Picture Quality

[Louis Norman III]

I got served a hilarious ad from Dealer Image Pro a while back... never heard of or worked with them but it might be worth considering.

On a quick first glance, it's an iPad based app (iPad included) with a visual guide to help your own guys/gals take the photos.

Glad you liked it!

I'm unsure if you've seen the second one, but it's much better than the first.

Our 3rd one will be released at NADA this year. It will be out of this world! (hint, hint)

 

[carmudgeon]

Automatic cameras will give you varying results. If you’re looking for consistency buy a DSLR and send one of your people to photo school to learn how to control it.

Shooting in full sun is difficult but when done right it, the metallic in the paint shows, aluminum wheels stand out etc. provided you are facing the car into the sun.

Photography is about recording light. It’s better to have plenty of sunlight than to go cheap on studio lights and not have enough light to make the car look good.

 

[Dan Sayer]

Glad you liked it!

I'm unsure if you've seen the second one, but it's much better than the first.

Our 3rd one will be released at NADA this year. It will be out of this world! (hint, hint)

Do you integrate with VinCue? And does adding you as the photo system add a "middle man" delay on syndication like Homenet did with vAuto?

 

[Allentown]

One of the biggest issues we deal with in regards to pictures is that not only do we not have a picture booth, we really don't have ANY good place to take pictures. We actually take pictures in our service drive because it seems to be the only place we can get any consistency. It of course has it's own problems be it getting in our service departments way, lighting or various reflections. We tried taking pictures outside now that we use a background service, but again there were some issues due to the sun. I was stalking some California dealers websites for a completely different reason and noticed that although it is obvious they are taking pictures in the sun, all of their pictures were very consistent and clean. I am wondering if anyone here has found ways to work around some of the same issues that I am having. I know many use outside services, but I would rather continue to handle it internally if possible. What can I say, I'm cheap. Plus, I'm in the middle of nowhere so hiring an outside source to take them isn't practical. Got anything for me?

For sure. Hire a photographer in your town the kind that shoots models. Does head shots. Hire him for a day to teach you about lighting, how to make a Photo Booth for $1300 in a corner of the shop and he will teach you great angles on how to shoot a new or used car properly. Check out HBI imports out of Ohio. He did this very thing. Used luxury cars, trucks, & SUVs | HBi Auto Mocksville, NC

 

[anthonypape]

One of the biggest issues we deal with in regards to pictures is that not only do we not have a picture booth, we really don't have ANY good place to take pictures. We actually take pictures in our service drive because it seems to be the only place we can get any consistency. It of course has it's own problems be it getting in our service departments way, lighting or various reflections. We tried taking pictures outside now that we use a background service, but again there were some issues due to the sun. I was stalking some California dealers websites for a completely different reason and noticed that although it is obvious they are taking pictures in the sun, all of their pictures were very consistent and clean. I am wondering if anyone here has found ways to work around some of the same issues that I am having. I know many use outside services, but I would rather continue to handle it internally if possible. What can I say, I'm cheap. Plus, I'm in the middle of nowhere so hiring an outside source to take them isn't practical. Got anything for me?

For sure. What you want to do is hire a photographer in your town for a day. The kind that shoots models and does head shots. He will teach you about lighting, help you make a Photo Booth out of the corner of your shop, and teach you all sorts of cool angels when shooting a car. Check out HBI imports in Ohio for a dealer that has done just that. Used luxury cars, trucks, & SUVs | HBi Auto Mocksville, NC

 

[flosho]

Get a Canon or Sony Mirrorless dSLR. Then get a 50mm Prime and/or 24-70mm Lens. Then invest in Circular Polarizing Filters for any lens diameters and also get an adjustable Neutral Density Filter.

The ND filter and CP filters will help you shoot outside in bright light.

 

[Dan Sayer]

This is falling back on to my plate in the group next year and we have drifted in our quality since I last trained our photographers 3 or 4 years ago. While car cleanliness and shot sequence are items that I focus on, my biggest pet peeve is focal length. I see so many of our and other dealers' photographers just flat out standing too close or using a focal length under 35mm or the equivalent of 1.5x zoom on an iPhone. All but one of our stores shoot with an iPhone and outside so I preach to stand back and zoom in. 1.5x zoom or higher and step back to fit the car in frame. Too close or a focal length less than 24mm makes cars look so goofy, cartoon-like, or like looking through a hotel peep-hole. Do this:



Not that: