I recently had the chance to join good friend Jason for one of the photography courses he hosts at the Brooklands Motor Museum, near Weybridge in Surrey. The course is designed to give would-be professional snappers tips on camera angles, zoom, lighting and capturing a car in one of those evocative poses that we admire so much in our favourite mags.

The weather was more than ideal. From sun to dense cloud cover to light rain, the challenges for the photographers attending were vast but it enabled them to experience all the trials and tribulations the professional endures in the run up to a tight deadline with an uncooperative environment.

Brooklands Motor Museum provides the perfect backdrop to learn those all important 'composition' skills.

The old garages, petrol pumps, aircraft hangars on the Brooklands site were ideal backdrops for the trio of performance cars getting the full Annie Leibovitz treatment. But perhaps even more stunning was the banking of the old racing circuit that we were given exclusive access to for the final shots.

All attendees I spoke to felt they’d learnt so much from the day. Jas was big on the importance of ‘picture composition’ – organising the elements and individual details of the viewfinder image into a balanced arrangement – and using perception to enhance standard snaps.

The old concrete banking of Brooklands' race circuit provides a useful visual contrast to our smooth modern cars.

I did take a brief time-out to pop into Mercedes-Benz World also located at Brooklands. Although his race results have been a little disappointing the company has clearly embraced Michael Schumacher as an icon for the marque. His supercilious smirk is present extensively throughout. Worth a visit and not just because it’s free.

The day certainly opened my eyes to the level of detail exercised by those in pursuit of the perfect shot. As an avid reader of auto journals I perhaps don’t take enough time to absorb the quality of the photography, but it something I’ve vowed to do from this day on.

If you’d like to improve your picture composition skills and fancy the opportunity to capture your pride and joy on location at the Brooklands museum, then speak to Jason on +44 (0) 1227 719385 or at www.jasondoddphotography.com.

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