10 car listing photo mistakes that cost you calls
The ten photo mistakes we see in used car listings most often, with real examples of each and a simple fix for every one. Check your own listings against the list.
A busy, decorated background
In this showroom photo the car is excellent, but balloons hang overhead and the whole room is competing for attention. Whatever is behind the car is part of the picture, so keep it plain.
Other cars and buildings in the frame
Cars parked behind yours, and a large glass building, pull the buyer's eye away and make the lot look cramped. Move the car, or move the camera so only open space is behind it.
Reflections across the paint
The trees and hedge in this photo are painted across the bonnet and roof. The buyer cannot tell what the paint looks like. Read our guide to reflections for how to cut them down.
Poor light at the wrong time of day
Low dusk light leaves the car in shade while the sky glows, so the paint reads dark and the sky steals the picture. Shoot in soft, bright, even light, and avoid the last minutes of daylight.
Rain, wet tarmac and grey sky
A wet road throws reflections up into the lower panels and a grey sky takes the colour out of everything. If you cannot wait for the weather, correct it afterwards rather than listing a gloomy photo.
The car is too small in the frame
In this tall phone photo the car takes up a small patch in the middle of a big picture of the street. On a thumbnail it is a dot. Step closer or zoom in, so the car fills most of the frame with a small margin.
A different style on every car
One car in a showroom, the next on a street, the next at dusk. Buyers scrolling the stock list read it as a lot with no standards. Pick one spot or one booth and use it for every car.
Hiding or cropping out the flaws
The photos that crop the scuffed corner are the ones that produce the angry phone call later. Show the marks plainly, in good light, and say so in the description.
Dirty car, dirty glass
Dust, water marks and bird droppings are far more visible in a photo than in person. Wash the car, clean the glass inside and out, and wipe the wheels before the first picture, not after the third.
Skipping the interior and the details
A listing with eight outside photos and nothing inside forces a phone call, and many buyers will not make it. Cover the dashboard, seats, boot, engine bay and mileage every time. Our guide on how many photos a listing needs explains how to decide.
None of these mistakes means the car is bad. They mean the photo got in the way of the car. Each one is easy to spot once you know to look, and nearly all are easy to fix. The examples below are real photos we used when building Carzbooth.
Most of these come down to two things: what is behind the car and the light it was taken in. If those are right, the rest is routine. If you cannot control them on your lot, a studio booth fixes both after the shot.