Car photography angles: the complete dealer shot list

Shoot every car the same way: the 8 exterior angles in one loop around the car, then 5 interior shots, then the details. That's 21 shots, more if the car has extra features or wear to show, and it covers what a shopper would check on the lot. Lead the listing with the front three-quarter. It's the best angle for car photography because it shows the face and the side of the car in one frame.

The table is the full dealer shot list, in shooting order. Print it and keep a copy with the keys until your team knows it by heart.

Walk the car once, in this order, and you never backtrack: down the driver side, across the back, up the passenger side, and finish at the front. Keep the phone horizontal and at the same height for all eight.

For a listing, the front three-quarter from the driver side. In one frame it shows the grille, the headlights, the whole side, both wheels on that side and the roofline, so a shopper scrolling search results knows what the car is at a glance. Make it the first photo on every car.

Four rules make every angle look better:

• Shoot from door-handle height. From eye level you look down on the hood and roof, and the car looks smaller. Crouch too low and the nose looks huge. Door-handle height keeps the proportions true.
• Step back and zoom in. Standing close with a wide lens makes the nearest bumper look swollen. Use the 2x lens if you have room. The camera settings guide explains why.
• Keep the horizon level. A tilted car looks like it's parked on a hill.
• Leave margin around the car. Never crop a mirror, a bumper or the roof. A little space also protects the car if a site crops your photo to a different shape.

Interior photos answer what shoppers can't see from outside: condition, wear, room and features. Open the doors, start the car so the screen and gauges light up, and use the 1x lens. The ultra-wide fits more in, but it bends the dash and the door edges; if you need it in a small car, hold the phone level and keep the dash centered. Shoot in this order:

Details turn a nice set of photos into a listing a shopper trusts. Get close, keep the detail in the middle of the frame, and tap it to focus.

• Odometer: start the engine so the gauges light up and the warning lights go out, then shoot the mileage straight on, without glare.
• Wheels and tires: crouch level with the center cap. Show each wheel if they differ, and the tread on at least one tire.
• Lights: headlights and taillights up close. Switch them on if the car has a signature LED design.
• Center screen: turn it on and show the home screen, the map or the backup camera.
• Key features: an open sunroof, a raised third row, the tow hitch, premium audio badges, anything that helps sell the car.
• Engine bay: hood up, shot from the front. A clean engine bay says the car was cared for.
• Keys: all of them, together. Shoppers want to know how many come with the car.
• Wear and damage: scratches, dents, curb rash, chips and stains. Showing them up front saves a wasted trip and the awkward phone call after it.

Use the frame, not a tape measure: for the side and corner shots, the car should fill about three quarters of the frame's width, with clear space above the roof and below the tires. For a midsize sedan or SUV, that works out to roughly:

• About 30 feet back with a phone's 2x lens, or a 50mm lens on a full-frame camera. This gives the most natural proportions, so use it whenever the lot allows.
• About 15 feet back at 1x. Fine on a tight lot. Just don't walk in closer to fill the frame, and keep the phone level.
• Farther for pickups and vans, which can be several feet longer.

For height, hold the camera at the door handles for every exterior angle, about waist high on most cars. On a tall truck or van, raise it to the middle of the doors. Use the same height on every car so the set matches.

Matching angles make your whole inventory look like one store, and they make cars easier to compare while a shopper scrolls. The fixes are simple:

• One shot list, one order, on every car. Use the table above.
• One photo spot. Mark where the wheels go and where you stand for each angle, with paint dots or tape.
• One lens and one height for every exterior angle.
• One lead photo: the front three-quarter, driver side.

Guided capture does the remembering for you. In CarShots, an on-screen outline shows where to stand for each exterior angle, so whoever has the phone frames the car the same way. Each photo comes back on a clean backdrop in about 20 seconds, and you can use the same backdrop on every car so your listings match. See how the capture app works.

Some angles look great on social media and hurt a listing:

• Ultra-wide close-ups. At 0.5x from a few feet away, the nearest part of the car balloons.
• High angles from eye level or above. They shrink the car and fill the frame with hood and roof.
• Dramatic low angles. They make the car look different from what's on the lot. Save them for ads.
• Other cars in the frame. A neighbor's bumper in the corner makes your listing look like a crowded lot.
• Tilted shots. On a listing, a Dutch angle just looks crooked.

For light, reflections and backgrounds, see the car photography tips.