During the downtime of my gaming sessions, I often resort to finding new cars and locations to photograph. The expansive vehicle line-up and map in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V give me plenty of subjects to work with.
Still shots and experiments with motion blur and panning photography fill my ever-growing collection of photographs from this title. Photos below are arranged from newest to oldest.
Personal photography
2020 – 2021
Grand Theft Auto V / GTA Online
Rockstar Games
With winter around the corner, I thought a lifted Pfister Growler blasting through snow would be an appropriate subject.
I wanted to breakaway from my usual automotive subjects and instead focus on some points of interest found around the map.
A quick set—this bright orange Emperor Vectre looks at home amongst the mansions and winding roads of Vinewood Hills.
My latest set of photos uses the newly added Vapid Dominator ASP, modified to look like the NFS Edition Ford Mustang Cobra R from the PlayStation 2 title, Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2. The scene I chose to depict appropriately places the Dominator in a pursuit against the sheriffs of San Andreas in the desert locale of Sandy Shores.
Going through the sand along the roadway allowed me to further practice with Procreate on my iPad so that the dust clouds could be enhanced in the final images.
Slapping on a set of the new Low Grip Tires on the equally new Dinka Jester RR results in a rowdy driving experience full of slides and spins. My latest shot aims to capture that feeling and it also allowed me to practice with Procreate again—the smoke and little specks of rubber were painted in to enhance the final image.
Featured in “Weekly Custom Car Showcase: Round 50” on the GTAVCustoms subreddit.
The Los Santos Tuners update to Grand Theft Auto Online answered many of my wishes in the form of new cars and a studio-like garage space. This set features the new Pfister Comet S2 cruising around the streets of Del Perro and resting in a minimalist rendition of the Auto Shop garage. I used Photoshop to clean up the reflections on the car's body to make it appear more like press photos.
The most enjoyable shoots are the ones where I enlist the help of my friends. This set features old and new Bravado Gauntlets in the industrial part of Los Santos—a fitting locale for these big, V8-powered brutes.
I wanted to capture Rockstar's version of the Porsche Taycan—the Pfister Neon—in an upscale setting. The Kortz Art Center and Rockford Hills proved to be great backdrops for this electric performance sedan.
I wanted to create a cinematic using Rockstar Editor in GTA V—I was inspired by the idle animation screens that one would find in Forza Motorsport, where cameras pan around a car in a showcase-style environment.
Music: FynestLyk – Noir Et Blanc Vie – YouTube Audio LibraryThis set showcases two Grotti Itali GTOs—mine in Cabernet Red, my friend's in Metallic Orange—on a group drive through the canyons of San Andreas. Still shots in the Del Perro round off the set. Some shots were enhanced by tire smoke or dust that I drew in Procreate.
The Grotti Cheetah Classic has long been my signature favorite and is the subject for this set, which focuses on drifting photography. This batch proved to be a great place to practice my photo manipulation. The tire smoke was enhanced by hand using Procreate on my iPad.
The Lampadati Pigalle: one of the earlier add-ons to the game and yet it remains my top pick when I need something to cruise around in. My car takes on the European Alpine look, complete with skis on the roof. That inspired this photo set, which aims to show a grand tourer in its natural element—the open road.
By far, the Itali RSX has been my favorite car to not only shoot, but to drive as well. This Ferrari SF90 Stradale lookalike led to many rolling shots and stills to the point where I had to restrain myself, lest I fill up my hard drive with too many pictures.
The Lampadati Viseris—Rockstar's take on the De Tomaso Pantera and Maserati Bora—is one of my favorites in my stable. A deep blue-green and some proper wheels work wonders for this icon of the '70s & '80s.
Color grading for this set was done in Adobe Lightroom.
This ad I created for the Imponte Ruiner is directly influenced by Chevrolet's "The Heartbeat of America" ad campaign from the late 1980s. I took inspiration from ads for the Camaro IROC-Z which helped me to create original body copy for my work.
This set features one of several Imponte Ruiners that I have in my collection. The Mirror Park neighborhood provided a nice suburban backdrop for this '80s sport coupe.
My rolling shots up to this point have all simulated rig shots, where the camera is directly attached to the car, keeping the entire subject in focus. This shot tests out manual camera tracking, which gives slight blur to the rear edge of the car.
This gives a more natural feel as if the car was being tracked by the photographer rather than having the camera hard-mounted to the car with an unrealistic-length rig.
High-dollar hypercars are all but a dream for most—GTA V helps make that dream come somewhat true. This set documents a drive in my Lampadati Tigon and my friend's Truffade Thrax and offers a glimpse into the (virtual) millionaire's lifestyle.
After purchasing the lifeguard variant of the Declasse Granger, I made some lifeguard-inspired outfits for my character to take photos of the vehicle in its natural habitat.
Dawn and dusk patrol at its finest.
I did a revisit on my Magnum P.I. set to get some stills with motion blur. Color grading was done in Adobe Lightroom while the smoke was drawn in using Procreate.
When Rockstar added their version of a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX, I knew I had to get one. My build takes a period approach with burgundy paint and directional turbo fan wheels. Long live the '90s sport coupe.
This set takes two '90s JDM classics through the heart of Downtown Los Santos, filling the streets with echoes of turbo wastegates and popping exhausts.
With the help of a friend, this set marks my first themed group photoshoot in GTA. I do further experiments with the motion blur method to set the mood of two classic rally cars battling it out on a dirt course.
GTA V doesn't calculate motion blur when taking stills. To create photos with motion blur, I found a method that involves recording a clip of gameplay and then combining the frames in Adobe Photoshop. This set is my first successful attempt in trying that method.
This set channels inspiration from the Magnum P.I. television series, with my character donning a loose, floral shirt and the all-important mustache. Standing in for Magnum's Ferrari 308 GTS is a Grotti Cheetah Classic.
A personal favorite; this build is inspired by a 1970 Dodge Challenger T/A. Particularly great when paired with Smokey Robinson's, “Why You Wanna See My Bad Side.”
A JDM mainstay that emulates the infamous Calsonic Nissan Skyline GT-R R32.
