Why do I need to turn off or remove other lights in 360Booth®?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

Do your lights in your existing space, or around the space, or in your building need to be turned off during shooting?

There are a couple of ways to handle that. First of all, I evaluate your space. I will make recommendations on what lights have to be turned off or removed. Usually, I focus strictly on above the cloth top. In some cases, you’ll only see that in other people’s booths or studios because they don’t have a cloth top to shield the lights reflecting on the top of the car.

So, to answer your questions, you don’t have to shut them all off. I don’t want you to do that. It’s a hazard, for one, but the ones directly above the cylinder of the studio, yes. We would like those turned off. They’re not the right color temperature, and they will cause issues inside the studio.

 

Can I unpack my studio from truck piece by piece if I don't have fork lift?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

I wouldn’t advise unpacking your studio from the truck because you don’t have a forklift. The main reason is the plastic. It’s very dense. It’s very durable, but, because of length and the width of it, it’s hard to manhandle, and you’re going to scratch it. I would seriously advise getting a forklift. If you don’t have one, borrow one. If you can’t borrow one, rent one. The ease of getting it off the back of the semi-truck with a forklift is day and night compared to taking all the steel off the pallet and then twenty-something panels of plastic, including supplies.

So, to answer your question, I wouldn’t advise unpacking your pallet piece by piece at all! If you damage a plastic panel, it’s going on your booth, damaged.

 

I've measured my space and I do not have the height for your studio of 10 ft. How can you help?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

Probably the coolest thing over the past six years is that I have reached only the one-percenters of the car industry who really are wanting to take their business to the next level with better photos. It’s so much fun.

The question is, “I’ve looked at your specs, Jay, and I don’t have the 11 feet of minimum clearance. Your studio is at 10 feet. I only have 10 feet of clearance. Can you help? What can you do?”

Great news. Right now, we do not charge to customize your studio at all. We have made them smaller; we’ve made them bigger, and we’ve definitely made them shorter at no cost to you.

So, thank you for doing the due diligence of measuring your space. I love it when you guys send me the photos with the dimensions of length, width, and height of it. I want to get a better idea of what I’m looking into when I visit.

But, to answer your question, if you don’t have the height, when I visit, I properly measure for placement, and we will chop your studio down. It will not affect the photos, and I will not charge you for that.

 

Where are the motors on your studio?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

Great news to you, there are no motors. We wanted a product and a studio that stood the test of time. Motors fail. Electronics fail, let’s be honest. In your back area where the booth is, it’s abused by personnel. It’s abused by moisture and rust. You don’t want motors. Not only that, but turntables also take almost two minutes to turn around. I could have shot and been sitting in the car in about 40 seconds after I was done shooting cars on the exterior. You don’t want motors.

So, to answer your question, where are the motors on 360Booth®? There are none. It’s just a simple wheel.

Let me show you what they look like.

Here’s an extreme closeup of our wheel. We have wheel boxes. Now, just so you know, there are wheel boxes on your Studio that don’t contain wheels. The reason for that is the more wheels, the more resistance, the more friction, the harder it is to push. So, there are no motors on 360Booth®.
 

 

Can I use strobe lights in a 360Booth®?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

Sure you can! I don’t recommend it. The number one reasons are heat and fire. You’re going to be having somebody that doesn’t know how to shoot in a strobe light environment, and they’re going to shoot 40 photos–that’s 40 flashes–in five to six minutes. Strobe lights–that’s a lot of abuse, and when they go, they actually go because of heat, and they fuse to the assembly so now you have the risk of fire. The strobe has failed. Your studio is shut down while you have to order a new strobe light.

So, to answer your question, you can add a strobe absolutely to our studio. We have a dealer group, Morrie’s Automotive Group, in Minnesota, that does a great job with strobes, but they have a professional photographer training their staff. They have five or six of our studios, and every one of them has strobes. They have a strobe above the cloth. They have strobes mounted into the overhang.

I don’t recommend it. It’s too difficult. The light is too soft. Go to Carvana and look at their first photo. It looks fake. It’s because it’s a soft light environment, exactly what strobes will do.

To answer your question, I don’t recommend strobes, but hey, this is your studio. Do anything you want.
 

Does 360Booth® use softbox lighting?

by | Oct 21, 2022 | FAQs

Let’s talk about professional photography. There are tons of guys out there claiming to be professional photographers. That’s great news. All of them want to turn our cloth top into a softbox. They’re over-engineering it.

I’m not a fan of the softbox. One, you don’t have a trained photographer to shoot in that environment. Two, it’s a very filtered light and makes your cars look fake. That’s the worst thing you can do in an environment–to let your customers think they’re using a file photo. Our solution has very bright, very cool LED lights–cool in temperature. We have a domed, engineered diffuser over the top of them that filter out the light so that it doesn’t create shadows. It doesn’t create a softbox environment.

Can you turn this into a softbox? Hey, it’s your studio. Do as you may. Would I recommend it? No.