Every photo should look like one person selling one car — not a dealership moving inventory.
Buyers scroll fast and don't read. They look at the first picture and decide in about half a second. Everything below removes the signals that say "dealer."
Pick the spot
Do this once. Then use the same spot for every car, forever.
- Find one corner of the lot with open space behind it
- Nothing in the background: no other cars, no banners, no flags, no signage
- Pull the car out by itself — never shoot it parked in a row
- Pavement, grass or sky behind it. Not a wall of inventory.
No — car in a row, six cars visible behind it, dealer sign in frame
Yes — car pulled out alone, empty pavement and sky behind it
Time of day
Light is the difference between a car that looks owned and a car that looks stocked.
- Shoot before 10am or after 4pm
- Never midday — overhead sun blows out the paint and cuts hard shadows
- Cloudy day? Shoot any time. Overcast is the best light you'll get.
- Stand with the sun behind you, not behind the car
No — glare burning off the hood, black shadow under the car
Yes — soft even light, the real paint color is visible
Clean it first
Five minutes. Skipping this wastes the whole shoot.
- Wash it, or at minimum wipe it down
- Tires wiped, no mud on the rockers
- Strip every dealer item: window stickers, price paint on the glass, plate frames, hang tags, branded floor mats
- Trash out of the interior, seats straight, steering wheel straight
The eight shots
Same shots, same order, every car. Don't add extras until these eight are done.
- Front three-quarterFront-left corner, back up ~10 ft. This is the thumbnail — it matters most.
- Rear three-quarterSame idea from the back-right corner.
- Driver sideStraight on, whole car in frame.
- FrontStraight on, centered.
- Driver seatDoor open, shoot from outside standing up.
- Dash and odometerLights on so the numbers read clearly.
- Back seatDoor open, from outside.
- Engine bayHood up, shooting straight down.
How to hold the phone
- Crouch down. Camera at headlight height, not chest height — shooting from standing is the biggest dealer tell there is.
- Hold it sideways (landscape), never upright
- Back up so the car fills about 80% of the frame — don't crop the bumper
- Tap the screen on the car so the phone focuses and sets brightness on it
- Handheld is fine. Slightly imperfect is good — it reads as human.
Before you post
- No watermark
- No price burned into the image
- No logo, no border, no "call now" text
- No heavy filters — brighten and straighten only
- Front three-quarter goes first
No — a collage with the logo, price in red, four photos in one square
Yes — one clean photo of a clean car, nothing added
The only test that matters
Look at your first photo before you post it and ask:
Could this be my neighbor selling his own car?
YesPost it.
NoIt looks like a business took it. Shoot it again.
Pull it out, wipe it down, strip the dealer stuff, crouch low in soft light against an empty background, post it plain.