Automotive Photography in Portugal: Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Hyundai

We have photographed cars for brands in Portugal for years, first as amplified automotive and now within amplified creations. The work changes a great deal from brand to brand: some need photography every week, others only call a photographer for the moment that won't happen twice. Three examples show the difference, and what it means if you are choosing an automotive photographer.

Three brands, three ways of working

Mercedes-Benz Portugal: an ongoing partnership

Mercedes-Benz Portugal doesn't launch by the quarter. New models, updates and showroom moments happen when they happen, and every one of them needs photography that reads the same on a showroom screen in Faro and in a press kit printed in Stuttgart. We shoot on a studio cyclorama, on location, in showroom interiors and at golden hour, and use a library of Lightroom presets tuned for the brand that keeps Mercedes silver and AMG red consistent between studio flash, an overcast morning in Lisbon and golden hour in the Algarve.

The brief was one shoot. The relationship outgrew the brief: frames made for Portuguese launches now run across European markets, and some have reached the Americas. See the case.

Porsche: the moments that don't repeat

With Porsche the request is different. We are called for the launch day, the anniversary, the one-off restoration: the car has to look like a film frame, not a product shot. Cinema lighting, hand-picked locations (a mountain road, a paddock, a restoration workshop, a hotel forecourt at four in the morning) and a tight edit: twenty selects, not two thousand photos. The frames have run in press launches, anniversary editions and private reveals for collectors. See the case.

Hyundai Portugal: two cars with the same name

The IONIQ 5 and the IONIQ 5 N share a platform, a face and a name, but one is a family electric crossover and the other a 478 kW track car. We shot them as two campaigns: soft light, urban architecture and calm for the IONIQ 5; hard contrast, dark concrete and tyre smoke at dusk for the 5 N. Delivered with separate edits, file names and archives, so the material for one never mixes with the other. See the case.

What to ask an automotive photographer

• Consistent colour across shoots. A brand has colours that can't drift with the daylight. We explain how we do it in automotive colour grading in Lightroom and, for the hardest case, in how to photograph silver cars.
• Deliverables by channel. RAW files, selects, retouched hero frames, social crops and stills ready to animate, agreed before the shoot, not after.
• File names and archive. In two years someone will need to find that frame. An organised archive is worth as much as the photograph.
• Locations and permits. Roads, tracks and private venues need permission; aerial shots need a drone pilot and compliance with the EU drone rules.

What about AI-generated video?

It is the question we hear most this year. For a real car that the customer will see in the showroom, photography is still the proof that the product is that one. We wrote about where AI helps and where it falls short in AI video vs automotive product photography.

If you are a brand or a dealer in Portugal and need automotive photography, see our photo and video service or talk to us.

FAQ

Do you shoot for dealers or only for brands?

Both. Part of the work for Mercedes-Benz is done in showrooms, and the Porsche showroom virtual tour was made for a dealer's website.

Do you work outside Leiria and Lisbon?

Yes, across the country. The work for Mercedes-Benz moves between the studio, Lisbon and the Algarve, depending on the car and the light the brief calls for.

Do you also do video and showroom virtual tours?

Yes. The same team does video and 360° virtual tours; we have gathered our tour projects in Portugal in this article.