How to take good pictures for a car advert
How to take good pictures for a car advert

How to take good pictures for a car advert

11 February 2021
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If you are wanting to sell your car online, then you will need to make sure that you have some good photos to accompany your advert to be in with a chance of selling it and getting a good price. A picture paints a thousand words, and some would argue that the photos of your car are what is going to sell it over the description you write about it.

If you don’t have good pictures of your car then people will be put off and it can have a big effect on the price and the chances of you selling it. Below we have put together some easy, but valuable tips on how you can make your car look great in your photos.

Prep your car

Before you even start thinking about taking the photos, you need to ensure that your car is photo ready. The biggest factor that is going to determine whether your car looks nice in photos or not is whether it is clean. Pictures of a dirty car will put people off getting in touch with you. Give your car a clean both inside and out. Hoover the inside of the vehicle so that you don’t see any dirt in the images and make sure the seats look clean. If you want to give your car the best chance of looking amazing in your photos, make sure you scrub the wheels and give the outside of the car a polish. This will make the car shine in your photos.

Do some research

Next, you should take a look on our used cars page to see if there are any cars the same make and model of yours being sold or even cars that are similar. Look at what their photos look like and think about how you can make yours better. You will probably notice that some ads only have one image or blurry pictures, this is a no-go when trying to sell your car.

Parking is key

You might notice whilst doing your research that the more professional-looking images have the car parked in a place that gives it a nice background. It might not seem important, but if you want your images to seem attractive to potential buyers then you need to do everything you can. If you park your car down an alleyway or in an industrial estate, it might bring the images down. Try and find a nice place to take the pictures, such as a driveway, or a well-lit street that has trees in the background. If you can find an even more impressive background, then even better.

Camera quality

Most smartphones these days have a good quality camera that will be good enough to take your photos on. However, if you do have a better, more advanced camera available to you, then we highly recommend that you use that. See if you can borrow one from someone if possible.

Lighting 

Lighting can cause an issue when taking pictures. If it is a really sunny day, it can make the car shine which can look great in pictures, however, it can also cause a lens flare, which isn’t good. Take pictures with the sun behind you or on a day when it is more overcast to avoid this.

It’s all about the angles

Angles can change the look of a picture. Make sure you are taking photos from all different angles, instead of just taking one. Get lower when taking some shots and higher in others. This will allow you to choose some of the best for your advert. Make sure you take somewhere you are stood far away from the car to get the whole thing in.

Show off the inside

Taking pictures of inside the car is slightly harder than outside. Make sure you take a clear image of the front of the car by perhaps sitting in the back seat and taking it over the two front seats. You can also take it from the side by opening the front doors and getting a shot that way. For pictures of the back seat, recline the front seats If possible, and take it from there, trying to get as much as the back seats as you can. Don’t forget to get an image of the boot as a lot of people are really interested in that and also get one of the milage so you can prove what you have said about that. 

Show all the blemishes

Often people try to hide damages or any scratches the car might have in their photos. This isn’t going to achieve anything, as sooner or later the potential buyer will find out about it. It is much better to show off all the flaws straight away so that you can show you are being open and honest, and you know anyone contacting you after those photos is still interested in buying and won’t drop out afterward. 

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