10 ways to take perfect pictures on your car

Taking the perfect picture of your car is quite complicated when we are not use to do it. You have to show your vehicle in the exact way it looks and showing the best aspect of it. Also, It increases the trustworthiness between you and the viewer, on your online advertisement. To help you, we made a complete guideline to get you started to take perfect pictures of your car before make them sale, like a Professional.

1. Clean your car

Cleaning is the first step. Take care of the exterior and the interior. First impression is the most important. Clean the glass and use cleaning wipes to remove traces of limestone. Do not hesitate to polish your car to give it a professional finish. Remove all the personal thing you have put inside your car and all the stickers on the outside.

The interior is the most important for the customer. It is the hidden part of the car, the one we don’t usually see when we see the car on the street. Moreover, if the inside is clean the potential buyer can project himself in the car.

2. Use a good camera

Use a mirror-less camera or good compact with a polarized filter to eliminate the glare. Camera give ability to shoot at wide angles. This will allow you to take better quality picture than with your mobile phone.

3. Shoot in the right place.

Take your pictures outside. Lighting is very important and you need to take this into consideration when you are photographing your vehicle. Avoid parking spaces or garages as it limits your movement to get a good shot and lighting is generally bad. Daylight is more natural and will help you to get that perfect picture. Pay attention of your car colour. Some colours of cars don't take good photos in direct sunlight, so try at different times of the day to make sure you take that perfect photo enhancing the colour of your car.

4. The background.

Be ready to move your car to make sure the background fits the car and there is nothing which can distract the eye. Park in an open space and select a focal length or camera viewpoint that makes your car the center of attention.

5. The best time to shoot.

Choosing the right time of day can make a huge difference in the quality of your pictures. Best moments are the morning time, when the sun is rising or late afternoon, when the sun is low it give warm lights. It’s called “soft light,” which provides the best lighting, visibility, and lower reflection for a car photo shoot. These times of the day will also help you to avoid bad shade.

6. Be aware of reflection.

Be careful of reflections on the car. Reflections can spoil perfect picture. The curvature of the car for example, you might miss an opportunity to show the design line of your car. Take extra care of your own reflection when taking photos. To prevent this you can use a tripod it also helps to stabilize your image and give you different angles.

7. Camera flash.

If you take pictures during a sunny day, leave the flash on. Under the sunlight camera flash will thin the shade and reduce reflection giving you more professional photos.

8. Get the right angle 

Cars like people, have their own personality. Find the perfect angle to highlight their potential. For example: 4WD, we will use a low angle shot to show the dominant personality.

Don’t take pictures to close from the vehicle, it can distort some aspect of the car and make it bigger than it looks. The shape, size and viewable condition of your vehicle  model can be a selling-point for the customer.

To have a global view of your car, take a picture of the ¾ front or ¾ back also use a landscape format. This will help to focus on the car. Taking that perfect shot from the Front corner helps hide any reflections.

No matter from what angle you take the picture, your car must take 2/3 of the image.

Make sure the photo shots are realistic and appealing. Its best  to take picture at eye level.

9. Take a variety of pictures.

 External photos:

• Front

• ¾ front side

• Sides profile

• ¾ back side

• Back

• Engine

Inside photos:

• Front seat

• Back seat

• Dashboard

To have a good picture of your dashboard take it from the back seats to have a good angle. A good result must show the whole dashboard.

Photo source: https://www.ratedradardetector.org
Mike Birdy - Professional Photographer

Car features: If your car has special options, take a picture of it to project it to future buyers. (extra storage space, sun roof or performance upgrades like stereos).

10. Don't hide the flaws.

If there are scratches, exterior body injures or other issues take pictures of these as well. It will prevent buyers from being surprised and frustrated when they come to visit.

Now, you are ready to take professional picture, but don’t forget to blurred your number plate.

Sample of pictures:

photos above from www.one2car.com, largest web for buy and sale cars in Thailand.

Looking for quality used car? Click

Looking for quality used car by private seller ? Click