Considering the visuals for the outdoor advertising campaign can sometimes be the hardest part. Imagine crafting the perfect slogan and developing a brilliant color palette, only to have the proposal shown to a client as a flat, 2D PDF. There is no way to capture the campaign’s essence without showcasing the advertising opportunity on a taxi. It is, however, a lengthy process to acquire the advertising opportunity, so the next best thing is a high-quality mockup.
Doing so provides a preview of how a finished campaign will look in real life and helps bridge the gap between an outline and reality; however, navigating the world of image stock can be very tricky. In this case, using a mockup without proper permission can constitute copyright infringement. I’m sure you can understand the repercussions of this in a professional setting like ours.
Therefore, it is industry best practice to use royalty-free photos in this situation because they provide the perfect blend of accessibility and legal peace of mind. With that in mind, what follows is a comprehensive testimonial on the process of locating, selecting, and incorporating royalty-free images of taxi wraps to enhance your advertising work.
Understanding the importance of images in transit advertising
It is no secret that transit advertising is a very powerful advertising vehicle. It is a well-established fact that taxis, as mobile billboards, can reach dense city areas that other forms of advertising may not, making them that much more valuable. However, this does not apply to the design process for this format, as other contextual factors come into play.
A design that may appear polished and clean on a computer screen may not be legible when wrapped around a door handle or wheel well. Using RF stock images for mockups enables designers to:
• Legibility: be able to view text on a curved surface
• Placement: ensure an essential contact number isn’t removed by windows and trim
• Dream Selling: assists customers in envisioning their brand on a vehicle in busy urban locations.
Once you choose an image, the rest is easy.
The term “royalty-free” can be used in Editorial Environments.
Designers and business owners need to understand the term “royalty-free” before using digital assets.
Royalty-free does not mean the image is free in some way. Rather, it is a licensing model. In balance, when you obtain a royalty-free image, you are given the right to that image for repetitive use without the need to pay a royalty for its repetitive use.
For example, with Rights-Managed images, if you buy the image, you often have to pay an extra fee to use it in a second campaign or if your print run exceeds a certain number. With a royalty-free taxi image, you pay a one-time fee (or, in some cases, no fee at all, depending on the source) to use the image on your website, in your client pitch deck, or in your portfolio without any additional ongoing costs.
Where to Find High-Quality Taxi Wrap Images
The sources for these images fall into two overarching categories: free stock repositories or premium marketplaces.
1. Free stock repositories
Unsplash, Pexels, and Pixabay are platforms that allow you to access, use, and download thousands of high-resolution images for free.
• Pros: no cost and accessible; have that unedited, raw, candid-looking style that some might be after.
• Cons: the blank taxis for your mock and use cases are few and far between; the images are often the same as the ones that other designers are using, and there probably is not a signed model release for the people in the back of the photo.
2. Premium Stock Marketplaces
Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, iStock, and Getty Images are all examples of the multitude of platforms that give you access to a huge bank of royalty-free images.
• Pros: tons of images available in the same category, specific filtering instructions like “isolated on white,” “side view,” there’s legal protection on copyright claims, and the images are often in higher resolution.
Pricing (No Free Options Available)
Specialist Mockup Websites
Sites like Yellow Images, Envato Elements, and Creative Market are often the best choice for graphic designers. These websites do not just offer images; they also provide fully layered PSD mockup files.
Pros: These mockup files contain Smart Objects that transform a designer’s 2D file into a 3D view of the car. Moreover, they tend to have editable backgrounds and additional shadow layers.
Cons: It requires specific software like Adobe Photoshop to be used to its full potential.
How to Find the Appropriate Mockup Image for Your Advertising Campaign
Not all images of taxis are made the same. To create a convincing mockup of the advertisement, one must identify specific characteristics.
Perspective and Angle
The angle of the car in the picture significantly affects how the design is perceived.
– Profile View: This is the optimal angle to highlight the primary message and arrangement. It is the simplest perspective to modify, as there is no distortion.
– Three-Quarter View: This angle provides a realistic perspective of the design and gives a potential customer a better visual of the car’s full volume because both the front and side of the vehicle are visible.
– Rear View: When capturing your taxi mockup, remember to take images of the rear of the taxi. While in traffic, this is the vantage point from which other drivers spend the most time looking.
Resolution and Quality
If your mockup will be printed in large format, make sure the images you use are of high enough resolution. Aim to use pictures with a 3000-pixel long edge and a 300 dpi resolution. Using a pixelated or grainy image will impact your overall design and make even the most professional look appear tacky.
Lighting and Reflections
This is the most common trap to fall into. Shooting a taxi in direct sunlight results in overexposed images with ugly glare on the windows and dark, harsh shadows.
– Ideal: Overcast conditions or studio lighting. Soft shadows eliminate glare and high-contrast shadows, making it easier to overlay your graphics.
– Avoid: Images that have heavy, detailed reflections of a busy city on the side of the car. While they’re realistic and cool, these reflections can obscure your logo and make it difficult to edit in Photoshop.
Legal Considerations for Vehicle Ads
Although these images are royalty-free, there are some legal considerations.
Trademarks
A photograph of an actual London or New York taxi may include a taxi company logo or a car manufacturer badge (corporate emblems such as Toyota or Ford). Legally, without consent, you cannot utilize someone else’s trademark in your commercial advertisement.
The Fix: Before incorporating your design, use eraser tools to get rid of any taxi company logos and car badges.
Model Releases
If the driver of the taxi or any bystander in the photo is identifiable, you need a model release to use it commercially. Most major stock libraries will check this for you by flagging content as Editorial Use Only” when there are no releases. Using Editorial content for advertisements in commercial advertising mockups is never acceptable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use royalty-free taxi images for a billboard?
Yes, that is correct. Generally, most royalty-free licenses cover commercial use, whether print or digital. Certain Standard permits, however, do impose restrictions on print run limits (i.e, 500,000 copies) or on the size of the audience that will view the content. In the case of a major national promotion, you would probably need to get an Extended license. Always verify the conditions of the given license on the website you downloaded the image from.
What are effective strategies for printing logos on vehicles?
To add a logo to a standard JPG image of a vehicle, you will need image editing software, such as Photoshop, to cut out the car from the background (masking), then add the logo to a new layer. Use the transform or warp function to match the door’s perspective. To help the design appear painted onto the vehicle rather than just pasted, change the editing layer’s blending mode to multiply or overlay to show the vehicle’s texture.