Diffused or direct?

Diffused light is where a material is positioned between the light source and the object being photographed. This spreads the light intensity and gives a soft light.

By contrast, direct light simply sees the lights shone directly onto the vehicle.

Either can be achieved using our image booths, where LED floodlights are mounted on adjustable brackets on top of the booth walls.

Why diffused?

To diffuse light at dealer360, we cover the entire booth with a white nylon translucent panel. The lights, positioned above, then shine through the panel onto the car below.

This crucially ensures there are no intense reflections seen in the paintwork of the car – as there would be with direct light – while, as mentioned above, the light is evenly distributed. The result of this light diffusion is a smooth satin look.

Why direct?

There are advantages to direct light, too, though. The car is given a glossy appearance and colour is well replicated in images – at odds to the struggles faced with diffused light, unless more light heads are added.

And there are also practical reasons to opt against diffusing the light. The translucent panels have an initial cost and the wear-and-tear of use means they need replacing over time.

The system can accommodate vehicles up to the size of a motorhome and adapts to a wide range of devices and screen sizes.

Bluesky Interactive’s head of retail Raphael Millin said:  “We are very pleased to have launched this 360 solution on the Frosts 4 Cars website. It is so important to us to work closely with the industry to create new solutions and continuously enhance the way that our clients sell their vehicles online.”

Frosts 4 Cars’ marketing manager Robert Robinson said: “By adding the 360 functionality, we have provided our customers with the ability and flexibility to really explore each of our used vehicles in depth.

“Since launching we’ve had really positive feedback from our customers. They’re spending more time on the site and have greater confidence in reserving a vehicle online before visiting the showroom, something we’ve seen an increase in.

“Our Sales team are enjoying it too, using it in a variety of ways with our customers in our showrooms.”

UK Turntables’ managing director Nigel Spratt said: “We are delighted to have partnered with industry leaders Bluesky Interactive in delivering a total 360 image solution to our mutual client Frost4Cars.

“There is no doubt in my mind that 360 image capture and display is the way forward for those companies wanting  a competitive cutting edge advantage on their websites.”

Whether a company spending money on a dedicated photographer or relying on sales or management staff to take time out of their busy schedules to snap the latest stock, a photographic turntable provides a solution. The money and time spent there can be saved, with dealer360’s product doing the job for you, while images are available almost on-demand. This is a massive time-saver, it is efficient and requires minimal user input. It is very much a non-skilled operation.

The quality of the photography, too, is to an impeccable standard. With a photographic turntable used for all stock, there will be consistency throughout all imagery. The weather, time of year or time of day will have no impact on the product’s capability to produce an unchanging string of superb photographs. Each image will match up to your brand’s standards, with lighting and a professional background – as each car can be pictured individually in a timely manner, there is no need for other stock to be sneaking into shot.

And this applies for videos, too. Far more reliable than a shaky, handheld camera, the videography here is stable. Your customers will not suffer any seasickness as they look to get a closer look at your latest stock with dealer360’s high-quality footage.

When all is done, the images of the vehicles, inside and out, are stored together in one place. It is an easily manageable system that cuts down on time, money and effort at every stage of the process.

There should be no excuse for poor, unprofessional photographs or blurry, rickety videos when a photographic turntable provides all the solutions.