7 tips to taking great car photos

Improve your listings with better car photos!

Having clear, tidy and attractive photos on your listings can be the difference between a sale and a lost sale. They can also be the difference between a buyer clicking on your listing or scrolling right past it.

Taking photos that give your vehicles justice increase the chances of buyers considering them during their car hunt. To help you achieve this, we have put together a list of DO’S and DONT'S when photographing your vehicles. 

But before we get into these, we want to emphasis the importance of giving your vehicles a good clean and removing any clutter inside them prior to photographing them. Photographing a dirty vehicle is not only unappealing to a consumer, it can also decrease in value in their eyes too. 

6 Tips for taking great photos of your vehicles

1. Take photos at the right time of day

The time of day has a huge impact on how a photo will turn out. If you take a photo when the sun is shining it can create reflections and shadows on the car which disguises its glorious shapes and curves, in-turn making photos turn out dull. 

To get the best lighting, take photos a few minutes after sunset or a few minutes before sunrise. It’s also important to take photos on a dry day, not a wet one as this can make the ground look inconsistent and splotchy.

Here's an example of a photo taken in poor lighting with shadows and reflections vs. a photo taken in good lighting.

2. Background

Shooting your vehicles on a clean, empty background makes them pop. Avoid having things in the shot that are distracting such as picture frames, posters, people, cords and other vehicles as these can ruin a photo.

Here's an example of a background with distractions vs. a clear background.

3. Take photos horizontally

To fit the whole car into the shot, take photos horizontally. Taking photos vertically will make the car look far away with large amounts of space at the top and bottom of the shot. 

If you're taking photos off your phone, position it horizontally with the home button on the right-hand side, this will ensure your photos display upright inside Motorcentral. If you take a photo with the home button on the left-hand side, your photos will display upside down inside Motorcentral.

4. Take photos at a natural height

When taking photos of a vehicle, take them from a natural height, the kind of height someone viewing the car would see it at. Don't crouch down or stand on an object to make the car look more dramatic than it is, you want them to look realistic. 

Here's an example of a high vs natural height shot.

5. Position yourself and your camera

Don't make the mistake of taking photos too close to the car, or too far away. You want to ensure the vehicle takes up majority of the frame, but at the same time leaving enough padding between the vehicle and the frame. Hold your camera straight to prevent photos from displaying on a lean. 

This is a great example of filling the shot up with the vehicle but leaving enough padding around it.

6. Turn the steering wheel

This one's an additional tip that can make the car look more attractive, while at the same time showing people a better view of the wheels. To make the car's front wheels visible, turn the steering wheel like the below example. 

7. Create consistency

Consistency across photos and listings often translates trust and credibility to consumers. It doesn't only look cleaner and tidier, but it puts more confidence in a potential customer when they're viewing your website. 

To ensure your photos are consistent follow the steps we discussed above, have your vehicles facing in the same direction and keep your photos the same size. Nothing looks worse than a website with photos of all different shapes and sizes. 

Start taking better photos, now!

Next time you’re taking photos of your vehicles, be sure to try out these 7 steps. Remember, photos are can be the difference between a sale and a lost sale, so invest the time in making sure they’re great!

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Disclaimer:
The Motorcentral blog is intended for educational purposes only. All writers opinions are their own and nothing published on this blog should be interpreted as a recommendation or advice in any way. Motorcentral is also not responsible for and does not verify accuracy of any of the information contained within this blog.
In the event third parties are referenced within this article, Motorcentral is not necessarily affiliated with those third parties.