THE NEW 4RUNNER

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THE NEW 4RUNNER

As an enthusiast myself, it's a dream to handle launching vehicles like this to the world. The Toyota 4Runner is one of the most popular trucks to roam our planet, and with it, comes a legacy of capability, reliability and community. The Toyota community cares deeply about this truck, and yet, it's gone almost completely unchanged over the last decade-plus, aside from aesthetics and minor updates. Finally, it's been completely revamped with a brand new hybrid drivetrain and badass looks to match, but of course, shooting it wasn't so simple...

Toyota & Saatchi commissioned me to shoot five hero images with the various 4Runner trims. The catch was that we had to do it one day, in a versatile location, and the big one... the new 4Runner wasn't available yet, so we had use a previous generation as a stand-in and render the new vehicle in CG. Wheels and tires are always tough to nail in CG. Between materials and rubber deflection, we wanted to use the real thing, so we fit the new 4Runner wheel & tire package to the stand-in vehicle which really let us leave the footprint unchanged from stand-in to CG, and had us only replacing the body of the vehicle. Worked out beautifully!

In another epic collaboration with Recom Farmhouse NYC, I set out to create a realistic, authentic but elevated body of work that would validate enthusiasts, showing their favorite truck doing what it does best: exploring new terrain and being driven hard. The shoot wasn't without its surprises -- we had torrential downpours and high winds to deal with! We worked quickly when the weather let up to capture backplates, domes, references and measurements, and thanks to careful scouting, an amazing crew and intricate planning, we got it all done. Once we were back home, I worked closely with Recom to dial in the CG vehicle elements and look & feel. Another dream job for the books! Onto the next.