How to Take Photos and Videos that Will Sell your Boat

You have a few seconds in which to pique the interest of a prospective buyer as they scan through online listings of boats. And the single most important way to do that is with photographs and videos. So dazzle them with clear, beautiful and evocative images—you want them to imagine themselves on your beautiful boat—and you’ll be well on your way to getting an in-person viewing. 

Whether you’re taking photos or video—and it’s recommended you do both—spend time getting prepared for your shoot. You’re selling a boat likely worth a few pennies. Scrimping on time, effort or money at this stage is false economy. So what are the top tips for getting the best photos and video of your boat?

Whether you’re taking photos or video—and it’s recommended you do both—spend time getting prepared for your shoot.

Prepare, Prepare, Prepare

It seems logical to suggest a tidy-up is in order before taking any photos or videos of your boat, but we suggest going further. Clear all personal possessions off the boat and de-clutter everywhere from the saloon to the engine room and the lockers. Make the beds, remove any torn canvas or rusty metal, and once you’ve done so, clean like you’ve never cleaned before. You might want to even invest a little money in things that make the boat look old or tired such as an old television or tired-looking galley appliances. While these items might not even be sold with the boat, they give an overall impression that things haven’t been upgraded in a while. Ultimately you want your boat looking its absolute best.

Have the Right Equipment

There are some excellent quality smartphones on the market these days, and certainly for taking video they should be sufficient. When it comes to photos, a smartphone is a great option as it offers simple settings, good resolution, and features such as wide angle lenses that are necessary for taking interior photos of often small spaces. However, smartphones do have their limitations and if you can get hold of or invest in a good camera with a wide angle lens (look for 18mm), you will find your images are even sharper. If you’re buying a new camera, choose one with an Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) which eliminates camera shake that can blur images even on a barely swaying boat. 

Choose Your Day and Weather Carefully

You are not going to get all your photos and video taken in one day, so use local weather forecasts and set aside a few days that offer best conditions. Lighting is critical when it comes to taking photos, and you’ll need different lighting for different aspects of the boat. Bright sunlight pouring in through the portholes will create shadows, so when photographing the interior choose an overcast (but bright) day and turn on all the lights. Photos and videos of the exterior should be on a sunny day—you want your buyer thinking it’s always sunny on your boat and this creates a lifestyle image—they will see themselves there. Morning and late afternoon are usually prime times for exterior shots as long as the shadows aren’t too deep. 

Lighting is critical when it comes to taking photos, and you’ll need different lighting for different aspects of the boat.

Interior and Exterior Photos

You want to capture your boat from all angles, so take photos of the interior and exterior. If your boat is out of the water, take photos of the propellers, rudder, hull, and thrusters to show off the boat’s features and how well cared for it is. Even if you don’t use them all now, they are useful down the line when the boat goes back in the water. For the interior, use a mix of wide-angle photos to show a whole cabin, and close up images of impressive details such as beautiful teak or new fishfinders. Take lots of photos to choose from later, change the angles, try different things and even take images of parts of the boat you might not think are relevant. 

Take Photos/Videos Under Way

While this isn’t always possible, and many boat listings don’t have them, if you can take photos and videos of your boat in motion, you’ll certainly be one up on other sellers. Sailboats in particular benefit from this as you can capture your boat underway with its sails up and create an appealing lifestyle image. Choose a zoom lens for capturing your boat and try to maintain a good balance between boat, water and sky. You’ll need another boat, but if you can’t find a friend to drive their boat alongside, the cost of chartering one for the day is worth it to showcase your boat for sale to its fullest. And while you’re out there, don’t forget to get plenty of good video footage, too. 

Rehearse Your Video

Where photos come up short is in giving a true overall picture of a boat. Where is one cabin in relation to another? Is the galley aft of the saloon? How big does it really feel on board? That’s where video steps in. You’ll want to do a few practice runs beforehand, and plan your route through the boat. The most important thing to remember is to go slowly. There is nothing worse than a jolting, blurry video because someone was swinging the camera around too quickly. Commentary can be helpful so that prospective buyers know what they’re looking at, but you don’t need to chatter too much. There is time for that when they come and view it in person. Simple commentary of what people are seeing is sufficient, and otherwise let the video do the talking. Open (tidy) lockers and do close-ups of things that will impress your buyers and show how beautifully maintained your boat is…thespotless engine room, polished chrome, and clean decks. Exterior videos of the boat underway will undoubtedly give that wow factor as we go back to the concept of lifestyle imagery. Show prospective buyers what they’re missing by not buying your boat. 

You want to capture your boat from all angles, so take photos of the interior and exterior.

Don’t Forget Captions

Keep in mind that people looking at your boat won’t know which part of the boat they’re necessarily looking at unless you tell them. Which cabin is which? Which head is that? What are the specifications of a particular electronic item? Be sure to write clear, succinct captions to go with your photos. 

Test Photos and Videos on Others First

Show your final images and video to friends and family to get honest feedback. You know your boat inside out and might overlook a charming feature, or not include something because it seems obvious. Get other’s perspectives and opinions before choosing your final images. 

Use the Best Shots First

When uploading your images to a boat-selling or sharing them with your professional yacht broker, be sure to list them in a logical order and use the most striking ones first. Have a photo of the exterior of your boat in all its glory as your main image, and follow on with dazzling interior photos. You want prospective buyers to be instantly drawn in, so don’t start with photos of the anchor locked, no matter how well you’ve cleaned and organized it. You also want to use only one image for each part of the boat and choose the best one to show it off. People will tire of multiple photos of the same thing from different angles and might give up scrolling through before they have seen everything. 

This article was published in October 2020 and updated in December 2023.