How to Take Great Pictures of Your Semi-Truck
Big rigs are fascinating. When you see a larger-than-life, shiny, and decked out truck with light bars or a custom paint job they really catch your eye. They sparkle down the highway. So, if you’ve got a truck, you want to show it off. You need to take great photos of that rig! A great picture can make your already captivating truck look super amazing.
We thought we would tell the world some secrets to taking beautiful pictures of big trucks. Our Apex Graphic Designer Michelle Harmon, who has certainly seen many pics of big trucks, has some great advice. Ready? Aim? Shoot!
Tips for Taking Great Truck Photos
What kind of equipment do you need to take stunning, high-quality pictures?
Technology has come a long way in the last 20 years, meaning you don’t need a fancy camera to get great pictures. Almost all smartphones have a great high-quality camera already. Just make sure to clean the lens of your camera on your phone first! Also, remember to turn your phone to take a picture in landscape format, especially when you’re taking a picture of a truck. You don’t want the truck cut off in your picture.
When scouting locations to take photos of your truck, what is the key thing to keep in mind?
Location makes all the difference in a photo! Find a location that is unique and eye-catching. Are you hauling a load through the desert or mountains? Pull over (safely, of course) and snap a shot. Nature backdrops especially tend to make beautiful photos – think mountains, desert plains, hills with lots of trees, some sort of river, or body of water. It doesn’t have to be restricted to nature, of course.
Oftentimes a great photo features something that is unique to the truck. We once had a calendar photo that had an emblem honoring World War II on the side of the truck. Another one included the driver’s dog sitting in the cab.
What do you do after you’ve found the perfect setting for a photo?
Make sure you are taking the photo in the daytime. Nighttime photos are usually too dark to use. Also, are there other objects in the photo? Are there people? Make it a practice to not use photos with people in them to protect their privacy or a company’s privacy policy. Ideally, you want to take a picture that’s in focus with a great background and nothing else. That allows the focus to be on what’s most important – your rig!
How many pictures should you take?
Three to five photos are a good goal. Sometimes photos come out blurry or the light hits your camera wrong. Also, try different angles. What looks good in person may not translate on camera. Taking a variety gives you options to choose from.
Should you get experimental with your shots or keep it straightforward?
It really depends. Make sure you get a wide shot of your truck with that great background behind it. View the example on the right.
No great background? That’s when it’s time to get experimental. Try a cool angle or a close-up of your truck. Does your truck have something unique like an emblem or an old classic grill? Take a close-up of it! Hauling a cool looking load (i.e. military vehicles, helicopters, hay bales, mechanical equipment)? Make sure to include it in the shot.
Apex Client Calendar Contest
We do it every year. It’s our colorful tribute to our great Apex clients. We are talking about the Apex Capital Client Calendar, which features a baker’s dozen of our factoring client’s chrome and steel beauties adorning 13 months.
Here’s the timeline for the 2023 calendar contest!
- Photo submissions – Through July 7
- Apex Votes to Choose Top 13 Spots – July 11 – 15
- General Public Votes to Choose Cover Winner – July 21 – Aug. 2
- Winners Announced – Aug. 12
What is the best way to decide on the photo to submit for our calendar contest?
We accept more than one photo, giving us two to three photos is ideal. The best photo to submit is one that is well-lit, clear and crisp and is eye-catching or unique. It is crucial that you are submitting a high quality, high-resolution photo. That means that if you took it on your phone, send it with the highest image quality possible. We have had to exclude beautiful photos from the calendar because they were too blurry to use. To decide on your best photo, ask other people’s opinions on which one is their favorite. That’s often a good gauge of whether it will do well during our voting phase.
Not an Apex client but want to be a calendar cover winner next year? We are ready to be your factoring company! Visit our website or simply call us at 855-369-2739.