Your inventory is ready for its close up! This week’s Wednesday Workshop will run down some simple tips to showcase the best sides of your inventory.

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car. We hope you are staying safe and healthy.

Every business faces a unique set of difficulties brought on by the pandemic. For dealerships, this includes the fact that your showrooms are closed and you still need customers to see your inventory.

This means you’re going to have to lean on photography. While there are many tutorials online by professional photographers that can help, I’m going to go over the basics to get you started.

While it’s tempting to save yourself the work and only photograph your pre-owned inventory. Don’t. Shoot it all. Your customers want to see the exact vehicle they’re going to buy. Let them get a jump on bonding with their car by seeing it. For the new stuff, feel free to leave the plastic on. Nothing says “brand new” like still in its wrapper.

Now here’s a quick rundown of some tips that will help you get the best photos of your vehicles.

First, be aware that this is for your VDPs. Look at the ones you already have, or the samples we have on our site. That way you know how much space you’re looking to fill, and how much detail you’ll need for the standard viewer. Shoot with those VDPs in mind.

A good basic angle is a three-quarter front view with one front headlight in the center of the frame. This gives a viewer a good overall look at the car, while conveying a sense of movement.

If you’re using a camera rather than your phone, use a wide angle lens. Something around 24mm is ideal.

If you’re shooting outside, or with a great deal of natural light, you can’t beat magic hour. Shooting at dawn or dusk will give you that perfect soft, golden light that can make anything look good, let alone your top-of-the-line inventory.

If you’re shooting indoors, use plenty of lighting sources. You’re trying to avoid obvious shadows, including your own.

Only take a picture of what you want to take a picture of. Make absolutely sure that there’s nothing in the frame that you don’t want there. And you don’t need to be told this, but cars are reflective. Check there too. Remember that three-quarter view? It’s pretty effective at hiding your reflection.

A polarized filter can do wonders to cut down on reflections, but keep in mind that you want to retain some shine.

The background shouldn’t distract from the car. Keep out any bright colors that will pull attention away from your subject. Power lines, trashcans, and other facts of city life shouldn’t be present either.

For closer and interior shots, focus on specific details. Whether this is the hood ornament, hand-stitched leather, the gear shifter, these details help the customer understand the unique character of the vehicle.

That’s all the time we have for today’s workshop. As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks for watching. We’ll see you next week for another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car.

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