Usually, such instructions are posted on car sites, but we decided to tell about it for those who still dare to shoot a car for sale on their own. I should say at once that the instruction is for bona fide sellers who have nothing to hide. Only in that case good photos will help you in the sale: attract more potential buyers, dispel their doubts and reduce the number of questions they will ask you. And those who are not interested in your option will be able to see it in the ad, without wasting their and your time on the inspection.
So let’s go through the list.
Wash the car, but do not wash the underbonnet. The body should be as clean as possible, but if you wash the under-hood – there may be questions about oil and other fluid leaks. But this does not apply to cars younger than 3 years old – you can wash everything.
Do you need a camera for this kind of shooting?
No, modern smartphones in good light conditions shoot quite decently, just do not forget to wipe the camera lens before the photo session (this is the main secret of good smartphone photos).
Try to free the car from your personal belongings. It is clear that you can’t do it completely, but it does not hurt to clean up a bit.
Choosing a location for the photo.
It is quite simple – you need a spacious area, which looks decent (no trash cans, dilapidated houses, garages, mud) and where you can shoot a car from all sides from convenient angles. A free parking lot in a mall or shopping center, or just a clean street is ideal. Watch out for shadows: a car must stand either completely in the light or completely in the shade.
Time of day
Avoid taking photos in the hours of darkness and dusk, it is undesirable to take photos in the rain. Cloudy weather, sunset or sunrise are ideal.
What kind of angles? What do I shoot?
Outside 8-10 photos are enough: from 4 sides and 4 corners. Take pictures of under-hood (dirty, remember?), open trunk. It is better to make close-up photos of all defects separately. As well as the advantages. For example, if your car has lenses installed, and most configurations do not have them – pay attention to it as a separate shot. For almost new cars, you may take a close-up of bolts in factory paint, to show that the car has never been disassembled.
Interior photo
Be sure to remove the mileage dashboard. The steering wheel and driver’s seat must be taken close too – it allows evaluating real wear and tear of the interior and the car as a whole. Well, and some general plans of interior will be enough. All in all, you may get up to 20 photos. More would be too much. But don’t be shy to click more, so that you can choose the best shots from.
Do I need to blur the license plate number?
No, there is no need for that now, all the popular sites for the sale of cars do it automatically.
Well, this is it! It turned out more text than I expected – I remembered a lot of nuances while writing. The main thing, remember – the purpose of such photoshoot is not beautiful pictures, but as informative as possible. But if your car is quite expensive, it may be more effective to ask a professional photographer for a car photo shoot. If the price of the car is high, the cost of photography will be repaid by the opportunity to sell it at a slightly higher price with high-quality, attractive photos.