Framing Exteriors

1. You should crop in tight on both sides and center the vehicle for all exterior shots. Front and back shots will need to be cropped tight on the top and bottom without cutting off the tires. 

2. All exterior shots should be shot low. Taking a knee or squatting down will help with this. A general rule for exteriors is if you can see the door panels on the far side of the vehicle, you're standing too tall. 

Alpha Shot

The alpha shot is the most important shot of the sequence. It is the one opportunity to grab the attention of potential car buyers. The alpha shot should be taken to highlight the vehicle being sold. This means we should have an eye pleasing, distraction free background with the best lighting possible. The alpha needs to be the most consistent shot of the sequence as our dealers rely on us to keep their websites looking nice and neat. 

Examples:

Backgrounds

Pro-MotionPix takes a lot of pride in going the extra step by clearing a staging area to enhance the look of the images. We do this to not only separate ourselves from the competition but to give our customers a better chance when their inventory is being looked at with other dealerships such as AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, or similar sites. Keeping the background clear of distraction keeps the potential car buyers engaged longer, which helps our customers get people into their stores. 

Shot Height 

All exterior shots should be taken at or below the headlight level of the vehicle. To achieve such a height it is required that you kneel, squat, or hold the camera low in live view to get each exterior shot. 

Examples:

Lighting 

The vehicle should be well lit for all exterior shots. Ideally the shadow should fall behind or on the far side of the car when shooting. Another way to think about this is that the sun should always be at the Photographer’s back. Shadows should not touch any part of the vehicle. You should also do your best to avoid shadows in the foreground of the images. 

**Although overcast conditions eliminate shadows, the vehicle will still need to achieve a consistent background. 

Focal Length

All exterior shots (except the side profile shot) should be shot at a 5x zoom. Pro-MotionPix has chosen staging areas at each dealership that will enable Photographers to get the alpha at 5x. This will be required at each dealer that has the space. 

Shoot Below Window Line 

We shoot below the window line to reduce glare and minimize distraction. 

The app will default to the suggested zoom level. For the broad interior shots looking into the vehicle and the cockpit shot, it's important that we stick to the 1x zoom to maximize the content of the shots. If you need to slightly zoom in or out for the detail shots to avoid reflections, glare, or any wear on the vehicle, please feel free to do so.

Exterior Color 

You should always avoid showing the exterior color of the car on your interior shots. This will minimize distractions and keep a clean shot. The reason we do it this way is so that when we're shooting library vehicles we can use all of the interior shots. If we see exterior color on the interior shots, we will not be able to use them on all vehicles. 

Doors

Doors should be closed after each section of the interior. This will help with the exterior color and will also reduce glare and shadows in certain shots.

All photos must be:

1. Free of flare, glare, or sun spots - If you notice these, please angle the shot to avoid these. If re angling your shot does not fix it, please move the car. 

2. Interior photos must be shot in complete shade - Please avoid tree shade or allowing any light to enter the interiors

3. All photos must be light and bright. - Please adjust the exposure to brighten dark conditions.

4. Car should be positioned to avoid harsh shadows on exterior photos, ideally, the sun should be behind the photographer. Shadows should always fall behind the side of the vehicle you are shooting. If you notice shadows in front you will need to rotate the vehicle. It is required to rotate the vehicle for the rear 3/4 and rear shots on all photo sequences. 

5. Make sure the vehicle is level. Getting low and using the horizontal lines on the front of the vehicle will make this faster when using the guides. 

6. Backgrounds

• Watch out for signage or other undesirable items such as dumpsters, people, trash, etc. 

• If using a staging area, make sure the whole car has a consistent background.

• Always avoid trash, oil or, water that can look like the car is leaking oil on ground.

7. Make sure the camera is focusing and you are staying as still as possible while shooting.  

8. Attention to detail

• Even seats - Both the passenger and driver's seat should be even when shooting. 

• Straight / level steering wheel

• Garbage / Floor Mats need to be hidden from the shots including the 360 interior shot.

• Navigation - We should always show the navigation screen when the vehicle is equipped. 

9. Damage or Wear - We should always adjust the angle of the shot, or skip the shot completely, if it's showing excessive wear or damage. We need to help our customers get people into the dealership and shots showing damage or wear will deter them from coming in to see the vehicle. 

At Pro-MotionPix we strive for consistency so that we can provide our customers a consistent product to make their websites look at neat as possible. As you can see in the chart below, all different sizes and shapes of vehicles are facing the same way, shot at the same angle, and centered in the frame. This is what we want for everyone to focus on when they're shooting and as long as the guides in the app are being used, we will be able to easily achieve this.