The Car | Infiniti G35
date | 03.26.2013
location | las vegas, nv
las vegas automotive photographer | john afravi

las vegas automotive photography – Infiniti G35

You have to strive to stand out from the rest. Photographing an automobile isn’t just about taking a car out to a nice location at sunset and placing it perfectly in the “golden light”. Automotive Photography is forever changing and evolving. The use of studio strobes in a remote location has upped the par. Tripods are essential now. Without it, you couldn’t get that perfect shot without multiple exposures. Photoshop and Lightroom are essential in creating your digital art. It is essential in that it helps portray your personality on to your final product. To put your own spin to it. To be able to take a perfectly exposed photo and taking it to the next level.

Photographers such as Frederic Schlosser, GF Williams, 1013MM, and others are paving the way in Automotive Digital Art. These  guys provide me the inspiration to be able to push the limits on my editing and to try new things. Composite imagery is the rave now and is something I’ve been honing my skills on.

It’s not easy. Editing in this fashion takes time and patience. You need to have a genuine passion for it otherwise it just isn’t worth it. I’ve spent countless hours learning new ways to create the photos I want to portray. I’m far from where I want to be, but every stroke of the brush gets me closer to that goal. But I digress. Here’s Hieu’s G35!

Man, what a great shoot this turned out to be! In automotive photography, we as photographers have to be wary of reflections. Controlling reflections in your shot is imperative in creating a great car photo. It’s all about the details! In this case, I didn’t have to worry about reflections at all (other than the windows)! The car is wrapped in a matte blue which made this a dream to work with!

The challenge here was obviously exposing his car perfectly with a great backdrop of the Las Vegas Strip. I have the Luxor Hotel and the Mandalay Bay Hotel holding that down. The problem? The sun. For me to shoot using only “natural light” would be near impossible to get a properly exposed photo without using strobes or HDR. I’m not big on HDR so I went the route of using my trusty Einstein Strobes. They were pretty much cranked to full power. All 3 of them.

This matte color on this car was a godsend. Easily photographed.

Detailed Modifications

Engine/drivetrain

Polished kinetix SSV intake manifold
AFE intake w/heat shield
Nismo S-tune exhaust
BERK HFC
Koyo 36mm racing radiator
Samco Radiator Hoses
Nismo low temp radiator cap
Polished radiator overflow tank
Polished engine bay caps
Polished timing covers
Polished throttle body
JDM battery cover
Aluminium undertray

Suspension/brakes

Tanabe Sustec Pro 5 coilovers
SPC front camber arms
SPL Rear camber arms
Eibach front and rear sway bars
Alutech front strut bar
Wilwood BBK 6/4
BP-10 Smart Compound Brake Pads
Wilwood SS lines
Wilwood 570 brake fluid

Wheels/tires

Volk TE37 |19×10.5 +22|
Toyo T1R| 245/30/19|
Ti-Tec Titanium Lugs

Exterior

Nismo front bumper
Nismo sideskirts
Carbon fiber rear diffuser
Hikkata dori luxe trunk
IGT carbon fiber headlight housing w/LED rings
JDM style sidemarkers
Roof painted gloss black
Grill painted gloss black
3M Matte Metallic Blue Wrap

Interior

6k LEDS
Nismo floor mats
Nissan JDM airbag cover
Nismo shift knob black
JDM double din kit
JDM digital clock
JDM skyline kick panels
3m Di-Noc carbon fiber interior wrap
2- 10” kicker comp subwoofers
Kenwood X712 in-dash screen
Kenwood 1000W amp
Memphis 1000W amp
Complete Memphis Audio components

Osirus tune by Church automotive/ FNWerks Automotive Las Vegas, Nv
PowerFab Automotive Houston, Tx
Unlimited Car Stereo Houston, Tx
Sals Automotive Houston, Tx
Strictly G’s Houston, Tx