The Call
Back in December 2022, a friend who runs a communication agency reached out with a challenge. He needed an Art Director for a high-end car rental photo shoot. He told me everything was ready; the photographers were booked and the brief was set. He just needed someone to step in and ensure the creative vision was executed perfectly.
I didn’t hesitate. “I’m in,” I said. “Where is it?”
He told me the shoot was in Rabat and that we would be handling about 20 luxury vehicles. Now, I will be honest: I had never worked on a project of this scale before. I felt that familiar spark of nerves, but I knew that once you get into the “flow,” the work takes over. However, my jaw dropped when he told me the lineup: we were not just shooting cars; we were shooting Lamborghinis, Maybachs, and Rolls-Royces.
I laughed and told him, “Bro, I have never even touched one of these, and now I am responsible for how they look on camera?” But I love a challenge, and I was ready to dive in.
The Vision vs. Reality
I spent the following days obsessing over moodboards and preparations. I had a clear vision for the location and the lighting. Since I was told we had “car photography professionals” on board, I focused entirely on the creative direction and the shot list.
Then came the day of the shoot. I drove from Casablanca to Rabat, arrived at the location, and found absolutely nobody.
I called my friend, and that is when the “logistical nightmare” started. The location had been changed at the very last second because the cars needed to stay close to the client’s showroom. My heart sank. I had planned every shot based on the lighting and ambiance of the original spot. I knew nothing about this new location, and to make matters worse, it was a bright, harsh sunny day, which is a photographer’s toughest challenge.
Here’s a part of the Moodboard I prepared*
Higher Difficulty Mode
When I arrived at the new spot, it was even more chaotic than I imagined. It was a crowded public area in Rabat. What was supposed to be a controlled photo shoot was turning into a public car show. I am someone who gets stressed in big crowds, but I told myself: “This will make a great story if we pull it off.”
Then came the final blow: the project manager told me we only had a few hours, we only had one photographer, and we had to finish before the area got too packed. It felt like I was playing a video game and someone had just bumped the difficulty setting to “Extreme.”
When I finally met the photographer, I realized our artistic styles were not aligned. Because we had not communicated beforehand, his approach did not match the high-end vision I had built for the brand. I had to improvise, and fast.
The Pivot: iPhone to the Rescue
I decided to take matters into my own hands. I had recently picked up the iPhone 14 Pro, which had just been released. I figured I would use it to capture “backups” to ensure I got the exact shots I envisioned in my brief.
As soon as I started working with the cars, the stress evaporated. It is hard to stay stressed when you are surrounded by Maybachs, a Keyvany-modified Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and Lamborghini Uruses. I spent the next few hours fully immersed, capturing these ultra-luxury machines on my phone while navigating the crowds of spectators.
The Result
In the end, the “spectacle” worked in our favor. We adapted to the environment, and the energy of the location added something special to the day.
When we got to post-production, the surprise was even bigger: the shots I took on the iPhone 14 Pro were stunning. In fact, many of them were sharper and better composed than the ones from the professional DSLR. By combining the best of both worlds, we delivered a final result that the client absolutely loved. They ended up using the imagery across their entire digital ecosystem, from their website and app to their official catalogues.
Here are a few of the final shots from that day
The Lesson
This experience taught me one vital thing: Stay present. No matter how big the challenge or how much the plan falls apart, you have to stay calm and trust the process. If you stay focused on the end result rather than the obstacles, everything eventually falls into place.
In Action
Here is a short video featuring some highlights from the shoot. You can see how focused I was and how much I was in the flow of the project. I also want to give a special shoutout to the amazing team. From the photographer to the drivers and project managers, I am grateful for their collaboration. Their trust in my vision is what truly brought this beautiful project to life.