I’ve always had a soft spot for the original Land Rover (Defender as it’s now become), although not brave enough to own one!

This was a fun shoot for Octane Magazine where we compared one of the first off the line back in the ’40s with one of the vert last Defenders off the line. Production ceased this year. What struck us was how much the cars differ although the basic silhouette is instantly recognisable. The old one is so much smaller, and somehow more honest, benefitting as it does from any plastic adornments…

The shoot was quite straightforward in that there wasn’t much comping to be done other than cutting the car out and replacing the background with one created in Photoshop. I then added reflections and shadows.

The key to lighting the car with a view to replacing the background is to get the basic feel right in the studio. In this case fairly high-key and light, so the new background matches this, as does what you see through the windows.