Photographing your Car
There is no doubt whether the perfect photo will help to sell your vehicle (it will). As a buyer wouldn't you like to see great photos before making an enquiry to see the car?
Taking the Photo
Photograph your car in even light. Sunlight will create glare and unwanted shadows, but a fairly bright overcast day will provide for excellent results.
Take a photo of the car from a ¾ angle, the front right or left is ideal, this way people can see what the car looks like. Also, photos from adult eye height can enhance the look of the car.
If you don't have a digital camera a scanned photo will usually be fine, just remember to save it in the right size and resolution.
Location
A good location is essential to getting the best shot. Try to find a spot where the background is uncluttered. Placing the car on tarmac or concrete floor, with a solid wall backing, or on open grass are both ideal places. (Do not drive on tall dry grass, the heat from your car can cause the grass to ignite and catch fire)
Lighting
When shooting outside, do not park your car in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will create too much contrast, causing the photos to look too dark with bright highlights or too bright with little or no detail in the shadows. Overcast days and shady areas are great for photographs.
Flash
It's a good idea not to use flash. Modern digital cameras are now of such high quality that even in modest light conditions you can achieve acceptable pictures. If you do decide to use flash, make sure you check your photos straight away for any loss of colour or detail.
Framing
Adjust the zoom until the car almost fills the screen, leaving a small area around it for balance. This creates a nice frame around your image while ensuring the car is still the main focus.
Angles
People like to see what make and model your car is, what sort of condition it is in, and it's colour. Try not to be too creative. We recommend at least one of the following:
- A photo showing the car from the front three-quarter
- A photo showing the car from the side
- A photo showing the car from the rear three-quarter
It's important to take these photos from a normal standing position at eye-height.
Camera settings
The quality of automatic settings on a digital camera is excellent and you should rarely need to adjust any of the manual settings. The only suggestion would be to turn flash off, or to use it in 'fill' mode only when absolutely necessary.
Taking the photo
Remember to hold the shutter button half way before clicking it all the way in to take the shot. This partial hold causes the camera to autofocus resulting in a much clearer and sharper image. Blurred photos will often cause potential buyers to overlook your car.
Uploading the photo
We only accept photos in the JPEG/JPG format. Please ensure your photos are in this format and below 100Kb. Most digital cameras will use the JPEG format, and most photo editing software will allow you to save your photos in JPEG.