Through Larry Chen's Lens

I felt like I had already tried everything possible in car photography and the culture that surrounds it. I've shot cars of every style all over the world, but until now I had never worked with them virtually.

When I was asked to take some photos for Need for Speed in the digital world of Ventura Bay, I thought it would be a piece of cake. But I was wrong. It was quite difficult, and at the same time very interesting.

First, I had to choose locations.

That turned out to be much harder than I expected, because the game has so many scenic spots. I set out to showcase the environment the designers created, and also to see what the Frostbite engine is capable of when it comes to rendering reflections and stunning details like water droplets running down car fenders.

Second, I had to choose a car. On every single car I shot, I could add or remove parts to make the car look the way I wanted. I wanted to create the cars I love to shoot in the real world.

I was even able to create my real car in the game and shoot myself burning rubber and doing laps. And I didn't have to change tires!

Next, I had to position the car and camera to shoot a static shot — not what I was used to. Normally I walk around with a camera, but here I had a controller in my hands that I used to adjust the movement.

As in a regular nine-to-five job, I tried to make the most of the available light. It helped that the light is slightly different in different parts of Ventura Bay.

In some areas, I got some decent shots through tire smoke with backlighting, in others — reflections on the fenders, and sometimes even carbon fiber weaves.

By the end of the day, I had quite a few interesting shots. I tried to capture these amazing cars as if they were life-size and standing right in front of me, and I think the final result will look very realistic.