You're Probably OverpayingFor Car Photos
If you're paying more than $200/month for professional-quality inventory photography, you're leaving money on the table. Here's how the industry is ripping you off—and what smart dealerships are doing instead.
Let's Talk Real Numbers
Most dealerships don't track their true photography costs because they're buried across multiple line items. Let's dig them out and face the reality.
That's $33,000 per year. For photos. Of cars you already own.
Why Are You Paying So Much?
1. The Photographer's Actual Costs (Justified)
Professional photographers have real expenses: cameras ($3,000-5,000), lenses ($1,000-3,000 each), editing software ($50/month), insurance, travel time, years of training. When they charge $35-50 per vehicle, that's actually reasonable for their business model.
2. The Hidden Markup (Your Problem)
Here's what nobody tells you: You're not just paying for photography—you're paying for an outdated business model. The traditional workflow (hire photographer → wait for scheduling → wait for editing → receive files) is inefficient and expensive. Every step adds cost and delay.
- • Waiting 2-5 days for photos = cars sitting unsold = floor plan interest
- • Coordinating schedules = staff time wasted
- • Inconsistent results = redoing shoots = double costs
- • Per-photo pricing = limiting quality to save money
3. The "Premium" Scam
Some photography services charge extra for "premium backgrounds," "advanced editing," or "360-degree views." These used to require specialized equipment and skills. Now? AI does it automatically in seconds. If you're paying extra for background replacement or lighting corrections, you're being overcharged for software that costs pennies to run.
What Smart Dealerships Are Doing Instead
Your Actual Savings
Why Dealerships Keep Overpaying
If the savings are this obvious, why aren't more dealerships switching? Three reasons:
The dealerships that overcome these mental blocks and modernize their photography? They pocket the savings and move faster than competitors still stuck in 2015.
Look, Here's The Truth
We're not saying professional photographers are bad people or that their work lacks value. They're skilled, and for specialized work (marketing campaigns, hero shots, artistic automotive content), they're worth every penny.
But for everyday inventory photography—the bread and butter of dealership operations—you're overpaying for outdated technology and slow processes.
Modern phone cameras + AI enhancement deliver the same quality faster and cheaper. That's just reality.
You can keep paying $2,000-5,000/month for photos. Or you can pay $29-199/month and pocket the difference. Your call.
See If We're Actually Better
Take 5 photos with your phone. Upload them. Get AI-enhanced professional results. Compare to what you're currently paying for. Then decide.