BMW i3S with Andreas Hempel – On Location
The i3S is the sportier brother of BMW’s electric compact car. For the launch, BMW wanted a strong real-life feeling – as if passers by had taken some snapshots. Shot over eight days in the streets of San Francisco, Andreas Hempel used natural light in urban situations, using a current model as a stand-in.
With the plan being to use as much natural light as possible, the preparation day started out rather worryingly…

However the next morning was much improved and the team assembles for the first shot:

Timelapse of setting up a shot:
Lunch break, San Francisco style

As each first day’s shooting is complete, with on-set support from our Stuttgart team, we prepare to work our magic!
Work begins…

Reference photos for wheel reflections.

More high-speed work
Getting on the the low down for the perfect angle…


A complex setup to capture a spontaneous moment…

Setting up the shot, preparing for the moment when the light is at the perfect angle

And – there it is! We swapped in almost the entire front plus a few other distinctive parts of the new model in CGI, and intensified the dark, shadowy look. See the full series on our site here

Client: BMW
Agency: Serviceplan
Photographer: Andreas Hempel
Creative Directors: Jan Grothklags, Falk Pegelow, Mark Räke
Art Director: Christine Behrendt
CGI Artist: Andreas A. Maurer / Recom Farmhouse
Post Artists: Jonas Disch, Laura Kißner / Recom Farmhouse