A very special problem in automotive photography is the so-called “deep rear end”. But what exactly is it?

Well, in typical car-to-car photography, we drive ahead in the so-called photo car, ideally a large estate car. The photographer sits securely in the trunk and can move around freely and photograph the car or cars behind from all possible positions. This is the so-called “right of way” and is not particularly exciting.

But what do you do if you want to photograph a moving car from behind?
Here, too, there are several approaches; you can simply back up with the station wagon, but unfortunately many modern cars brake very early or the drivers simply get sick. In addition, this is only recommended in closed-off areas.

So you simply drive behind the car and hang out of the window or sunroof and photograph the car in front of you. However, this has the disadvantage that it is almost impossible to take a low position in a controlled manner and therefore most editorially photographed car chases are always taken from a higher position.

I have been trying to get to grips with this problem for a long time and have had a solution for a few years now.

However, it requires a certain amount of preparation time, as we have to mount the camera on the outside of the photo car with damping and then be able to move this camera in three dimensions. Of course, controlling the camera using a standard gimbal is no longer a problem.

The disadvantage is simply the high cost of setting up the whole thing, including remote control, because your editorial photo production usually has very, very little time. And the personnel costs are also high, because it makes sense to have an assistant with you to install the whole thing while you are taking another shot.

In addition, although this deep shot is very beautiful, it is also just one of many pictures, and the lead can usually be produced with a little less effort.

But if I have enough time, I’m happy to put in the effort.