Howdy! I’ll probably delete this, but for now, some recent work for Sotheby’s Monterey auction. I shoot freelance for a living, run my own LLC and pay 100% of my bills with shoots like this, so I thought I’d share what it’s like. 

For this car, we initially only had it until 3:30 pm, and it was a little more than a 3 hour drive to location. I picked up my rental car at 8 in the morning, drove almost 200 miles to the dealership where the Veyron was being held, and met up with the Sotheby’s Specialist who would be the car’s handler on the shoot. 

We drove the Veyron about 20 minutes to location, a private beach/park peninsula with paid entry. After entering, it was time to find a spot that worked for the background and direction of the light. It’s around 1pm at this point, solar noon. I’m not worried though, because a silver car like this pops in hard light.

Spot found, car parked. It never gets old stepping out of a seven figure car in public. People gawk, ask what it is, stop and stare. I work fast, because we’re in a bougie private park that probably doesn’t allow commercial photography. 

90 minutes goes by, we haven’t been kicked out and I have everything I need. We roll 20 mins back to the dealer, it’s around 3pm now. Time to roll home. Walk back through my front door around 6:30pm. 

That’s how this life goes. You often have a schedule that doesn’t allow shooting the car in the best conditions. Many of these vehicles live a 9-5 life in storage facilities. If you live in the northeast like me, it’s almost impossible to get away from urban development as well. I still love this job though! 

Bugatti Veyron 16.4