Articles - Bicycle Blue Book

Take The Right Pictures For Your Listing

By bicyclebluebook • February 12, 2015

There are few parts of a used bicycle listing that are as important as good pictures. When you make a purchase these days odds are good that there is a fair amount of research that goes into the product before you finally pull the trigger. Much of this research is probably done on the Internet and if you are like we are, finding good pictures of the item you’re contemplating is essential. Think about it, the experience you’re after is owning something before you own it to see if you’ll actually enjoy owning it. When it comes to listing and successfully selling a bicycle the better you can display the bike for buyers to see and envision owning the more successful you’ll be at completing a good transaction where both you and the buyer walk away happy.

So that being said you don’t need to schedule time in local photo studio to get marketplace worthy pictures, most camera phones have plenty of megapixel power to capture the essence of your bicycle if you take a second to set up your shot.

Here are a few tips and sample pictures that will help you up the ante and set your bicycle apart from others in a marketplace.

The first thing you’ll want to do prior to pictures is give your bicycle a thorough bath to prep it for the sale.

Next find a good outside location with sufficient lighting. If you can’t find a decent location outside due to the time of day or weather then do your best to set up a few lights inside the garage or another open space like a living room where the bike can be illuminated well. Pick a spot with a solid background and if possible one light in color which will best accent the features and paint on the bike in photos.

Finally try not to stand directly in between the light and your bike thus creating a shadow. Try standing just off to the side and experiment with holding the camera in different angles to achieve the best uninterrupted shot.

Take pictures of all the major areas, good luck and have fun!