CAPTURING THE 'WHISPER OF QUIET CONFIDENCE' IN GENESIS G90 BLACK
GAPYEONG, Korea, April 30, 2024 — The allure of the latest Genesis G90 Black lies in its subtlety. A black color scheme elegantly permeates nearly every visible aspect of the vehicle, from the sleek radiator grille to the meticulously crafted shift paddles.
Nigel Harniman, a world-renowned English auto photographer, poetically describes it as “a whisper of quiet confidence.”
The impression was conveyed during an interview with the Genesis Newsroom last February, weeks prior to the Korean launch of the Genesis G90 Black on March 21. Speaking on the sidelines of the new vehicle's visual shoot, held at an underground parking lot just outside Seoul, Harniman candidly expressed his thoughts on the G90 Black and his years-long relationship with Genesis.
This is your third time working with Genesis. What's your overall impression of its cars?
Looking at the short history of Genesis, it’s really impressive. You look at the finish, the precision, the design — is there anyone else who's managed this within a decade? It started with the idea of this premium luxury brand, and now look at the quality of the cars. I mean, the interiors look really, really luxurious.
You’re here on the set of the Genesis G90 Black. What first came through your mind when you saw the vehicle?
The car has a cool presence. Debadging has been going on in the custom world for years. You can't get rid of every badge on a car, otherwise nobody knows what it is. Instead, you say, “Okay, well, let's tone the badging back, make it a little less obvious.” The car doesn't need to shout about itself. With a dark, dark slate gray, and then the wheels almost black, all the buttons and finishes in black, the Genesis G90 Black whispers quiet confidence and makes it more sophisticated.
Is there a particular feature of the vehicle that stands out to you personally?
The headlights. It's got to be the headlights. Those little headlights are just lovely. There are two rows of about eight on each side, and they fall around that curve of the wing. They're understated and just really, really nice. They don’t need to be big, brash or labeled. They’re pieces of line art and give a smiling face to the car.
What’s the overarching theme or concept you’re aiming to capture through this key visual shoot?
Seen but not seen. This shoot has a monochromatic background. There's no color and even the background is gray concrete. The color of the G90 Black itself is all tones of black and that's it. With moody lighting, we're trying to say, “Okay, we can see the whole car,” but we don't overlight it so it hides in the environment. It’s cool and subtle.
Speaking of lighting, you're shooting a really dark vehicle in a really dark setting. Would you consider this a challenging setup?
In terms of a lighting perspective, gloss black surfaces are always difficult. If the car was a matte black color, it would be easier because the light would just spread down the body. With gloss paint, the mica in the metallic paint and the shine from the gloss surface are difficult to capture together. So we have to shoot three layers: one for the gloss, one for the mica, and then we shape the car with another light to pick out all the key lines.
Were there any other difficulties during the shoot?
Yeah, people’s bad jokes (laughs). Some of them have been appalling! Really, no, everybody’s great and it’s fantastic working with people who are so enthusiastic about the products and making the best picture. We were here until midnight the other night and everybody was committed to staying until we got it right. There really aren't any problems — we just have fun.
With your extensive travel experience around the world, is there any other location or seasonal background you think would complement the G90 Black?
If we were to carry on the theme of shooting in monochromatic environments, I think of Iceland and the black beaches. I would put the car on the black beach, perhaps with a contrasting white from the ice and snow. Another place that comes to mind is Tenerife [of the Canary Islands], where there are also black roads and environments from the volcano. I would stick with that theme since the G90 Black is a black-led car, but if there needed to be a total contrast, you'd have to shoot it in the autumn when the leaves are falling. Somewhere like Maine in the U.S. where you get those fantastic maple colors. Not the same concept, but it would add a splash of color.
You travel the world, pursue your passion and also get a really close up look at luxurious cars before they hit the market. However, I assume there are still ups and downs in your career.
Travel is brilliant, but airports and sitting on planes are a minus. If I never see another airport lounge again, I'll be a happy man. That's the downside. The best thing is you could be sitting on the Bonneville Salt Flats and nobody's there, and you see a sunrise. You've got a car and you've got everything there, and you think, most of my friends are still lying in bed. But then you realize, oh well, where would I rather be? The people you're with, the people you work for — they're all positive. Freelance, as anybody knows, is a tricky life. It's not like I've got regular income. Obviously, it becomes more regular when you’re more well known, but when you're starting out, they’re the difficult years. Fortunately, those years are behind me now.
Do you have any cherished moments that stayed with you from your experience with Genesis throughout the years?
Overriding everything is the positivity from everybody at Genesis and the advertising agency to the freelance production crew. Everyone just wants to produce the best work possible, and it is great fun. On the first shoot, we had to do a night shoot and then a morning shoot, so we worked through the night, and everybody was pushing to get the shots done until midday. Once we were finished, we all just crashed and they said, “Wow, that was great.”
With all the long shoots, is there anything in particular that you do to stay fit and keep the energy levels up?
I ride motorbikes off road across the desert in my spare time, and you have to be fit for that. I just try not to overeat or overdrink. I keep myself healthy and moving. I'm generally very active when I'm not shooting.
Do you have any simple tips for people who are not professional photographers like yourself but still want to take great shots of their cars?
There are loads of basics. If you're going to shoot a car, just take it out at sunset, the golden hour. If you want to get up in the morning, that also works, but doing it in the evening is easier. Just go play with the light on the car and work the angles. I actually use little model cars to do group shots. If I need to photograph seven or eight cars in one shot, it’s much easier to plan the setup with model cars, light them up and then replicate that setup with the full-scale cars. You know if the balance is going to work and it's a lot easier to move model cars around. In a lot of locations, moving real cars around will mess up the ground or leave tire marks, but with a defined layout from the model cars, I can put that into my visualization software and move the first real car into place. I can then work out where the second car needs to go, and so on. If you've got visualization software and shoot with your computer tethered to the camera, that's an easy, quick way of doing things.