A car dealership needs to have photos of the cars they sell. They need to advertise what they offer and want their customers to see what they are shopping for in detail.

If you are interested in working with car dealerships, you have probably noticed that they already have plenty of photos. These are usually standard photos of the same angles with the same backgrounds (sometimes poorly Photoshopped) and repeated for every car they have in stock. This may seem tedious, but it's a necessity. Customers expect to see these types of photos, and having similar compositions makes it easier for them to compare and consider vehicles before physically seeing them in person.

Most dealerships employ someone on-site to take these photos, but luckily, their time is limited, and their ability to be creative takes a back seat. They also may not be as skilled as you. So why does it matter? Why would a dealership even need creative photos? If a customer expects standard images, why would they want anything else? Let's look at the top reasons a dealership will benefit from your photography.

Local Advertising

All dealerships advertise, but they do not want to use photos that look like all the other dealerships; they want something that stands out as their own. Also, depending on the advertisement, they may look for a particular composition that includes copy space for text, logos, etc.

Social Media

Social media is massive for car dealerships. How often do people browse Facebook Marketplace, for example? Dealerships are aware of the reach of Facebook and Instagram to hit their target market, and all for a relatively small investment. If you are shooting for a car dealership, find out if Instagram is one of their intended usages, as you will want to take photos that can be cropped square without cutting off details. I’d recommend including 1:1 crops for them upon delivery.

Local Landmarks

Some dealerships focus on their local market, so they like to see their vehicles in their city. This makes it stand out as a local advertising initiative, not simply photos taken from manufacturer press materials. People can easily visualize a purchase if they can see it in their backyard.

“Flagship” Photos

Currently, vehicle inventory is hard to come by, which is valid for almost all dealerships, as empty lots are common. With current restraints on car production, dealerships cannot get new cars to sell, although they still need to create revenue and bring potential buyers into showrooms. As a result, dealerships commonly bring in stock from outside their region, including various vehicles for inventory. When a dealership brings in a unique vehicle, the dealership may want to highlight that vehicle as a “flagship” vehicle to bring people in-store and browse the other available inventory. Having a cool vehicle on-site is great, but selling it is better.

Conclusion

When a potential customer is online looking for pictures of new or used cars, they may not comb through all the listings, but when they see nice photos online of cars that interest them, they will interact with that dealer. Car dealerships, like all businesses, need to stand above their competition to attract customers and having high-quality photos can help them do so.