360 Car Photography – The Complete Guide

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360 Car Photography

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5 Min Read

What’s the key to running a successful business? Innovation! Here’s one innovation for online automobile retail businesses – 360 car photography. 360-degree videos are becoming a critical element for car sellers and dealers. Additionally, research by Google says 64 percent of online car buyers say engaging visuals like 360 walk-around videos can convince them to purchase cars without even taking a test drive!

However, it isn’t easy to shoot such visuals. Traditionally, you need a car studio with a turntable floor and the necessary camera and lighting equipment. You’ll also need a professional crew to handle the photo shoot and the post-production. Well, there’s another way to shoot 360-car pictures, which involves a lot less investment and effort. Interested? Keep reading ahead!

 

 

This blog will run you through everything you need to know about 360-degree car photography – what it is, why you need it, its benefits, and how to do it. Time to dig in!

 

What is 360 Car Photography?

360° car photography involves shooting a complete view of a vehicle from all angles. It gives viewers a comprehensive visual overview of the car, simulating the feeling of physically checking it out. 360 videos and pictures are much better for consumer research when purchasing a vehicle than traditional photographs, as they assist viewers in making a much better assessment. This helps in automotive digital retailing by attracting more buyers online, thus expanding their audience base and improving their overall sales numbers.

As eCommerce continues to gain popularity in the automotive industry, however, the importance of 360 automotive 360 photography will increase as well. Retailers will have to embrace this technology to stay relevant or risk losing out on a lot of potential business. Let’s understand why that would be.

 

 

Why Do You Need 360 Car Photography?

The answer is simple. Suppose you are scrolling through an online car marketplace feed and come across two car listings. One consists of regular pictures of a sedan that look like desktop wallpapers. The second one has a 360 view of the same sedan model and covers every detail of the vehicle. Which one is more clickable?

You know the answer, don’t you?

 

360 Car

 

360 car view can be a game-changer for your online dealership or car marketplace. You not only skyrocket consumer engagement on every VDP on your website but also enhance the overall shopping experience. Let’s go through all the benefits of using 360-degree vehicle videos and pictures for your listings.

 

Benefits of 360 Car Photography For Your Dealership Inventory

Two factors determine the success of your online dealership: pricing and car visuals. Shopping for cars via the internet is very different from looking at a car in a showroom and taking it for a test drive. Buyers must rely on what they are shown on their mobile and desktop screens, and they want to see professional-quality images and videos that give as much information as possible at one glance.

 

Benefits of 360 Car Photography

 

Creating a 360 virtual showroom here can help you go the extra mile and win their attention by giving a comprehensive view of your vehicle. However, these visuals have to be precise and perfect. One single glitch and your entire 360 vehicle walk around video will lose its essence. This is why it is critical to pay close attention to the quality of the visuals of your car listings.

Get a better view, inside and out

Due to busy schedules, buyers usually don’t have a lot of time on their hands to visit a dealership and check every inch of the car they’re considering. When viewing 360 car pictures, which give them an interactive product view on their computer screen or smartphone app, customers can get a better idea of the vehicle at their leisure. They can view and inspect the car from every angle, including the interior and exterior.

Win customers’ first impressions

One of the main benefits of car 360 photography is that online shoppers can meticulously evaluate your cars additionally you can cast a great first impression on potential buyers and reduce the chances of them jumping over to a rival’s website.

Modernize your online inventory

Using 360 car pictures on your VDPs improves your digital sales channel’s feel and aesthetic and, thus, your brand image. Clean and high-impact 360-degree car videos make your online inventory feel a lot more modern. 360-degree car photography offers a complete view of the car’s curves, lines, and proportions with just a swipe of the finger or mouse.

Make your inventory listings competitive

With cars 360 views on your automotive retail website, you can make your listings competitive. They give a great view of your inventory online. You can even outperform rivals that haven’t yet understood the importance of 360 photography, thus giving you an edge over them!

Offer an immersive experience

360 automotive visuals are the best way to create an immersive car-buying experience additionally, you can show off every minute detail of your vehicles. This will help buyers reach a quick decision and convert your dormant dealership inventory into sold units.

Better online engagement

360 car photography app is a great way to showcase your vehicle and its features. This kind of marketing tool is being used by businesses worldwide, to improve customer engagement and positively affect sales numbers. Shoppers might spend hours in your digital showroom and experience the vehicles virtually.

Gain customer confidence

Building confidence and trust among your customers is essential for any business. A great Car 360 automotive walkaround video displays the complete design details of the vehicle, which is essential in making decisions. For used cars, you can also use car damage detection to highlight any dents and damages, thus increasing transparency in the car-buying process and giving consumers an accurate representation of the vehicle. Building this confidence among customers directly spikes lead generation, and, therefore, sales.

Propel sales and dealership revenues

You can enhance car sales and profitability by using 360 car booths. The equation is pretty simple. More buyers getting attracted means more sales, higher profit margins, and more resources to expand your business.

 

How to Take 360 Photos of Cars

Now that you know the benefits of 360-degree car photography, let’s look at how to create such visuals.

Shoot 360-car exterior visuals using manual photography

This is the manual method to create car 360 spin videos and pictures. You need to build (or rent) a turn-table studio first, to click vehicle images from different angles. Once the photographs are finalized, they are neatly edited and compiled together to generate a seamless 360-degree view.

Let’s take a look at how to set up a car studio for 360-degree photography:

 

How to take 360 photos of cars

How to set up a car 360° photobooth

To set up a car 360 photobooth you follow the simple steps listed below:

Step 1: Identify a place for a studio

Identify good corners and places on your premises to shoot vehicles. Additionally, it can be a garage, warehouse, backyard of your house or dealership office, or any other indoor space. If you don’t have an appropriate place in your lot, then you should choose one that isn’t too far. The further the studio is from your lot, the longer you’d have to drive for a photoshoot.

Step 2: Install a turntable

You need a turntable for 360° photography of cars. A turntable helps you click different profiles of your vehicle. You can either get a turntable installed in your photobooth or have one built onto your floor. You can also get an elevated floor with an L- or U-shaped wall, and studio roll doors.

Step 3: Camera and other photography equipment

Of course, you need a great camera to click great pictures. Apart from that, you also need lighting equipment, i.e., lights, diffusers, etc., for a brilliant output.

Step 4: Ensuring accurate background

White is always the preferred color for car photography studio walls. A loud or colorful background will draw attention away from the vehicle, which isn’t ideal also, you can choose a specific backdrop for all your images, which adds consistency to your online inventory. For this, you can either use curtains or software to change backdrop colors later while editing.

Step 5: Lighting adjustments

Car surfaces are often dynamic and give a shimmering effect. Too much lighting directed on the car’s surface will create unnecessary halo effects and shine, making car visuals blurry and distracting. Therefore, you need the perfect lighting equipment to ensure accurate reflections and shadows. For this, you can use the following:

  • High-quality softboxes and umbrella lighting
  • Boards and reflectors
  • Adjustable auxiliary lighting

Step 6: Stabilizing the camera

The height of the camera plays a primary role in capturing 360-degree walkarounds of vehicles. You must ensure that the camera stays fixed and aligns with the land. This will also help remove all angle imperfections from the visuals. If you cannot manage tripods, then try for other stable bases. To take a 360 car view, take a series of photos as you walk around the car. Capturing these 360 images is easy, but producing a seamless 360 car walk around video is difficult.

Step 7: Post-production solutions

You need post-production software to edit all car visuals through built-in features like sharpness, contrast, natural shadow, etc. Unless you’re familiar with photo editing software, it’s better to hire a professional to do it.

If setting up a studio seems impractical, you can rent one out as per your requirements. Usually, such studios have a photography crew as well, to help you out.

 

Using a 360° camera to shoot the interior of a car

Since the interiors can’t be filmed using a car turn table studio, a 360-degree camera captures a vehicle’s interiors. Later the images are compiled and edited to get a complete 360 view. This process requires you to have a 360 camera in hand and a professional who knows how to operate and edit the footage to give a seamless 360-degree visual experience.

360 car photography using AI software

The traditional photoshoot method mentioned above is effective, however, it increases your dependency on external factors (e.g., on the camera crew). You’ll also need to drive your vehicles to the studio. All of this costs a lot of money and time.

However, with this platform car 360 view app, you can effectively shoot high-quality car images without any professional assistance. The clicked images are then automatically edited by advanced AI systems, and your 360 spin car visuals are ready in no time!

Capture Stunning 360° Car Photos: Key Steps

Setup

1) Mount your camera on a level tripod for stability.

2) Prepare a remote shutter to minimize camera shake.

2) Capture Images

1) Shoot multiple photos from different angles around the car, and also ensures complete coverage.

2) Don’t forget the roof and bottom for a full 360° view.

Image Processing

1) Use AI Image enhancer software (e.g., Spyne AI) to capture 360 walkaround vehicle inspection effortlessly and more enhancements.

2) Optimize the background, shadow, and tilt for a polished look.

 

What is the Cost of 360 Car Photography Software?

When it comes to 360 photography price it depends on various factors including budget, no. of cars, and more. Here we have a list of the top 10 360 car photography software free and paid. Explore various 360 Car Photo software options additionally their costs in this breakdown. From automated platforms to mobile apps, you can also find the solution that suits your car photography needs.

Software Review Cost
Spyne Automotive Offers fully automated 360° capture with high-quality results. Easy-to-use platform. Great for dealerships and large-scale car photography. Free to use, with custom pricing for premium features.
CloudPano Automotive Easy-to-use platform with manual and automated capture options. $79-$199/month
foldio360 Compact lightbox system for smartphone photography. $39-$149
3DShot Mobile app for 360° object capture. Easy to use, good for basic needs. Free (limited features), $3.99-$9.99/month
CarCutter Mobile app specifically for car photography. Free (limited features), $4.99/month
Glo3D Mobile app with advanced features like AI stitching and hotspot creation. Free (limited features), $19-$49/month
Vc360 Cloud-based platform with various capture options and customization tools. Custom quote based on needs
Roundme User-friendly platform for creating 360° content and virtual tours. Free, $6-$29/month
Insta360 sphere Requires an Insta360 camera however offers high-quality capture and advanced features. $199 (camera) + $99 (app)
Fyctia Mobile app for 360° object capture with detailed editing tools. Good for highlighting specific car parts. Free (limited features), $9.99/month

Please note: These are the approximate costs for each platform

 

Transform Your Digital Showroom with 360 Automotive Walkaround

Features

Traditional VDP

Spyne’s Enhanced VDP

Content

Traditional VDP will only provide you with static images with limited angles which is not much attractive and engaging for your clients. Spyne’s VDP allows you to put AI-based visuals in a 360-degree view, which looks very attractive and engaging.

Background

Traditional VDPs consist of plain or general backgrounds, which are quite dull. You can create customizable backgrounds as per your choice, additionally, it will look classic and appealing to your customers.

Customization

Traditional VDPs are rigid, you can not customize anything on these VDPs.

You will get a chance to customize your VDP with us by adding your brand logos, turntables, and customizable number plates.

Customer’s experience

Users won’t be able to engage and connect with your old traditional VDP. With our tool, your users can explore the vehicles and their features in deep.

What are the Equipments Needed For 360 Car Photography?

For traditional 360 car photography, you typically need the following equipment:

1) 360 Camera: This is the primary tool for capturing panoramic images of the car from all angles. There are various models available in the market specifically designed for 360 car photography.

2) Monopod: A monopod provides stability and helps you capture steady shots while maneuvering around the car. It’s especially useful for maintaining consistency in the height and angle of the camera.

3) Stabilizer or Gimbal(optional): While not strictly necessary, a stabilizer or gimbal can help to further stabilize the camera and reduce shake or blur in the images. This is particularly helpful if you’re shooting handheld or in motion.

Now that it has its AI-powered solution, the procedure is considerably easier to understand and more accessible:

1) Smartphone: Specialized cameras are no longer required thanks to Spyne’s AI technology. All you need is an Android or iOS smartphone additionally anyone can capture and enhance 360-degree car photos with far less difficulty and at a much lower cost.

2) AI Technology: Its AI algorithms combine your smartphone’s camera skills with its own to automatically take and combine high-quality pictures additionally it eliminates the need for you to deal with complicated editing tools or bother about manually capturing every perspective.

 

How to Use Spyne AI for 360 Car Photography

Spyne combines its expertise in 360 car photography with digital imaging. Additionally, shooting 360-degree pictures or videos is extremely easy and affordable with the AI platform for digital merchandising. With this, you don’t need extra hardware or knowledge; just a few clicks are enough. Here’s how you can do it:

  • Take your smartphone with the AI app open and go around the car. Follow the 360 photoshoot guide and ensure that your car image fits into the overlay sketch on the screen. The AI-led solution will verify the visual immediately and notify if it needs to be recaptured.
  • Once you capture a vehicle walk around from all angles, the in-built AI editing tools will fine-tune or replace backgrounds while removing all the unnecessary elements.
  • You can choose between multiple background options, ranging from virtual indoor studios to outdoor settings.

The only item required for car 360 photography with this is your smartphone. Also, it can help you take your vehicles from your lot to online in minutes.

A 360 virtual showroom with such innovative spinning vehicle views makes the dealership inventory listing more attractive and captivating to prospective car buyers. Consequently, it pools in more shoppers, expanding the potential customer base and boosting sales opportunities.

 

360 car photography example

 

Future car buying trends point to Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is the future of e-commerce, including online car buying, and its popularity is slowly but steadily growing. Although 360 photography is still in its infancy, it can be used to create a more stunning, immersive experience when showing off a car or its features.

Experiencing a car through VR is similar to a virtual tryout, letting buyers feel a vehicle without ever having to leave the comfort of their homes. Additionally, users could easily compare the design, features, etc., of different vehicle options.

 

Final Words

Embracing 360-degree car photography is not just a trend but a necessity for online automobile retailers also it revolutionizes the way consumers engage with vehicle listings, enhancing their shopping experience and boosting sales. With advancements like Spyne’s AI-powered solution, the process has become more accessible and cost-effective. Additionally, by providing immersive visuals, businesses can gain a competitive edge, build trust with customers, and drive revenue growth.

 

 

FAQs

  • Q. How to shoot 360-degree car visuals for your online inventory?

    Use a 360-degree camera for the interior of your car. You can buy a decent one on Amazon for around $200-$300.

    Use a turntable studio or revolving camera setup for the exterior of your car. Or, you could try out AI-powered solutions like Spyne to generate spin car videos quickly and affordably, without needing additional assistance.

  • Q. How do 360 car videos improve sales?

    Yes, 360 car spin visuals help increase auto sales by providing a store-like experience to buyers. People can virtually interact with a vehicle before buying it, improving transparency in the buying process and improving consumer trust.

    There’s research to back this up! According to a study by Google, around 64% of car buyers believe they can buy a car by watching a 360-degree video without having to test drive the vehicle. 

     

  • Q. Is it expensive to create 360° walkaround videos of my car?

    Traditionally, it is pretty expensive to shoot 360-degree car videos and photographs for an online dealership or automobile marketplace. You need a heavy investment to create a car studio, buy camera equipment, etc. Even renting a studio is not cheap, ranging from $100 to $500 an hour in the US.

    The simplest solution to this is using AI-led photography solutions, like Spyne. You get jaw-dropping 360 degree car videos for a fraction of the cost.

  • What is a 360 Car Walkaround?

    Vehicle 360 walk around can be derived as when an automotive sales representative captures a 360-degree video stating all the features, colors, and conditions of the vehicle. It helps to manage the maintenance requirements of the vehicle which leads to eliminating the wastage of time.

  • What is Spyne’s 360 automotive walkaround price?

    Spyne’s 360 walkaround cost is nil. You can use our AI-based walkaround for free and with custom pricing you can unlock our premium features.

Written by

Team Spyne

Young, enthusiastic, and curious are the three words that describe Spyne’s content team perfectly. We take pride in our work - doing extensive research, engaging with industry experts, burning the midnight oil, etc. Every word we write is aimed at solving our readers’ problems.

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