“Photographers hate black cars and lovesilver,because it conveys the clear elegance of theside view in flawless beauty. So silver cars weresuddenly as sought-after as a hot tip for the winningnumbers in the state lottery.Blue was consideredjust about passable as a substitute, while nobodyliked the dark brown eight-cylinder model at all,”because it looks so unfortunate in a photo.”
This passage comes from a booklet titled “A Car Reaches Maturity”, distributed to journalists during the press test drive in Cannes in March 1991. Jürgen Hubbert instructed the press department to compile a number of small stories from the development of the W140, and at the world premiere he encouraged journalists to read these details carefully. Although the reaction from the press was disappointing to him.
Although the coverage of the fleet continues to grow, I make every effort to ensure that no car is neglected. To keep them alive—and to find new work points that deepen the bond—each car is driven for a full year every two to three years, following a rotation system. In 2026, Octavius, finished in 040 black, becomes my assigned car for the year. And as is customary, a dedicated series of photographs will be created for the car in its rotation year.
Does this sound like an unexciting routine? In truth, it only feels that way because we have become so familiar with one another—and because we have been preparing for this year for a long time. In fact, the preparation never really stopped after the last shoot. Compared to before, I have gained more experience, and how to approach this again has been something I constantly reflect upon. I even considered starting earlier last autumn, but the move to Bau 3 occupied the final quarter of 2025.
Frankly speaking, our last shoot four years ago was not successful. Sometimes, when you arrive on the battlefield with a weapon in hand but cannot find a target, you suddenly realize, “I know too little”—yet there is no Bible in your pocket or in your brian. Photographing a black car is not a painful challenge for me, but it is becoming a serious subject in its own right. So before formally beginning this year’s work, I am glad to take a moment to reorganize my thoughts. Let us be prepared—so that this time, the effort will no longer feel like a sad one.
Photographers tend to dislike black W140s, this can be explained in several ways. First, they do not favor a black S-Class—or perhaps most of its designers did not. Before the W140, black was not a representative color for the S-Class. On the contrary, the authority implied by black stood in contrast to the prevailing liberal spirit of the time. Amid a flow of small, colorful cars, a big and black W140 appeared like Mussolini’s club—something that could only spoil the atmosphere.
From a photographic standpoint, however, their criticism is largely technical—especially when compared to the reception of silver cars. It is not that a black S-Class is inherently “unfortune”; a black Beetle can appear just as somber. The difficulty lies in photographing glossy black paint itself, which often leaves images feeling somehow lacking.
In October 1990, one of the earliest cars with production parts, A000016—wearing the license plate S-KT 4186—was taken by the marketing department, together with another silver car, to the Tabernas Desert in southern Spain to film footage and shoot photographs for the first sales brochure. The material was completed by December 1990. A000016 was a black 600 SEL, and the first fully complete V12 car available for shooting.
A rather well-known and beautiful picture. There was a clear reason why this series was shot in the Tabernas Desert. The first batch of cars was ready in October 1990, when the sun’s elevation in the Northern Hemisphere had just begun to drop to a level ideal for sunset photography. The open desert provides a clean, uninterrupted horizon, allowing the full glow of the setting sun to be captured. You can see how the side of the car is “supported” by the warm orange light of the sunset. Without that line of light, the image might have felt rather flat and unremarkable.
Earlier on, this car—then wearing the universal license plate S-HP 5555, representing the first completed V12—was photographed in detail at Staud Studio. Compared to the extensive interior shots, it is clear that people were not satisfied with the exterior images, and only a single rear three-quarter view was released. Only in this image can one tell that the car is actually finished in 199 Black Pearl Metallic. Without proper artificial lighting, the paint tends to reveal scratches and dust.
There is also an indoor artistic photo with a strong René Staud style. This type of image aims to depict a car standing on a roadway, with traffic flowing behind it. Compared to the desert shoot, the key characteristic of this studio setup is the additional and altered color of the side highlight. All artificial lighting, apart from the car itself, is used to enrich the color palette and, through reflections along the car’s flanks, to emphasize the black vehicle against a black background. A long exposure was used, which causes the lights to appear as starbursts.
Why is the side highlight so important for black cars? The importance of such a highlight varies depending on the color. Black absorbs most visible light; it reflects very little on its own and has no inherent color bias. Without gloss, black would reflect nothing at all. However, in automotive paint, the clear coat—a smooth, transparent layer—acts like a sheet of glass, allowing the surrounding environment to be reflected onto the black surface beneath.
Because the black paint layer absorbs most of the incident light and produces very little additional scattering, the specular reflections formed by the clear coat can appear with much higher contrast. As a result, reflections of the surroundings look clearer and deeper. By contrast, lighter paint colors such as silver or white strongly scatter light. This diffuse reflection creates a “bright background” that interferes with the clear coat’s mirror-like reflections, making them appear blurred or even difficult to perceive. In general, the darker the paint color, the closer it appears—visually—to a mirror-like surface.
Thus, glossy black paint is a contradiction. On the one hand, it swallows almost everything; on the other, it reflects the most. The fact that it swallows everything is itself a disadvantage, because it also swallows the accents of other colors. Its strong reflectivity is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it allows black paint to reflect light as well, so that it no longer appears oppressive. On the other hand, this reflectivity is simply too efficient—not everything is suitable to be reflected onto the body.
Because a black car is dark by nature, a clean and vivid band of light across the black paint can give the car visual highlights while avoiding the projection of unwanted objects onto its surface. Especially on a body like the W140, whose flanks are excessively smooth and lack any character lines, there are no natural creases to generate highlights on their own. In that sense, a light band is almost the only way to add life to the car’s appearance.
Returning to this photo, it is not quite as natural as it seems. You may notice that the transition between the background and the car is not entirely seamless, especially around the A-pillar on the right side. The reflection on the front of the car also suggests that there was a light source above the hood. Yes, this image was subjected to some manipulation: it was assembled from multiple photographs taken from the same angle under different lighting conditions and against different backgrounds. Even professional agencies were reluctant to rely on purely natural photos.
For that reason, shooting a black car always requires a great deal of work, both before and after the shutter is pressed. At times, photography studios choose to invent an environment for the car altogether. This may take the form of a temporary structure, or barriers placed in the direction from which the light comes, in order to create a clean, straight horizon. As a final result, those beautiful sunset scenes may appear flawless—but they do not really withstand close scrutiny.
In any case, black was bound to be the best-selling color of the W140, and photographers had no choice but to face the challenge—finding ways to make the most difficult subject look its best. Otherwise, people might be swayed by how much more appealing BMWs and Cadillacs appeared in black photos. Let’s open the textbook, use a few surviving examples from sales brochures to explain why black cars are difficult to photograph well.
In the US market, black cars had a somewhat lower profile. In the 1992 sales brochure photographed by Clint Clemens, only the relatively understated 300 SE appears in black. And he did not even bother with too many artificial techniques. The photos were taken in the spring of 1991 in Newport, Rhode Island. Being on the East Coast, one could capture the reflection of the setting sun from the west simply by facing the ocean.
Although the car in the photo is missing the drain hole beneath the battery—indicating that the image has been retouched—the imperfect side highlight is real. This reveals another “honesty problem” inherent to black cars. Because the sheet metal is never perfectly flat, the edges of the doors inevitably carry slight dents and distortions from stamping and welding processes. The highlight band simply allows the honest black paint to faithfully reveal all these imperfections.
There is also a reflection of trees along the side of the trunk, making the light and shadow across the entire flank less consistent. This tends to happen when a sufficiently long, clean horizon cannot be established. To some extent, it can be considered a visual distraction—something that is almost impossible to encounter today, given the reliance on digital post-processing. Yet Clint Clemens does not seem to mind these imperfections on the car’s surface. Instead, he prefers to downplay the car itself, enhancing the image through the richness of the environment and the inclusion of people to create greater visual depth.
The techniques for photographing dark-colored cars are largely the same—whether it is 904 Midnight Blue or even 249 Spruce Green. In the 1992 brochure, this 600 SEL appears almost black, but it is actually in 172 Anthracite Grey—perhaps the “unfortunate brown” mentioned earlier. These columns in the background belonged to the Double Bank in New Bedford. Since the photo was taken after sunset, the car appears darker. Although the body lacks highlights, the bright-colored architectures in the back helps balance the overall composition. But for me, the reflection of the tree branches is approaching the critical value.
In contrast to the global sales brochure, which remained unchanged from 1990 to 1993, the importance of the S-Class in the North American market—and its independent marketing budget—led to more frequent updates of the US photos. For MY1994, a new series was produced for the North American brochure. This marked the first joint appearance of the two S-Class variants following the introduction of the new SEC. Based on the timeline of vehicle readiness, the shoot should have taken place around May 1993. However, the trees in the photos have not yet budded—somewhat early even for the East Coast. It is therefore possible that the shoot was carried out earlier, using MY1993 cars.
Beyond the use of sunset lighting, this photo introduces another technical feature: the “hero” perspective. In addition to making the car appear more imposing, it plays an important role for black cars by elevating the reflected scene. According to the principles of mirror reflection, when the camera is positioned lower than the car, the body tends to reflect the sky rather than the ground. And the ground is usually filled with elements that clutter the paint surface, could be road signs, other cars, or crosswalk markings. If there are no buildings or trees in the direction of reflection, a smooth and uniform highlight will be formed.
Using long exposure to capture motion is a more technical approach—and one that also involves a fair amount of luck. Before discussing this technique, it is worth asking a question: when the surroundings of a car become motion-blurred, do the reflections on the paint blur as well? In this image, they do. Reflections of nearby trees become softened, which means that long exposure can actually be an advantage—it reduces the visual presence of reflections. After all, photographing a car beneath cluttered trees is rarely a good idea.
However, distant elements behind the trunk remain nearly static, so the degree of blur depends on distance. This means the technique is effective at reducing unwanted reflections at close range, but less so for objects farther away. It is therefore better suited to dense urban environments. In practice, the longer the exposure, the better—but there are also many constraints. In this case, the car happens to sit precisely between two trees; with a slightly longer exposure, it would have been obscured by them.
This image brings together sunset lighting, the hero perspective, and motion techniques in a single composition. The sunset provides highlights for the black car, the hero angle gives it a sense of presence and stature, and motion softens what would otherwise be a harsh background. Shooting in this way on a mountain road is an ideal choice—but achieving the necessary focal length requires considerable effort in finding the right position. For example, since the sunset comes from the west, the road must run north–south, and the camera needs to be positioned further to the northwest.
In addition to the sales brochures, photographs were also taken for internal training materials. In late 1993, a facelift example car bearing the plate S-LN 8460 was photographed in studio—this time, black was chosen as the primary color. The car featured certain details that would not appear on final production facelift models. These were functional, non-commercial images shot at Staud Studio. Perhaps most clearly, they reveal just how plain a black car can appear under white studio lighting.
The next page of the textbook brings us to the facelift series photographed in December 1993. This series was shot in California, where both the sales brochure and press photos were produced during the same assignment, somewhat unusual. Sales brochure photos were typically subject to more artistic treatment and held higher aesthetic value than the relatively unrefined press photos. However, considering the less optimistic financial reports of 1993, budget constraints were understandable. Once again, the black car featured was a V12.
In this series, although the sales brochure did not directly use the press photos, its artistic value is rather unremarkable compared to earlier work from the Staud Studio. In the context of our discussion, it may serve as an example of “how to photograph a black car to not achieve the best possible result.
Once again, the car used was a 199 Black Pearl Metallic but looks almost just black S 600 (A178412), one of the earliest facelift cars to be completed. Compared to other vehicles, its range of activity was somewhat more limited, with most of its photography centered around the urban and cultural landscapes of Los Angeles and San Francisco. A reasonable assumption for relocating this series to Los Angeles rather than Europe is that, in winter, many other locations offered fewer suitable options. By contrast, warm California faces the Pacific Ocean, where the horizon aligns perfectly with the setting sun.
In this series, the photographs appear more casual—more natural. The sunset horizon is no longer used to define the side of the car, and the vehicle is consistently placed in shadow. Note that combining a black car with a dark background is generally a poor choice; as a result, the images tend to feel somewhat somber. By early 1994, aesthetic trends had also shifted. Magenta-toned film had become more prevalent, and color grading was now applied to the entire image rather than selectively enhancing the body of the car.
The five-lane San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge is well suited for photographing cars in motion, but this image clearly lacks a visual highlight. The lighting conditions were unfavorable, so there was no opportunity to color the body effectively. Moreover, the reflections of the suspension bridge on the flanks and side windows make the car appear cluttered. Rather than showcasing the strengths of the bridge, the photograph ends up being troubled by it. To be honest, I find it a bit puzzling that it was selected for the brochure.
From 1994 onward, image-processing software became increasingly common in automotive photography. This series of California images was used all the way through the end of W140 production—nearly five years. These photos feel natural and even retain elements that were once considered imperfections. This was not only a result of reduced budgets, but also a reflection of the shifting mainstream aesthetic of the time.
In North America market, the MY1995 photo set was, unsurprisingly, more striking than that of the rest of the world. However, timing once again presented a challenge. The facelift cars made their debut in March 1994 at the Geneva Motor Show, and this time the North American launch was synchronized, with cars arriving in February 1994. At that time of year, the East Coast was not well suited for shooting. Rather than traveling to California to replicate their European counterparts’ work, the artists focused on the adobe architecture of New Mexico.
At first glance, this one looks quite good. It combines the hero perspective, sunset lighting, and a bright, colorful background. Setting aside its deceptive nature—the entire car was composited into the background, something that became common by 1994 but was still technically immature, resulting in mismatched light and shadow—the concept itself is worth studying. However, in a real shoot, it would be impossible to achieve such a low angle on flat ground. The horizon line in this image even falls outside the frame, and the ground itself was also added in post-production.
One key takeaway from this photo lies in the content of the side reflections. This time, the highlight band is not formed by the horizon, but by a line of trees. A continuous tree line—or any other uniform barrier—can produce a harder, more defined highlight than a horizon, thereby emphasizing the side. However, this approach also has its limitations, as it reduces the intensity of the sunset light. As a result, the shot must be taken before the sun has fully set—because at the moment of sunset, the trees would already block the remaining glow. But before sunset, the light is not quite as beautiful.
From MY1995 onward, dark-colored cars in photos were often artificially brightened. In my view, given that a camera’s dynamic range is lower than that of the human eye, adjusting the brightness of the car based on visual memory is reasonable—but only if it remains faithful to natural perception. At the technical and aesthetic level of the time, however, most images were not handled particularly well. Today, this practice has simply been inherited and normalized.
S-LW 8572 and S-LW 8825 were two new additions to the global catalog in March 1995. From this period onward, W140 photography became more of an “afterthought.” These photos were often produced as part of broader photography assignments for other models.
For example, S-LW 8572 appears in one photo taken in Barcelona and another in Hamburg, also Lisbon, both shot alongside the facelift W124. Mercedes-Benz largely continued to rely on the original facelift photo series rather than replacing it entirely, with these newer images serving only as supplementary material.
Fortunately, photographic techniques in Europe also advanced significantly during this period. Although the photos relied heavily on exaggerated film tones, black cars made better use of sunset lighting than before. For more plain, single-color cars, turning on the headlights proved to be an effective way to add visual highlights. As the W140 was no longer the primary subject at the time, less care was devoted to lens and scene selection. Contemporary models, such as the W210 and W202, offer far more instructive examples in their brochures.
During the same period, automotive photography in the US underwent a profound shift. The car was no longer the absolute focal point; artists became more interested in the harmony between the vehicle and its human or cultural surroundings. In these photos, the car is sometimes only partially shown, or even blurred and abstracted. Although this is not the most effective way to showcase the car itself, it reflects MBNA’s consistent determination to remain at the forefront of evolving trends.
Personally, I find these new aesthetics do not introduce much innovation or technical challenge in photographic practice. Once the image processing is stripped away, the photos themselves are not particularly remarkable. For black cars, applying strong film tones—such as yellow or magenta—is a way to bring life to otherwise dull images. What matters, however, is that only photographs with suitable lighting lend themselves to such color treatment. So even though the original color of the sky may be lost, this approach still places considerable demands on the weather conditions.
A brief interlude with a dark-colored car photo I particularly favor. This is the newly introduced 1997 S Coupé, finished in 572 Ruby Red. It incorporates the familiar elements discussed earlier—hero angle, sunset lighting, and motion blur—but presented here in a particularly clear and textbook manner. At the moment of capture, the car is traveling from south to north, with the sunset coming from behind. This proves more visually pleasing than having the light come from the front. The illuminated headlights help balance the darkness at the front of the car. In terms of technique, shooting in sunset conditions shares much in common with black cars.
By MY1998, there were signs of a return to more “value-oriented” aesthetics in North American photography. Spraying water on the ground became an increasingly common practice in the mid-1990s—somewhat unnecessarily associated with photographing black cars. The intention was not to suggest rain, but to create reflective surfaces on the ground. This technique works for cars of all colors, but is particularly effective for black cars. However, one must carefully consider what will appear in the reflections—otherwise, the effect can easily become counterproductive.
The last one is also particularly pleasing—highly inspired. Keeping the ground wet requires a water truck and the necessary on-site coordination, which significantly raises the threshold for such shoots—making it difficult to replicate in amateur shooting. This is often the case with photography: at higher levels, the marginal efficiency of both technique and budget diminishes, and rigid barriers emerge that have little to do with photography itself.
So, having looked at all these technical points—and what not to do—is shooting a black W140 difficult? Not at all to copy what we shown above. What is difficult is understanding the underlying essence and bringing in your own creativity, rather than simply repeating scenes and images that already exist. This is the challenge artists face as well: if you are determined to do your best today, are you prepared to do something lesser tomorrow?
To that end, my approach is simple: take the car out and go places. With a perceptive eye, you will find unexpected inspiration. At this very moment, our 2026 shooting project has already begun. Soon, we will be releasing the first set of results along with our reflections from the process.