on its fragile parts and that everyone’s careful with the car’s accessories.

Tip #8: Tell a story

Last but not least, tell a story. It’s important to treat cinematic photography like you’re shooting a movie scene. Always think about what you and the model are doing and why and what kinds of characters your model’s portraying.

Conclusion

This vintage Beverly Hills day felt like stepping onto a movie set. It had elegance, light and timeless beauty, and it was an incredible experience.