At Photomotive, we're lucky enough to have photographers who have professional DSLR cameras and know how to use them. The reality is not everyone has access to one. But with modern cell phone cameras, you are able to produce just as good content using nothing but your phone.

Sure! Here's a refined and professional version of your text:

 

At Photomotive, we’re committed to making your vehicle look its absolute best. Every photo we receive is carefully enhanced in Photoshop—we remove the background, fine-tune the colors to accurately reflect your car’s paint, and clean up small imperfections like bugs, scratches, minor reflections, or unpolished tires—all at no extra charge.

​

Because photo quality can vary, we may request alternative images if the ones submitted don’t do justice to your vehicle’s finish. To help you choose the right photos, please check out our photo tips below.

​

iPhone Use

​If you are shooting with an iPhone, click here to checkout this YouTube video about setting up your iPhone for photography. Always shoot with your phone in the landscape position.

​

Make sure your lens is clean

Even with the best settings, a smudged lens can ruin an image. Regular cleaning ensures no specks or streaks appear in photos.

​

Shooting Exterior Shots

The best light to capture the lines and details of your vehicle is 1-2 hours after sunrise or 1-2 hours before sunset on clear, sunny days. Park with the driver’s headlight pointed toward the sun to get direct light on both the front and driver’s side. Always shoot with the sun to your back, but try and position yourself in a way to minimize casting a shadow on your car. Even in bright sunlight, turn on your headlights!

 

Watch out for Reflections

Beautiful, shiny paint reflects just like a mirror. Find an open space in a large parking lot near a field. Avoid areas with buildings, trees and poles that will reflect onto your vehicle, and avoid parking on grass to minimize green casting on paint. Remember your mission: Show off the curves and lines of the car! Reflections are the spoiler of body design.

​

Avoid reflections in your car such as parking lot stripes, telephone poles and wires, busy tree branch/leaf reflections, clouds, building windows, people, and of course, YOU!

​​

Composition

When shooting the main photo for your Custom Show Board, take a few frames standing, a few crouching down slightly, and a few more kneeling. Shoot first at a 45-degree angle to the side of your vehicle, then shoot taking a step or two in either direction. 

​

It might seem obvious, but making sure your car is in the center on the shot is important to get a clean looking image. If you want to accentuate certain features of your car such as the rear end, get the correct angle and center it making sure everything is in focus. Don’t use the ZOOM feature, which is just an artificial trick these cameras use to blow up your image. If you need to, just move closer to the car. Here are some additional tips:

​

• Find an open clear area with a nice clear horizon behind the car. Important-Make sure that all you see is clear sky through the nearest and farthest windows of the car. You can accomplish this by positioning yourself at a dog’s eye level (or even lower).

• Park the car on a LEVEL surface. Don't park on grass, striped parking lots or gravel.

• Roll up the windows except for convertible shots with the top down.

• Position your phone low so that you can see all four tires touching the ground. Avoid “hiding” one of the tires on the far side of the car from the shot.

• Fill the car in your viewfinder and don't cut off anything.

• Take a few shots standing, a few crouching down slightly, and a few more kneeling. Shoot first at a 45-degree angle to the side of your vehicle, then shoot taking a step or two in either direction. Always be mindful of the position of the sun if shot during a sunny day.

• For a great aggressive looking muscular shot, get down to the ground at bumper level and take some ¾ view shots of both front and rear. You will have to move your car around to get both front and rear, as you must keep the light behind you.

• For angled shots, always turn your front wheels with the tread facing away from the camera.

• Shoot with all windows rolled up.

​

Shooting Engine and Interior Shots

• Avoid these shots in direct sunlight. If possible, shoot in the shade or on a cloudy or overcast day.

• Remove keys from ignition

• Arrange seatbelts neatly

• Remove cups, paper, spouse, etc.

​

Exposure

An underexposed image is the sort of photograph that one might consider to be too dark while an overexposed image is an image that is brighter than it should be (because too much light is allowed during exposure).

​

You should avoid overexposing any areas in the photo that you want to retain detail, since it is impossible to recover any details that have “blown-out” to pure white using Photoshop or Lightroom. Areas that look pure black can usually be recovered by our photo technicians using that software.

Perfect exposure is best. But if you have to choose between underexposing or overexposing, always go with the underexposed photo.

​