Just like when I take portraits of people, my challenge is to make the cars shine within their environment.
Selling a car and photographing a building don’t sound like remotely similar experiences, but they actually share one vital aspect: a narrative.
Racing cars conjure up dreams of speed in the showroom of Audi Bethesda.
When photographing a luxury car dealership, I’m helping tell a story to match the vehicles being sold: a lifestyle of lavish—but accessible—indulgence.
Car advertisements on television often sell viewers on the idea of who you could be, if you bought the car advertised, whether that’s a rough-and-tumble pickup truck driver, an energetic and active minivan driver, or a suave and speedy sportscar driver. When photographing a luxury car dealership, I want to help tell a story that matches the vehicles being sold: a lifestyle of lavish—but accessible—indulgence. Too upscale a tone might scare away some potential buyers, but too everyday a tone makes the purchase feel less special.
A Mercedes dealership glows from within at twilight.
When I photographed these dealerships, I took several aerial shots at twilight. The deep blue sky allows the cars inside to shine like jewels in a treasure chest, and including the surrounding skyline makes buying one of these cars feel more accessible—sort of a “right in your own backyard” feeling.
As night falls, the inside of this Audi dealership shines even more brightly.
Twilight is the perfect time to see inside and outside the Euro Motorcars dealership in Bethesda, Maryland.