A taste of the shoot. More photos are in the full gallery further down the page. Click any photo to see it large.
Simply Sports Cars is the official Lotus dealer in Sydney, for Lotus Cars Australia. They sell parts and upgrades for Lotus sports cars, and they made some of these products themselves. The parts are fitted to Lotus cars in Sydney or bought by owners interstate. They needed automotive product photography for their online shop: clear car parts photos on white that showed owners exactly what they could buy and fit.
The brief: a photo library for selling Lotus parts online
The brief was a library of product photos to use everywhere: online selling, social media, marketing material and pieces in the store. For each product it asked for three things. A full product shot. Close-ups of the details and special features. And, where possible, the part in situation, so you can see where it goes on the car.
E-commerce product photography on white
I shot almost everything on a plain white background. White is easier to manage and it works in every place a product photo ends up. The same photo suits a marketplace like Amazon, eBay or Gumtree, and an online store built on Shopify or WordPress.
The side-on exhaust shot shows the whole part, with the hanger rods and the pipe work, so an owner can see how it fits under the car. The close-up shows the polished twin tips and the welds, which is what someone paying for a quality exhaust wants to look at.
What I photographed
- A polished stainless steel rear exhaust with twin tips, side-on, at a three-quarter angle and close up.
- Matte black Lotus wheels, face-on, at an angle and close in on the centre badge and the Lotus Sport name on a spoke.
- An air intake kit with a green filter, an alloy pipe and black silicone hoses.
- Engine parts laid out together, including a header, a pulley and clamps.
- A clutch kit with its pressure plate, friction disc and release bearing, in front of the box.
- A slotted two-piece brake disc.
- A dual-camera video and data-logging kit, laid out with its mounts and cables.
- The exhaust being fitted under a yellow car on a hoist.
Some parts carry the Simply Sports Cars name, like the silicone hoses on the intake kit.
The fitting shot does a different job from the photos on white. It shows the part going on a real car, and it reminds owners that they can have the work done for them, not just buy the part.
Where the photos were used
All of these photos were used on the Simply Sports Cars e-commerce website, which is still live with its online shop. They were also used on social media to promote the products, and in emails to customers announcing new products and showing owners what could be fitted to their cars.
Before that, selling upgrades relied on word of mouth. A customer would raise a problem, or say they wanted the car faster or handling better, and it was up to the mechanic to tell the service manager so they could suggest something. Once people could see everything the business sold, it helped them sell more products, and more servicing, upgrades and installations.
I was also their marketing consultant, and I built the e-commerce website and online store. With it they got found across Australia and overseas, because some of their products were unique in the way they solved performance problems on Lotus sports cars. I wrote about the marketing side in a case study on my consulting site.
A shot list for car parts photography
If you sell parts or accessories online, this is the shot list I'd start with for each product:
- A full product shot on white, at the same angle across your range.
- A second angle, such as a three-quarter view, that shows depth and shape.
- Close-ups of what makes the part worth buying: the finish, the welds, the logo, the fittings.
- Everything in the box laid out, so buyers can see what they get.
- The part fitted, or being fitted, where you can.
Keep the background and lighting the same from product to product. Customers then compare the products, not the photos, and you can use the same photos on marketplaces, in emails and on social media without redoing them.
Car parts photography in Sydney
Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour, with up to 10 edited photos and a commercial licence included. See business photography in Sydney for what's included.
Shoot details
Client
Simply Sports Cars
Industry
Official Lotus dealer, parts and servicing
Photographed
Exhaust, wheels, intake kit, engine parts, clutch kit, brake disc, a video data-logging kit and an exhaust being fitted
Used for
E-commerce website and online shop, social media and customer emails
The full gallery
More photos from the Lotus parts shoot for Simply Sports Cars. Click any photo to see it large.
Need photos of your products?
I can photograph your parts and accessories on white, with close-ups of the details and the part in use, ready for your online shop and marketplaces. Business photography starts at $495.
