LUCAS GARRIDO TRAVELS THE GLOBE TO DIRECT AND PHOTOGRAPH MERCEDES PRIDE CAMPAIGN

Over a whirlwind 14-day shoot spanning 5 countries, Mercedes tapped Lucas to direct video and photograph streets in London, New York, Tokyo, Milan and Berlin that have become symbols of the LGBTQIA+ community.

From old classic Mercedes to the latest electric models, Lucas created cinematic visuals that feel like they’re pulled from a feature-length film—each car the main character in her own story.

“It was in my hands and the creatives to decide which parts of the city we would use each car. I personally fell in love with the old-timer from London, but also we had a sick AMG CLA class in Tokyo,” he says. “We tried to find those locations that would make more sense for each car.”

Fast Facts

• shot in 14 days in 5 different countries

• one video per city delivered to client

• initial delivery goal was 44 images, but client took full library

The project was fast paced and challenging because Lucas was shooting at night and moving quickly from one city to the other, only spending two days in each. Lucas, nimble on his feet, moved gracefully through the rapid shoot environment capturing gorgeous documentary style images. “Streets were pretty, cars were too,” he says, “And despite some challenges with not being able to show people or other car brands, anywhere I’d point my camera and with some creativity, there was a great shot.”

“I love the white Mercedes shot. it’s the maximum exponent of the concept. Document the car in its ‘natural’ habitat, surrounded by society,” Lucas says. “There were a few restrictions when shooting this campaign but there was also a huge creative spectrum on how to capture the images. It wasn’t your conventional car commercial with very specific car angles. So they were very open minded to explore new visual languages.”