Light
- Overcast days are the easiest: soft, even light with no blown highlights.
- In sun, shoot early or late and keep the sun behind your shoulder.
- Avoid midday overhead sun, which puts hard shadows across the bonnet and roof.
Position and angle
- Camera at roughly headlight height, not chest height.
- Front three quarter with both the front and the side visible.
- Turn the front wheels slightly towards you so the alloy face shows.
- Step back and zoom in a little rather than standing close with a wide lens.
Prep the car
- Wash and dry it, including the wheels and door shuts.
- Remove floor mats clutter, air fresheners and trade plates.
- Close all doors, retract seatbelts, straighten the steering wheel.
Common mistakes
Cutting off a bumper, shooting into a low sun, catching your own reflection in the door, and leaving another car half in frame. Any of these will still limit the finished image even after the background is replaced.
Once you have clean shots, follow the three step workflow to place them in a showroom.