In today’s competitive automotive market, presenting vehicles in the best possible light is essential. With the rise of online car shopping, potential buyers expect immersive and detailed views before visiting the dealership. Enter 360-degree car photography, a cutting-edge technology that allows customers to explore every angle of a vehicle virtually, creating an interactive and engaging experience.
What’s the key to running a successful business? Innovation! Here’s one innovation for online automobile retail businesses – 360 car photography and 360-degree videos are becoming a critical element for car sellers and dealers. Research by Google says 64 percent of online car buyers say engaging visuals like 360 degree 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, but still gives you high-quality results. 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 better assessment. This helps car sellers in automotive digital retailing by attracting more buyers online.
As e-commerce continues to gain popularity in the automotive industry, the importance of 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.
360-degree car photography involves capturing multiple images of a vehicle from every angle and stitching them together to create a seamless, interactive view. This allows potential buyers to rotate and zoom in on the car’s exterior or interior, giving them a virtual tour that closely replicates the in-person experience.
Unlike traditional static images, 360-degree photography provides a more immersive view, making it easier for buyers to inspect a car’s design, features, and condition.
How 360-Degree Car Photography Works
The process involves the following steps:
- Capturing Images: Multiple high-quality photos are taken at different angles around the vehicle. This can be done using specialized cameras or a rotating turntable that moves the car.
- Stitching and Processing: Once captured, these images are stitched together using specialized software to create a smooth, interactive model.
- Integration on Platforms: The final 360-degree images can then be integrated into websites, social media, or automotive marketplaces where customers can explore the vehicle in detail.
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. The first one consists of regular pictures of a sedan, which look like desktop wallpapers or stock images. 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 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.
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. But 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.
Create a winning first impression
One of the main benefits of car 360 photography is that online shoppers can meticulously evaluate your cars. 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. 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 automotive 360 walkaround for dealerships 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.
Increase 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 traditional 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:
Step 1: Identify a place for a studio
Identify good corners and places on your premises to shoot vehicles. 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. Or, 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. However, producing a seamless 360 car walk around video is difficult.
Step 7: Use a 360° camera to shoot car interior
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.
Step 8: 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.
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! One such AI platform is Spyne, which allows you to shoot and create 360-spin videos easily.
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 and their costs in this breakdown. From automated platforms to mobile apps, 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 but 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
Visualize your automotive online presence as a physical dealership showroom. You’ll need top-quality, accurate visuals for your shoppers to view the cars. Traditional VDP, however, only provides static images that are not very engaging for them. To solve this, Spyne has created a solution called Spin 360, which helps you shoot 360 automotive walkarounds. We aren’t just limited to walkarounds, we have much more to give to our dealership clients. Let’s study the difference between a Traditional VDP and Spyne’s enhanced VDP.
| Features | Traditional VDP | Spyne Enhanced VDP |
| Content | Traditional VDPs will only provide you with static images with limited angles which is not much attractive and engaging for your clients. | VDPs with Spyne visuals allow you to put AI-based visuals in a 360-degree view, which looks very attractive and engaging. |
| Background | Standard VDPs consist of plain or general backgrounds, which are quite dull. | You can create customizable backgrounds as per your choice, which will look classic and appealing to your customers. |
| Customization | Common 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 Equipment do you Need 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 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.
4) A turntable studio: If quality matters to you, then this is the most important ingredient in this broth! Park your car on the turntable and let it rotate, while the camera clicks pictures at the appropriate angle. Although necessary, building or renting a studio is a massive expense, sometimes way too high for a dealership to justify.
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. 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. This 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 automotive photography with digital imaging. With it, 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 Spyne 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.
- Choose between multiple background options, ranging from virtual indoor studios to outdoor settings.
- 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.
- Viola! Your interactive car spin visual is ready!
A 360 virtual showroom with such innovative spinning vehicle views makes the dealership inventory listing more attractive and captivating to prospective car buyers and pools in more shoppers.
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. While 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. Therefore, users could easily compare the design, features, etc., of different vehicle options.
Conclusion
Embracing 360-degree car photography is not just a trend but a necessity for online automobile retailers. 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.
By providing immersive visuals, businesses can gain a competitive edge, build trust with customers, and drive revenue growth.
