I completely disagree. His pics are artificial and many are taken from too far away. We moved my car many times to get the right angles and reflections in both partial shade and direct light on a not very sunny day.
Malaga Coupe
- Thread starter HB Chris
- Start date
Opinions are like assholes. Some are best not shared and some plain ole stink. ~mburger
The photographs accurately showed the car. That’s what you want when you’re selling a car. That’s what buyers want to see. The photos weren’t washed out at all. The contrast was good and the colors were accurate. Remember all of the consternation over the photos in the Türkis CSi listing? That’s why you don’t photograph cars for sale during “the golden hour.”
Chris, do you have any actual experience photographing or even using a camera other than the one on your iPhone?
I used a polaroid once.
I took a photography class 45 years ago.
bimmerpark
Member
I take my job pretty seriously. I search for neutral backgrounds and optimal shooting conditions for light. The malaga paint pops the best in direct sunlight. I am very happy with the images I produced from this shoot. I look for color accuracy and even lighting. I don't object to a couple of Key photos during "The Golden Hour" but 95% of the images need to show off the Color, accurately, the Golden Hour alters the Color balance and is the Wrong venue for Auctions and Documenting the condition of a vehicle.
Avant Garde/The Image Engine produces some really nice images, they do draw people into the auction. There is a sucker born every minute that falls for this smoke and mirrors photography.
Me too (well, not quite that long ago), so I'm going to offer @bimmerpark some unsolicited advice: I think you used the wrong contrast filter when you were printing those images in the darkroom. Beginner's error. Don't feel too bad about it.
Kidding - those were great pics. Very accurate and everything was well and consistently represented. Getting colors right; dealing with reflective surfaces; and getting details in shadows without blowing out the rest of the picture are not an easy tasks.
There's a lot of evidence to suggest buyers pay a premium on cars with false, highly manipulated, augmented photos. All that manipulation has to be done well mind you but similar to the fact that buyers rarely talk to the seller (no matter the price), buyers on BaT for the most part are amatuer enthusiast with cash and a dream that the pictures realistically depict the condition of the car for sale. Chris's car was backed up many, many times by first hand comments on the outstanding condition of the car. Those comments supported the condition and subsequent sale as much as the photos IMHO...
Chris- Did any of the people that actually visited you and looked at the car factor into the late, high-dollar bidding?
Chris- Did any of the people that actually visited you and looked at the car factor into the late, high-dollar bidding?
I think a shot of Chris looking at the car with a tear running down his cheek might've brought another $5k.
Speaking of stacking car auctions - there are currently two silver Z8's for sale on BAT (one a BMW the other Alpina). The auctions end 10 minutes apart. Huge differences in bidding at this moment though.
Only one person came to drive the car and he did not bid as he saw it going above his threshold. And he owns a 280SE Cab so he should have known better!
Buyer will wire funds to your bank, they are sending an overnight FedEx envelope to return the title when funds have cleared. Then they will schedule the pickup. Pretty simple. Reply promptly to questions, add comments every day with additional details, adding photos notifies those watching, be respectful to even the critics as they usually don’t know what they are talking about. And I would really encourage you to add common punctuation to your replies and avoid long run on sentences. Good luck.
I would strongly recommend hiring a professional to handle your auction If English is your second language and if you have challenges communicating. Please don’t take it personally; but communication is very important when listing a car on BaT. The person handling your auction should do all the communicating for the seller.
bimmerpark
Member
I always used graded paper and love the smell of Fix in the morning!
Hello Chris,
Thank you so much you are very kind to spend time and educating me with your experience, you are right they don't know you they are going to wire a big dollar to your account without seeing you I thing all it is how to present yourself, and I tell you English is my 4th language sometime I am mixing the words and sometime when I talk to a friend without thinking I am changing the language, as oldest I get as bad it gets.
Best regards
Albert
as long as you are happy for your hard work, that's all it counts
