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Hamburg-based photographer Thomas Schwoerer is passionate and experienced in automotive photography. Some of his clients include BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Audi. Thomas knows the ins and outs of working with these companies and their product and has been itching to create something with a more cinematic feel that maybe wouldn’t fit into a “standard” vehicle advertisement.
I wanted to do something in that field, but not as regulated by the parameters you have on a job. For example, usually the people will smile or it has to fit into a layout, or it’s supposed to match a certain colorworld. I wanted to free myself from that, even though I still wanted to maintain a style, look and quality which resonates with my general body of work.
Thomas decided to take matters into his own hands and begin work on a self-assigned project, one where he could put expressions and ideas that might not fit with a typical car advertisement. The result is “Desert Star,” an atmospheric take on automotive photography.
Thomas took on the cost of the project himself, which made the logistics of the shoot a challenge. Being based in Germany, coordinating a U.S. shoot requires a lot of extra effort and fortunately, Thomas had friends at a production company in Los Angeles who helped him organize talent, crew and locations that were minimal to low cost. Once everything was set up, there were only minor tweaks to the plan: the location needed to be move down the road, the team had to wait on some bad weather, and of course dealing with famous L.A. traffic. Despite these challenges, the shoot itself went smoothly.
Thomas’s favorite part of working on “Desert Star” was working with creative people, and following with their shared inspiration.
It’s a great feeling; being out there shooting. I love to be outside, with a great crew and trying things.
With advertising projects usually being planned from the first shot to the last. There are questions like “how much time is allowed for each shot?”, “when does the talent require overtime?”, “does this fit with the design for the ad?”, “does the creative director approve?” etc etc.
It’s great to just run and gun and capture moments as they come.
In addition to the still photographs, Thomas and his team found time to put together a short movie to compliment the cinematic feel of the photographs. He hopes to release it in the coming months. Thomas loves the finished photographs and their distinct character that still blends well with his main body of work. He’s put them into heavy circulation in his promotions and portfolio and looks forward to bringing this creative spin of old standards to new clients.
See more of Thomas at thomasschwoerer.com!