Before the first photo
- Washed outside and vacuumed inside, with the windows clean on both sides.
- No personal items: chargers, papers, air fresheners, loose floor mats.
- Seats upright and the steering wheel centered, front wheels straight or turned just a little.
- A clean phone lens: one fingerprint ruins every photo.
Where and when
The best background does not compete with the car: a plain wall, an empty parking lot, a quiet tree-lined street. Avoid other cars right next to it, signs and trash cans in the frame.
Even light leaves no harsh shadows or white glare on the paint: the first hour of the morning, the last of the afternoon or an overcast day. At noon in strong sun, move into the shade of a building.
How to hold the phone
Horizontal for listing photos; vertical only for stories and reels.
At door-handle height, not eye level: from above the car looks smaller.
No digital zoom. If the car does not fit, take a few steps back or use the wide lens carefully near the edges.
Tap the screen on the car so it focuses and sets exposure there, not on the sky.
Keep straight lines straight. Turn on the camera grid and line up the roof or the ground with it.
An interior that is not too dark
Open all the doors for a while to let light in, and shoot from inside toward the outside only if the background does not blow out. If the window turns white, tap the screen on the dashboard and lower the exposure a little.
For the dashboard, turn the key to accessory without starting the engine: the gauges and the mileage light up. Check that no warning light stays on before you take it.
Afterward: edits that are fine and edits that are not
- Fine: straightening, cropping, lifting shadows a little and fixing color if it came out yellow or blue.
- Not fine: erasing scratches, changing the paint color or adding a fake background. Buyers notice in person, and the trip is wasted.
- Every photo at the same size with the same edit, so the gallery looks consistent.
Half an hour with a clean car and good light beats any filter. If you have several cars to list, always shoot in the same spot: your whole inventory will look organized.
See examples: enhanced car photos
