# Vehicle photos for dealers Three systems for the motor trade: turn a row of cars into a listing shot each, show a customer their own car in a different colour, and put signage on a van that has none. Everything here works anywhere in the world and every prompt is written out in full. https://www.everestchris.com/guides/car-dealers-and-detailers ## prompt 01 · step 5 · One car, alone, from a forecourt photograph gemini-3-pro-image or gpt-image-2 Take the {{CAR_DESCRIPTION}} in this real forecourt photograph and reshoot that one car as a single vehicle listing photograph, keeping it recognisably and exactly the same car. Keep the same model, the same body shape and proportions, the same paint colour and finish, the same wheels, the same tyres, the same trim, the same badges and the same ride height. Do not add a body kit, do not lower it, do not change the wheels, do not tint the glass, and do not alter the car in any way. CRITICAL: keep every existing mark on the car exactly as it appears. If a wheel is kerbed it stays kerbed. If there is a scratch, a scuff, a chip, a dent, rust, a cracked lens or mismatched paint, it must still be there and just as visible. You are reshooting this car, not repairing it. Removing damage would misrepresent a vehicle for sale. What you may change is only the surroundings, the light and the framing: - Isolate the car so it is alone in the frame. Remove the other vehicles, the buildings, the hedge, the poles, the wires, the signage and the clutter, and replace them with a plain, softly out of focus neutral background and clean level ground. - Position it at a {{ANGLE}} angle. - Light it with soft warm low sun from the front left so there is one long clean highlight along the body panels and a soft shadow under the car. - Shoot from wheel hub height with a level horizon and straight verticals. The number plate must be completely blank and unreadable. It must look like an honest photograph of this exact used car taken properly by someone competent. Not a manufacturer advert, not a computer rendering, not a studio composite. No text, no logos, no watermarks, no borders, no added reflections of things not present. ## prompt 02 · step 5 · A wrap, tint or paint correction preview Same models, same isolated car photo Show this exact car with {{TREATMENT}} applied, as a customisation shop would preview it for the customer who owns it. Keep everything about the car identical: the same model, the same body shape, the same wheels and tyres, the same ride height, the same glass, the same lights, the same badges, the same trim and the same camera angle and framing. This is the customer's own car and they must recognise it instantly. Change only what the treatment actually changes: - For a colour change wrap: recolour only the painted body panels to {{COLOUR}}, with a {{FINISH}} finish. Leave the glass, black trim, grille, lights, mirrors caps if unwrapped, and wheels exactly as they are. The film should follow the body lines and terminate neatly at the panel gaps, the way real vinyl does. A satin finish must show the body lines as soft gradients rather than sharp mirror reflections. A gloss finish must show crisp reflections. - For window tint: darken only the glass, to {{TINT_LEVEL}}, leaving the windscreen legal and lighter than the sides. Nothing else changes. - For paint correction or detailing: restore gloss, depth and reflection to the existing paint in its existing colour. Do not change the colour. Keep every scratch, chip and blemish that is visible in the original photograph, because a correction preview that removes damage is a promise the shop cannot keep. Light it with soft even overcast daylight so the finish reads truthfully rather than flatteringly. The number plate must be completely blank and unreadable. Print the words "indicative colour, confirm against a physical sample" in small plain lettering in the bottom left corner as a permanent part of the image. No other text, no logos, no watermarks. ## prompt 03 · step 5 · Signage on a van Same models, a photo of their own van Apply simple, tasteful vinyl signage to this real photograph of a plain work van, as a signwriter would preview it for the owner. Keep the van exactly as it is: the same make, model, size, colour, wheels, ride height, position, angle and background. Do not clean the van, do not remove dents or dirt, do not change the photograph in any way other than adding the graphics. Apply to the side panel only: - A solid band of {{COLOUR}} across the lower third of the side, following the body line and stopping cleanly at the panel edges. - The trade, in plain capitals, large enough to read from across a road: {{TRADE}} - The business name below it, smaller: {{BUSINESS_NAME}} - One phone number, smaller again: {{PHONE}} - One small qualification or trade body mark in the corner, if given: {{ACCREDITATION}} Set it in a plain, heavy, highly legible sans serif. Everything left aligned in a single block. Do not add: a gradient, a swoosh, a drop shadow, an outline glow, a stock photograph, a van graphic of a person, social media icons, a website if none was given, or decoration of any kind. Do not fill the panel. Leave most of the van white. Restraint is the whole point, because a van that looks like every other competent tradesman's van is the one that gets ordered. The graphics must sit correctly on the vehicle: following its curves and panel gaps, in the same perspective, catching the same light, with the same slight sheen as the paint underneath. The number plate must be completely blank and unreadable. No watermarks, no borders, no extra text. ## prompt 04 · step 8 · Write the message Any text model Write the message that goes with a rebuilt vehicle photograph sent to a car dealer, detailer or wrap shop who did not ask for it. Facts you may use, and nothing else: - business name: {{BUSINESS_NAME}} - what type they are: {{TRADE_TYPE}} - what you rebuilt: {{WHAT}} - their rating and review count: {{RATING}} from {{REVIEW_COUNT}} - their photo count on the listing: {{PHOTO_COUNT}} - the channel: {{CHANNEL}}, almost always instagram dm Rules: - Under 50 words. This trade reads on a phone between jobs and long messages get ignored. - All lowercase. Plain, direct, no politeness padding. - No em dashes. - Open by saying what the picture is and that it is their own car or van. - Say once, plainly, that you did not remove any damage. This is the line that earns trust in this trade and it should almost always be in the message. - State one real number about their listing, once, or none at all. - Do not offer a call, a package, a monthly, a strategy, or a "quick chat". - End with one question answerable in one word. - Never use: transform, elevate, stunning, showroom quality, next level, game changer, unlock, I hope this finds you well, quick question. Return only the message text.