Coverage · Personal & Automotive
Personal automotive editorial. Rooftop and garage compositions. Southfield, Michigan.
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The shoot
This was a personal shoot for Phil Ajlouni — his BMW M6, photographed across two settings in Southfield, Michigan, just outside Detroit. The first set ran on a rooftop, working the car against the surrounding skyline at the end of golden hour. The second moved into a garage environment for the detail work.
Automotive editorial is one of the more disciplined types of photography. The car is the subject, and the car doesn't move on its own — every frame is built. The work is to make a series of static compositions read like a single coherent piece, and to make sure every angle earns its place. It is the same discipline sponsor activations, hospitality launches, and luxury automotive environments demand when the product still has to feel alive.
The frames below are six selects from the shoot.
Photography: Brian Mullin / Pause Studios · Southfield, Michigan · Personal shoot for Phil Ajlouni
The work
The rooftop set runs cinematic — wide compositions, the car positioned against the skyline, light timed to the end of golden hour. The garage set runs editorial — low angles, hard surfaces, the car against context that doesn't compete with it.
Anyone shooting their car seriously wants two things at once: frames that look like a magazine spread, and frames that work on social. The series has to deliver both, in the same visual language. Brand and automotive photography is one of Pause Studios' core lanes — available for personal car shoots, dealer campaigns, commissioned commercial work, and activation-led automotive experiences alike.
Coverage
The series
This coverage type
Automotive work sits at the intersection of brand photography and editorial — whether it's a personal shoot for the car's owner or a commissioned commercial project. The car is the subject, but the frames need to do more than show it. They have to set a mood, place the car in a context, and deliver assets that work for print, social, owner archive, and dealer or brand marketing alike.
Pause Studios covers automotive and brand work across Metro Detroit, Windsor, New York, and the wider 12-market footprint. Available for personal owner shoots, dealer campaigns, hospitality or showroom launches, and experiential marketing where the product needs to feel premium in both stills and recap assets.
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