Success or Failure: It Depends on the Photos
Tips and Tricks From 20+ Years of Shooting Cars
It’s frustrating, and it happens to me a lot. I’ll find a car on eBay that could be a good one but I just can’t tell from the photos. Because there’s only six of them. Four exterior shots plus two interior, and zero of the engine bay or trunk - not to mention any close-ups or details. So I email the seller, asking if they have more photos that I can see of their car. You know, the one that they’re trying to sell.
The reply: “Ok, I might be able to take some. What do you want to see?”
I take a deep breath and try not to be a dick. “Could I get some of the engine bay and trunk? And more of the exterior and interior? Also, any close-ups of flaws if you could, thanks.” I know better than to ask for more than that. I’d love to see the headliner, and then see what the carpet’s like under the floor mats. Clear shots of the door jambs would also be informative, for sure. Undercarriage pictures? Amazing, but no, let’s just see if I can get past this first ask, and then I can try for more. But over half the time I never do get those photos and the auction ends unsold, then re-listed off and on for the next year with those same six photos.
Frustrating. And ridiculous. eBay Motors’ half-assed platform was ripe for disruption, and Bring a Trailer did just that, finally offering buyers a place where they can have a complete photo set to look over, and even (gasp) a driving video! So, these days anyone who’s serious about selling their car is going to list it on BaT. If you haven’t heard of that site by now, here’s an introduction to it. They sold over $1B worth of cars last year, they’re not messing around.
Okay, so you’ve got a car to sell and you’re ready to give it your best shot on BaT. You’ve seen some of the listings on there that were professionally shot in a studio, but obviously that’s not you. You may not own a fancy camera or have any training in photography but that’s okay, your smartphone’s going to be enough to get this job done. I’ll show you a way to do it that will satisfy the buyer’s needs without taking too much of your time.
First things first. You should find a good background. The photo shown above may seem like a good choice; kind of a cool garage backdrop, some nice greenery off to the side. Yes, it may look good from afar, but it’s far from good. The red verticals combined with the repeating pattern of those windows are way too distracting. You want the lines of the car to be the focus, you don’t want the background competing with it.
Although it’s hard on the eyes, you’ll often see cars on BaT that are shot in front of cool murals. That’s neat for a picture or two, but becomes pretty tiring, fast. Choose a neutral, plain background, ideally one in which you’re facing north (for lighting considerations). Maybe that’s a quiet street that backs up to wilderness, or you can even find a giant, empty parking lot. Bottom line - you want that background to go away in the viewer’s eyes. You want them looking at the car. But in doses they can handle….
Another mistake that’s often made is an insane desire to capture the car from a zillion angles. Not only is that a real drag for the viewer, it’s a huge workload for you. I’ve listed almost 200 cars on BaT, and get by with about 15 shots from each quadrant of the car: Driver’s front, driver’s rear, passenger front, passenger rear. It’s that simple. Choose your angles carefully and you’ll save yourself and your viewers a lot of time. Like this:
Grab a step-stool and get a shot from up high, then take one at eye level. Now move in close like you’re sighting down the side of the car. Then crouch down and get a shot of the wheel. I like clear, basic photos so I shoot on cloudy days - the light is more even and you won’t have to deal with hard shadows and blown out highlights. I also time my shoots for mid-day, when the sun is directly overhead and the lighting is flat. Hey, bland is okay, nobody’s interested in someone’s moody photos, all they want is to be able to see the car that’s for sale.
Now take that step-stool again and show the hood, windshield, side glass and roof.
Then do the same from the rear of the car. Not complicated. We’ll save the passenger side for later.
Next you’ll move on to the driver’s side interior, with wide shots looking in from both angles. Afterwards, get some detail shots. Pull out the floor mat and get a shot of the carpet underneath (YES!). Grab a picture of the odometer. Basically, take pictures of whatever you think would be of interest to you, if you were the buyer.
Soon you’ll start to see lots of things that you want to show your buyer. Think about what you like (or dislike) about your car, and then take a picture of it. Don’t shy away from showing your car’s flaws, doing so is a great way to build trust with the buyer and avoid problems later.
Continue on to the passenger side, and do the same routine.
Pop the hood and get some overall views of the engine bay; up high and at eye level.
Add in a few little detail shots that might be of interest for your viewer.
Done? Ok, at this point you’re ready to get in the car and turn it around 180 degrees. You’re going to shoot those same exterior quadrant pictures (this time on the passenger side), and you may even want to do those interior and engine bay shots over again, I do. The reason being is that I’ll later compare the two shots that I took from those same angles, side by side. Almost always, I’ll find that the lighting on one is better than the other. Yes, it’s a little extra work, but you’ve come this far, right?
I’ll also make sure to get a clear picture of the VIN and a few shots of anything else that comes with the car. Original books and manuals? Photograph them. Are there any awards that the car has won? You bet the viewer wants to see them. Tool kit and original dealer plate frames? For sure, those all add value.
The full photo set from this 1978 Volvo on BaT can be seen here: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-volvo-245/
Granted, this car was a complete unicorn in that it had under 9,000 original miles, so as you’d imagine there were LOTS of things that I wanted to photograph. But my complete photo gallery was under 150 pictures, and that was enough to tell the story and get the car sold. Good luck to you!
I’ve long admired not only your cars but the clean way you present them, especially the photos. Reading this gave me some good ideas for whenever i next list a car for sale. I remember trying to shoot photos during the “golden hours” but overcast midday makes more sense. Thanks!
I had no idea that many photos were involved but it makes sense. Thanks for the info!