| Placing your car or truck for sale in an auto | | | | to take pictures to be uploaded to the |
| classifieds website is a great way to reach | | | | internet, a 2 MP camera should do the trick. |
| tons of potential buyers. But constructing a | | | | |
| great ad is not child's play. To generate a | | | | Remember this! If the picture you are taking |
| lot of interest in your vehicle, you must | | | | will only be used on the internet, use the |
| know how to create the perfect online | | | | lowest quality setting that your camera has. |
| listing. The necessary steps are outlined in | | | | Some cameras even have a setting for internet |
| five articles titled "Sell Your Car Online." | | | | quality photos. |
| | | | |
| The first step in placing a great ad is | | | | How many pictures should I take? There is no |
| taking pictures of the car or truck that is | | | | correct answer for this question. Just take |
| for sale. You don't just want to take any | | | | as many as you need. A good photographer will |
| picture and post it on the internet. You want | | | | take pictures from multiple angles as well as |
| to post the best picture you possibly can. | | | | take duplicate pictures from each angle. If |
| After all, the potential buyers that view | | | | you have 20 pictures to choose from, you can |
| your online listing want to see a picture | | | | easily find at least 5 high quality photos to |
| that tells them something more than just the | | | | post with your listing that show lots of |
| color of the vehicle. A good picture can | | | | detail about your vehicle. Then you can |
| convey the overall condition of the body, | | | | delete the unused photos so you're not |
| paint, interior, and more. A good, or near | | | | wasting space on your hard drive. |
| professional-quality, picture can seal the | | | | |
| deal in the buyer's mind. | | | | What exactly should I take pictures of? You |
| | | | need pictures from opposite angles that show |
| Hypothetical situation: A potential car buyer | | | | the exterior of the vehicle. Pictures should |
| is looking for a particular car. The buyer | | | | be taken of the engine compartment with the |
| has found two nearly identical cars, one | | | | hood raised. More pictures should be taken of |
| belongs to you and one belongs to someone in | | | | the interior. If your vehicle has expensive |
| a nearby state. These two cars have the same | | | | aftermarket accessories, take pictures of |
| body style, the same engine and transmission, | | | | them. For example, take close ups of |
| the same color, the same options, and very | | | | expensive mag wheels, custom artwork or |
| close to the same price. The only deciding | | | | painting, or a high-tech audio system. In |
| factor is the pictures. The competing car has | | | | essence, you want to convey the overall |
| one low quality picture. It is half blocked | | | | condition of the vehicle and any special |
| by a neighboring vehicle. The sun is in the | | | | features the vehicle may have with the |
| background causing a glare that obscures the | | | | pictures you take. |
| color and overall appearance of the car. Your | | | | |
| car, on the other hand, has multiple pictures | | | | Where should I take the pictures? You need to |
| from different angles. There is no sun to | | | | take pictures of the vehicle in a place that |
| cause a glare and no rain to make the picture | | | | has as little background detail as possible. |
| look dreary. The true color of the car shows | | | | For example, you don't want another car, a |
| and there is nothing blocking the view. Which | | | | highly trafficked street, or a person in the |
| car do you think the buyer would choose? | | | | picture at all. The best place to take the |
| Pictures of competing cars can, without a | | | | pictures would be near a plain brick wall, or |
| doubt, influence the potential buyer to | | | | in front of an empty field. You don't want |
| purchase one car over another. | | | | any object, whether in the foreground or |
| | | | background, to distract the buyer from seeing |
| There are things you must consider before you | | | | the details of your vehicle. |
| take the first picture. What type of camera | | | | |
| should I use? How many pictures should I | | | | Should I take the pictures in direct |
| take? What exactly should I take pictures of? | | | | sunlight? In order to take a great picture |
| Should I take the pictures in direct | | | | with a mid- to low-quality digital camera, |
| sunlight? Unless you are a professional | | | | you need plenty of light. But too much direct |
| photographer, or at least an experienced one, | | | | sunlight can cause bright glares and dark |
| you may not know the correct answer to these | | | | shadows, neither of which is good. The |
| questions. | | | | absolute best time to take pictures of your |
| | | | vehicle is on a partly cloudy day when the |
| What type of camera should I use? Since the | | | | sun is behind the clouds. This eliminates the |
| pictures you upload to the internet must be | | | | harsh, dark shadows even though there is |
| in digital format, a digital camera is the | | | | still plenty of light to draw out the true |
| best type of camera to use. If you use a | | | | color(s) of the vehicle. If you must take the |
| non-digital camera, you first have to pay to | | | | pictures in direct sunlight, always make sure |
| get the film developed. Then use a scanner to | | | | that the sun is behind you (so it will be |
| digitize it. You must spend valuable time and | | | | shining on the side of the vehicle that is |
| money to do this. Using a digital camera is | | | | facing you). Try not to take a picture of a |
| the most cost efficient and time conserving | | | | vehicle when the side facing you is in the |
| way to take and upload photos of your | | | | shadow. |
| vehicle. In most cases, all you have to do is | | | | |
| connect your camera to your computer to | | | | If you normally take terrible pictures, |
| download the photos to the hard drive. Then | | | | remember this! It is much better to take a |
| you're ready to post your ad. | | | | picture with a wider view that has all the |
| | | | details in it than to try to get a close up |
| What size mega pixel (MP) camera do I need? | | | | and cut part of the important details out. So |
| This depends on what you will be doing with | | | | zoom out to make sure you get a great |
| the pictures. If you need large, high quality | | | | picture. |
| pictures, like 8X10 prints or a large display | | | | |
| photo in the newspaper, you may need to | | | | Follow these steps and you will have high |
| purchase a 5 MP camera or better. If you will | | | | quality photos of your automobile for display |
| be printing the pictures for personal use or | | | | in the car classifieds site of your choice. |
| posting small photos in print ads in the | | | | Look for the next installment titled "Sell |
| local newspaper, you probably need a 3 MP | | | | Your Car Online: Step 2, Using Pictures of |
| camera or better. If all you need is camera | | | | Your Automobile Correctly." Happy selling. |