New Car Photos - Stats and Ideas

[joe.pistell]

Just love this study Drew!



What a giant 25% lift!!

"Car shoppers are a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, but perhaps there is a key. That key is understanding shopper's needs"

 

[joe.pistell]

Adding photos to new cars is a PIA. Your gut tells you "just do it", your daily workload says "maybe tomorrow".

1st thing I'd do is look at my competition and see what their new car pics are like. That'll motivate ya

 

[DrewAment]

Adding photos to new cars is a PIA. Your gut tells you "just do it", your daily workload says "maybe tomorrow".

1st thing I'd do is look at my competition and see what their new car pics are like. That'll motivate ya

And, just to expand on this - it should be motivating YOU - not to go out and hire a vender, but to do it in-house. IMO - Any dealer with over 150 (new and used) vehicles should be able to hire someone and do it in-house. Do the match for your local market. After the initial load, if you are selling/replacing 150 total units a month, 150 * $12 = $1800

I know of plenty semi-retired types, or students, or ?? that would love that kind of money. And, for the most part it is a 15-20 hour a week gig. 150 units / 22 work days = 6-7 units a day to photo. Any dealer with over 200 units/month might consider hiring someone full-time.

My opinion is - you will get better results if someone at the dealership does it.

 

[joe.pistell]

Any dealer with over 150 (new and used) vehicles should be able to hire someone and do it in-house. My opinion is - you will get better results if someone at the dealership does it.

IMO, bring it in-house only after you've got ALL your photos taken. Then, run your in-house idea IN PARALLEL with your photo vendor to see if your new hire can out perform your vendor (and not be a time suck).

Next, if you want to bring it in-house, crawl, walk, run! Give yourself a test to see how well prepared you are for this. (I have several pals that suck at this and need help)

TEST: If YOU can't take create the shots yourself and get it dialed in the way you'd like it, then you're asking the noob to make it great (read: fail). Great photos is part choreography, part lighting, part car guy knowledge, part work ethic, part admin uploading skills, and more. YOU SET THE STANDARDS AND EXPECTATIONS. You also are the educator.

You'd better hire smart, or, you'll work hard.

Here's a pal of mine who's got a college student shooting pics and 3 months later has workflow/work ethic problems and can't keep up with the inventory flow New, used, and pre-owned Chevrolet, cars, trucks, and SUVs for sale at East Syracuse Chevrolet in East Syracuse

 

[wgolden]

I manage everything on our dealership's website, including vehicle photos, and I can offer this little bit of advice:

I don't have time to take pictures of every single car on the lot, so what I do is take pictures of each model in each color interior and/or exterior, with each different package. I look at the vehicle invoice, and match up corresponding exteriors with interiors. I don't worry about accessories, like carpeted floor mats, bumper protectors, etc. because we can add/remove them while selling the car. As it is, I'm shooting about 3 cars a day, with most of those being used cars because I already have most of my new cars pictured. If I had to shoot every single car that came through, I'd be shooting at least twice as many.

The additional benefit to doing it this way is that I can add pictures for cars that are still on a boat/truck somewhere. Then, customers can check out our incoming inventory. If they're cross-shopping us with our competitor, and they know that the very car they want is incoming, they're willing to wait a couple extra weeks to get it from us.

To see what I'm talking about, check out our new inventory. Another key thing is to stand back from the car, and zoom in. It will decrease the "fisheye" effect and make them look more natural and attractive. For example, here's a Forte Koup that I framed and shot from 3ft away and again from 10ft away.

 

[AutoArchitech]

Obviously as a lot service company owner, I disagree about in house being better. All my guys do, every day, is photo cars. They can do it quicker and better than anyone that does not do it full time. They know how to stage, and how to "sell" the car through the photos. They take about 3500 photos a week, every week, and are pros at their job. Are some companies bad? Sure. Are all companies bad? No.

Dealers could do their own websites, listen to their own calls, etc. but they leave it to the professionals. Why are photos different? I replaced one of my guys cameras last week because it hit 100,000 photos. Those 100,000 photos were taken in 9 months. He is a professional, using professional equipment, and takes pride in what he does. Please don't lump all of us together.

 

[Alex Snyder]

The additional benefit to doing it this way is that I can add pictures for cars that are still on a boat/truck somewhere.

Beautiful! :thumbup:

That is absolutely the best way to do it.

 

[ddavis]

These new car pictures are from a local dealership. I believe they are trying to get the best pictures by having their cars shot inside but the florescent lighting doesn't help and you can usually see the reflections in the vehicles. To me, their colors seem to be dull. I specifically picked these cars because they are by far the brightest. Is this just my old eyes?

 

[joe.pistell]

Lack of focus, suspect the camera. Taken with cell phone?

 

[Todd Caputo]

If you are in the car business and want to sell cars online you should be taking pics of every car you want to sell whether or not its new or used...Plain and simple! Why wouldn't you????