First thing: A good cleaning

Every part of your car should be cleaned and polished. In other words: it must shine!

As for the interior, we recommend a good vacuuming. It's also a good idea to dust the dashboard (and to wipe the seats with a damp cloth if the upholstery is leather).

Of course, remember to remove all personal items from your vehicle. Don't leave anything lying around inside. It needs to be as impersonal as possible for buyers to feel comfortable with their potential purchase.

Once the grooming is done, we can move on to the photo shoot.

Exterior

It's simple, we want to see it from every angle and in its best light. So get your car out of the garage, we want bright pictures.

It is best to find a small, quiet, open area. We don't want our eyes to be distracted by something in the background. The simplicity of a deserted parking lot with the facade of a disused shed or a small forest in the background always works. So you can, to your heart's content, leave out the complicated and overworked backgrounds that are, in the end, not very selling.

Using a flash to take the exterior of your car is simply forbidden! It's much better to see the little fluffy clouds reflecting on the body than a flash which, on top of that, will darken your shot. You might as well wait for a good day with good light. As a general rule, photos taken in the late afternoon are the most beautiful, but we're telling you that, we're not telling you anything.

We remind you, no photos under the rain! Even if, we understand it well, it is not necessarily the simplest in France these last times.

Now that the stage is set, we can move on to the realization of the photos.

We do not hide you that a good photo shooting is not done in two minutes and thus that this practice is not recommended to the impatient ones. To avoid having to repeat the operation over several days, do not hesitate to take several photos in the same place. It's always easier to sort through your shots than to start all over again the next day.

For overall shots, the car should be taken from the front, back, ¾ front (both sides), ¾ back (both sides) as well as profile (both sides). Leave a little space on each side to allow for leeway if the photo needs to be cropped. The 4 rims should also be shot in close-ups to get a good idea of their condition and tire wear.

Don't hesitate to put yourself at the height of the vehicle and therefore to bend down or even to put a knee on the ground to be stable and take a clear picture. But all shots are welcome: close up, far away, plunging or low angle (roughly from above or below).

When changing shots, make sure that the background does not change too much and that it remains simple. If there is too much contrast between two shots, we advise you to change the position of the car to keep the background the same from one shot to another.

Now that you're done with the exterior of your car, we can move on to the interior.

Interior

We must want to slip inside as when we slip into bed after a long day. Yes, yes we assure you!

So start with a fairly general shot, door open. The goal is to show as much as possible in a simple global shot. Once the overall picture is done, it's time to move on to the details.

The interior of a vehicle is often full of details that are too often forgotten. The steering wheel, the pedals, the gear lever, the hand brake, the on-board instrumentation, the door quadrants, the floor mats, etc. everything must be immortalized.

As far as the dashboard is concerned, we advise you to try to capture it from different angles. Indeed, the windows can create reflections that are not welcome in your shots.

Interior photos should be taken from both the driver and passenger side.

Maximum transparency

We really want to see everything! The beautiful but also the less beautiful. No filter, no Photoshop, no bad surprises.

If one of your seats has a small tear, take a picture of it. If there is a poc or scratch on the body, take a picture of it. If there is any corrosion, take a picture of it. In short, every detail counts whether it is good or bad and the latter deserves to be photographed.

It's almost over

Finally, don't forget the engine and the undercarriage.

The engine must be taken from all possible angles, both in general and close-up shots. The underside of the vehicle is also important to take to tell about its condition.

Also remember to take pictures of all the optional equipment you have, it may catch the eye of potential buyers!

The most important detail, so we hope you didn't pick up the phone The photos must be taken in landscape format, i.e. horizontally. To be even more precise, this corresponds to the length of the vehicle, it makes sense?

The follow-up

Invoices, logbook, technical control. The follow-up of the vehicle is also an important part and not to be neglected.

The more material potential buyers will have, the fewer questions they will have, they will only have to scroll again and again your beautiful pictures before cracking under the temptation.

If the photo still doesn't appeal to you, don't forget that Benzin can find you a photographer for the sale of your car.