THE DESIGN OF BMW INDIVIDUAL.

BMW M Magazine: You have been a photographer for 8 years now and command an impressive portfolio in the domain of automotives. Did you know from the beginning that you wanted to specialise in cars? 

Thomas Schorn: Yes and no. The passion for cars was always present. However, I knew from the beginning, that this would be a long and winding road. Owing to the high level of responsibility and the complexity of car manufacturing it was inconceivable for a greenhorn to be unleashed on an allocation at that time. Nowadays the threshold for young photographers has thankfully been lowered due to smaller Social Media allocations. As I didn’t fancy working as an assistant, I positioned myself as a Stilllifer* directly after my apprenticeship. This worked out pretty neatly. However, I never lost sight of my goal. In 2015 I finally made the cut and completely specialised in cars.
*(editor’s note: a photographer who predominantly captures still life, as opposed to, say, portrait photographers)

What is the allure of capturing

automobiles and motor sports on camera?

Sometimes I find it difficult to answer such questions satisfactory, because the passion overweighs rational reasons. If you burn so brightly for something, it becomes an inner motor without need for reasons, let alone being able to explicitly name them.
Basically, these are often two very different animals. Automobile photography is highly complex, which inherently accommodates me as a nerdy Stillifer, who is intent on the details. Motor sports on the other hand, is the complete opposite and almost has something of a regimen for me. Wild, unpredictable, dirty, real. Pure passion and gut instincts are in the driver’s seat, the head is on hiatus for the most part.

Can you tell us about the particular challenges of portraying cars? 

The challenges completely depend on the concept and can therefore not really be generalised. Cars have not only become highly complex in terms of technical details but also design, which does not necessarily make it any easier for us photographers. A body is virtually a 360° mirror face, which needs to be entirely adjusted. Shootings in a studio are relatively rewarding, because everything can be illuminated without interferences and under optimal conditions. Outdoor shootings are a different beast. Here various factors such as what is mirrored or how the car harmonises with the location need to be considered.

What was special about the BMW M Mono project? 

The singularity of this shooting was matching the lighting and mirrorings in the varnish with the synthetic backgrounds. The scribbles of the backgrounds functioned as blueprint during the shooting. As we had various background scenarios for each car beforehand, we needed to set the lights to different variants for every car, in order to flexibly react to changes in the background afterwards.

If you could choose a BMW M, which one would it be and why? 

Can I choose two? The M2 Competition as a small and feisty track tool, and the M4 Coupé in signal green as the daily driver. And as I’m already breaking the rules anyway, I will also take the original BMW Z1 for the summery style.

Thomas, thank you so much for the interview!