Can you spot the difference between these images? The subject is a Sonic Red Lexus LC500, photographed at various London locations. One of the slides is shot in Gran Turismo Sport’s excellent photo mode, the other is a real shot.
To test the theory that modern game graphics are truly lifelike, Lexus enlisted the help of professional photographer Jayson Fong to help create some images in-game, and then retake them in real life. They picked Air Street, Cromwell Place and Wellington Street in London, as featured in the game’s ‘Scapes’ mode.
As for the car? It’s a good one to test both photographer and observer. With a nice mix of clean and harsh lines, we love the way the LC500 looks in certain environments, reflecting what’s around it.
Then, once the images were taken on the game, Jayson and his team noted down the exact geometry, time of day and light settings to replicate the pictures in real life. As Jayson follows, lighting was the biggest challenge.
“For some locations, we had to be on the street at 4am and it was difficult to get the timings right because the sky was always going to be one of the biggest giveaways.”
- Google Street View cars clock up 10 million miles
It proved a tall task practically when it came to shooting the car for real, then. Given the closeness of the results, we wouldn’t blame you for leaving it to the professionals and taking to the PlayStation for some artistic automotive photography.
The results really are spectacular, given that we’re never quite sure which is real. Especially in the case of the Cromwell Place daytime shot. We’re unsure what the giveaway is. The bin bag? The reflections on the car? The yellow lines? The scaffolding? They’ve done a great job of matching the shots.