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Your pictures are indeed phenomenal, but the time that it takes to do them is the part that concerns me the most.
A great response. Lets tear it apart!
  • The Shopper says: "Your pictures are indeed phenomenal"
  • The Dealer says: "the time that it takes to do them is the part that concerns me the most."
  • Ask yourself: "How many sales would you lose of your competitor had photos that good?"
Do I believe that quality pictures help drive sales? Absolutely. But I just wonder if there are some diminishing returns based on the time it takes. Not trying to be negative. Just thinking out loud. Not sure how one could measure it.

Bill, we're in a zero sum game. There is one ass for one seat. If you're a giant in your community and your inventory is piled high and turning 10+ times, high end photos are hard to create, they're expensive and hard to justify.

But, if your not THE big dog, hi end photos make a LOT of sense. Pictures tell 1000 words and hi end photos communicate not only a high end car recon process, but a high end dealer UX too. How many times a year do we drop $500-$1000 off the retail price to 'find a buyer'? What if the hi end photos could save you a price drop or 2 a month?

Not sure how one could measure it.

Have you been house shopping lately? Some of these home photos are magazine quality. My son tells me of the times the house looked 100x petter in pics than in real life.

We're retailers. We know what sells cars... don't we? Great photos that are significantly better than your competitors are a FORCE MULTIPLIER. They make everything in the Car dealers machine work better.

Bill,
Look at the other end of the spectrum...
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This is a dealer's pic of a $70,000 used truck. 5 pics. You can bet that the GM struggles with time and expenses to find people and processes to take great photos. Its NOT easy.
 
I definitely agree that great photos sell cars. I guess my question is more "How much more do great pictures sell cars over really good pictures?" No doubt personnel factors in as well. For me, I would have to hire another person to take photos this great and I think we do a good job for what we have available to us (no photo booth). As the 100 pound gorilla in my market as you say, I'm not sure that I need to take on the expense. At this same time, I'm not ready to quit growing either. It's a conundrum to me. Also, I find it ironic that you chose a picture of virtually the exact same truck that I have. ;)
 
For me, I would have to hire another person to take photos this great and I think we do a good job for what we have available to us (no photo booth).
If you have any local schools, I have seen great success hiring college kids to capture vehicles.
They're often willing to work for X dollars per vehicle, they have random hours around classes and they'll often do a good job because they put it down as professional experience on their photographer resume.
 
If you have any local schools, I have seen great success hiring college kids to capture vehicles.
They're often willing to work for X dollars per vehicle, they have random hours around classes and they'll often do a good job because they put it down as professional experience on their photographer resume.
I like the way you think. We always try to have our pictures for the day done by 4 o'clock the same day they come out of detail, so we would likely have to give a little bit on that.
 
I definitely agree that great photos sell cars. I guess my question is more "How much more do great pictures sell cars over really good pictures?" No doubt personnel factors in as well. For me, I would have to hire another person to take photos this great and I think we do a good job for what we have available to us (no photo booth). As the 100 pound gorilla in my market as you say, I'm not sure that I need to take on the expense. At this same time, I'm not ready to quit growing either. It's a conundrum to me. Also, I find it ironic that you chose a picture of virtually the exact same truck that I have. ;)

Of all the things dealerships spend superfluous monies on, hiring someone that cares and wants to take pride in their photos and put the best product forward seems like a fair return on investment.

No photobooth needed. In fact, overcast skies or even the right photography equipment in the sun, can make quality photos and many times way better than any dealership's photobooth shoot.
 
For me, I would have to hire another person to take photos this great and I think we do a good job for what we have available to us (no photo booth).
If you have any local schools, I have seen great success hiring college kids to capture vehicles.
They're often willing to work for X dollars per vehicle, they have random hours around classes and they'll often do a good job because they put it down as professional experience on their photographer resume.
 
If you have any local schools, I have seen great success hiring college kids to capture vehicles.
They're often willing to work for X dollars per vehicle, they have random hours around classes and they'll often do a good job because they put it down as professional experience on their photographer resume.
I like the way you think. We always try to have our pictures for the day done by 4 o'clock the same day they come out of detail, so we would likely have to give a little bit on that.
 
I definitely agree that great photos sell cars. I guess my question is more "How much more do great pictures sell cars over really good pictures?" No doubt personnel factors in as well. For me, I would have to hire another person to take photos this great and I think we do a good job for what we have available to us (no photo booth). As the 100 pound gorilla in my market as you say, I'm not sure that I need to take on the expense. At this same time, I'm not ready to quit growing either. It's a conundrum to me. Also, I find it ironic that you chose a picture of virtually the exact same truck that I have. ;)


Of all the things dealerships spend superfluous monies on, hiring someone that cares and wants to take pride in their photos and put the best product forward seems like a fair return on investment.

No photobooth needed. In fact, overcast skies or even the right photography equipment in the sun, can make quality photos and many times way better than any dealership's photobooth shoot.
 
Of all the things dealerships spend superfluous monies on, hiring someone that cares and wants to take pride in their photos and put the best product forward seems like a fair return on investment.

No photobooth needed. In fact, overcast skies or even the right photography equipment in the sun, can make quality photos and many times way better than any dealership's photobooth shoot.

Brilliant.
#BootsOnTheGround
 

✨ AI Highlights

George Nenni asks the DealerRefresh community to share standout dealer examples of new and used vehicle photography, both indoor and outdoor. The thread surfaces a strategic insight: since photo carousel engagement drops off after 8-10 images, dealers should front-load high-value option shots rather than grouping all exteriors first. A side exchange with Darius from dariusmotorsport.com highlighted a practical technical takeaway — vehicle photos should be at least 250KB to remain sharp when users pinch-to-zoom on mobile.

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