Mastering Used Car Photography: How to Sell Your Vehicle Faster Online
Want to make your listing stand out? The secret weapon is high-quality photography.
Why Photos Matter
Did you know that 90% of vehicle shoppers start their buying process online? Even more compelling: 62% of buyers are directly influenced by images. This means your car photos can make or break a potential sale.
Key Benefits of Professional Used Car Photography
1. **Build Trust**: Transparent, detailed images show buyers exactly what they're getting.
2. **Create First Impressions**: Great photos encourage buyers to explore your vehicle further.
3. **Highlight Condition**: Showcase your car's true state through high-resolution images.
4. **Set Realistic Expectations**: Minimize post-sale disputes by providing comprehensive visual information.
Pro Tips for Capturing Killer Car Photos
Preparation is Key
- Thoroughly wash and detail your car
- Clean interior, including floor mats and roof
- Make it look as close to new as possible
Location and Lighting
- Choose a clean, uncluttered backdrop
- Shoot during "golden hour" (just after sunrise or before sunset)
- Avoid harsh midday sunlight that creates harsh reflections
Camera Techniques
- Use a focal length around 50mm to avoid distortion
- Set aperture to f/5.6 or f/8 for balanced focus
- Remove bright objects that might create distracting reflections
Must-Take Shots
- Exterior from multiple angles (front, side, rear)
- Detailed interior shots (dashboard, seats, cargo area)
- Close-up of odometer
- Any damages or wear (be transparent!)
- Engine bay and undercarriage
Common Photography Mistakes to Avoid
- Crazy, unusable angles
- Incorrect camera settings
- Over-relying on photo editing
- Poor lighting
The Bottom Line
Investing time in quality photography can significantly accelerate your car sale. By following these tips, you'll create a compelling, trustworthy listing that attracts serious buyers.
Remember: In the digital marketplace, your photos are your first and most powerful sales pitch.
Consider automating the process and gaining the highest quality First Impressions with a Dealermade Photo Booth
Automation of the process
Per rooftop Storybook layout (Hero shoot, picture selection, picture order, promotional inserts, overlays) applied to every session automatically specific to each rooftop
AICrop crops every picture too tightly to maximize the vehicle within the frame.
AIBackground, background replacement (normally only used on Media Maker applications to ensure uniformity for parking lot and studio pictures on the corporate website.
We display duplicates, such as vehicles (same year, model, exterior color, interior color) matches, to allow one studio session to be applied to all similar vehicles.
Integration: we export inventories & pictures to one or multiple 3rd parties every three hours.
Window stickers & buyers' guides
HDViewer is a script on the VDP that displays interactive video of a 360-degree exterior from a high, mid, or low viewpoint with superzoom, interior panorama, and categories of gallery shots, specialty pictures, and wear-and-tear items. All of this displays instantly on your website as the vehicle completes a session because our script displays the media directly from our server cloud.
The backend manager provides access to and manages all media.
GIF Share: a gif is available for each vehicle that completes a session that is a moving display that can be used in CRM, emails, etc., to capture a future client's attention with the vehicle spinning instantly when they open the email
NEW Customer GIF: We provide an app for every salesperson and dealer team member to upload a picture of their new customer with the VIN. We will complete a background replacement for the customers' pictures and place them in front of their car spinning template with your logo/info.
Social Media manager, displaying analytics, competitors, reports, and ad management to all platforms
Internal team support: we provide "real people" support and can control the computer and manage camera settings remotely.
A full studio warranty is included for the entire term of the agreement.
