I had the opportunity to do some car photography with a friend as an assistant which was loads of fun and I learned loads of about photography and editing in general and found some expert tips about shooting cars and what's involved.
Firstly you need to make sure the car is clean and spotless - good looking cars don't get that way by themselves - and then you need to get it to shooting location and make sure that the mags are nice and shiny and all the little pieces including rear-view mirrors and door handles are perfectly spotless and shiny. Usually the cars are brand new off the production line and are being photographed for the motor cars official press launch so they usually have a nice evenly polished finished and spotless paint-job.
Another pro-tip I can share is that because of the way cameras capture light (shooting in Kelvin) and because of the nature of the sun and how light waves come into the earths atmosphere at a certain angle and especially early morning and late evening, just after the sun has risen or just before it sets, you are able to capture the most beautiful quality of colour tones that get reflected off the cars paint job and if I understand correctly certain high quality paints have actual Perls put into them to get that that shiny effect.
The mini cooper convertible was a really fun car to drive and is a real drivers car with rugged and stylish features. Enjoy these pics all you mini fans!