As an automotive photographer  I've always been excited to photograph the latest and greatest cars but when I heard that the all-new BMW M3 Touring was coming out…….. I knew that we had to do something out the box for this car. It’s particularly special because it marks the first time in nearly 40 years that the iconic BMW M3 has been offered as an estate (Touring) car and I wanted to show this evolution by capturing all previous generations of M3s in the same photoshoot.

To make this happen I reached out to my man and BMW enthusiast Omar who was able to source all the previous generations of the M3 for me. This included the E36 Evo, E90, and F80 which we brought to the photoshoot location at Knockhill Racing Circuit. Exciting day let me tell you.

As we arrived at the location, I was eager to start shooting the M3 Touring. I had brought along two of my favourite camera bodies, the Canon R5 and the Canon R6 and a bunch of lenses to capture the car from different angles. I also had the new DJI Mavic 3 with me, which I planned to use to capture some aerial shots of the car. (I also crashed this during one of the shots!) We had also enlisted Project21 to detail the cars - I couldn’t trust anyone else but Gav for this shoot.

To help me get the perfect shot we had the help of legendary racing driver Gordon Shedden. Shedden is a three-time British Touring Car Champion and I knew that he would be able to drive the M3 Touring in a way that would really show off its capabilities.

We started off by taking some traditional shots of the M3 Touring from different angles. I wanted to capture the car's sporty design while also showing off its practicality as an estate car. The Canon R5 & R6 were perfect for this - allowing me to get sharp, detailed shots from different focal lengths. (I actually use the R6 for all my video work.)

Once we had taken some traditional shots, we moved on to more creative shots. I wanted to show the M3 Touring in action so we had Shedden drive the car around the track at high speeds. This allowed me to capture some amazing action shots of the car, with its wheels spinning and the engine roaring. I was particularly happy with the shots that I captured using the Canon R5's awesome high-speed burst mode, which allowed me to capture multiple shots in quick succession.

After we had captured some decent shots of  the M3 Touring, we moved on to the previous generations of M3s that Omar had sourced for us. I was excited to have these iconic cars alongside the latest M3 Touring as it would allow me to show how the M3 has evolved over the years. We positioned the cars in a row with the M3 Touring at the front and the previous generations behind it and boom!

I used a variety of techniques to capture the previous generations of M3s. For the E36, I wanted to capture the car's angular lines and aggressive styling so I used a combination of low-angle shots and close-ups to highlight the car's details. For the E90, I focused on capturing the car's boxy lines, using high-angle shots and close-ups to showcase the car's features. For the F80 - I wanted to show the car's modern design, so I used a combination of low-angle shots and wide-angle shots to highlight the car's shape.

As always I was impressed by the capabilities of the Canon R5 and R6. These cameras are some of the best on the market with high resolution, fast autofocus, and excellent image speeds and in challenging lighting conditions. The DJI Mavic 3 was also a great addition to my gear allowing me to capture stunning aerial shots of the M3 Touring and the previous generations of M3s.

As the photoshoot came to an end I was thrilled with the shots that we had captured. I knew that these photos would be a great addition to my portfolio, and I couldn't wait to share them with the world.

Being able to capture the evolution of this iconic car was a real privilege and having Gordon Shedden drive the car for us was the icing on the cake. I hope these photos will be a great addition to my portfolio and I'm excited to see them being shared across social media and other platforms!

Thanks to the team on the day: 

Omar – BMW F80

John – BMW E36

Lucas – BMW E90

John – BMW M3 Touring

Neil - Assistant & BTS photographer

Gav - Project21 Detailing

You can see the full set of images here - https://www.kabizzz.com/#/2023-bmw-m3touring-car-photography-at-knockhill/