How Ourisman Streamlined Their Image Capture Workflow with CarCutter

For over a century, Ourisman Auto Group has been a trusted name in the industry, with 18 locations and 16 brands spanning Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and D.C. Their mission is to deliver standout customer experiences both on the lot and online. But with hundreds of vehicles moving across stores and digital platforms, they faced a common but frustrating problem: their image capture workflow was slowing them down.

“Our group site houses about 90 vehicles per page,” explains Jeff Ramsey, Chief Marketing Officer at Ourisman Cars. “If one car is angled differently, or framed inconsistently, it throws off the whole experience for the customer.”

Before CarCutter, getting a car imaged and online was a manual, time-consuming process. There were delays between detailing, staging, shooting, and editing, all of which created inconsistencies across listings and slowed down speed-to-market.

[Watch the Ourisman + CarCutter video here ⬇️ ]

In 2024, Ourisman partnered with CarCutter to solve their imagery issues

The goal? Simplify and speed up vehicle photography, without compromising quality.

With the CarCutter app, the image capture process is fast, guided, and intuitive. Dealership staff can shoot great images on the lot, without needing pro-level equipment or outsourced vendors. They simply use their mobile phone or tablet.

“What works best for us is when the detail department finishes with the car, they pull it [the app] out, take pictures on the spot, and CarCutter takes over from there,” Jeff explains.

As vAuto customers, Ourisman’s inventory is preloaded into the CarCutter app via the Inventory List feature which instantly syncs the VIN to the correct vehicle. However, Ourisman can still add new vehicles to the app by scanning the VIN, ensuring the right photos are matched to the right car.

From there, CarCutter’s built-in guidance system ensures staff can see in real-time where to place the vehicle in the frame. This results in every photo being aligned, in-frame, and clearly visible, no matter who’s taking the photos.

For even further consistency, CarCutter guides the user through a predefined shot list. It directs, step-by-step, exactly which angles to capture, and in which order. CarCutter’s AI technology then centers, scales, and reframes each image for consistency.

Finally, the photos are exported in an order pre-defined by Ourisman ensuring that all inventory ends up on Ourismans’ website in a uniform order.

This process saves significant time. Each vehicle can be captured in just a few minutes, far quicker than traditional lot service providers or DIY photo shoots that require manual editing or staging.

A Backgrounding Solution That Actually Looks Real

Once Ourisman has finished capturing their images, CarCutter’s AI instantly enhances them, removing cluttered backdrops and replacing them with clean, professionally rendered scenes that are consistent across the site.

Let’s face it: most background replacements look fake. Car shadows look fake. Angles are off. The realism isn’t there – and that’s something Jeff was wary of.

“I typically don’t like backgrounds. Vehicles float, they don’t look right, the shadowing’s wrong,” Jeff says. “But with CarCutter, what really stands out is that the car looks like it was shot in a photo booth. Most people can’t tell the difference.”

As you can see in the image below, CarCutter’s AI-powered backgrounding maintains correct perspective and shadowing, so the end result looks natural and consistently polished across every listing.

Real Impact for a High-Volume Dealer Group

Since rolling out CarCutter across eight of their stores, Ourisman has seen meaningful improvements in how vehicles are photographed and brought online. The biggest win? Time. What used to be a slow, fragmented process involving staging, waiting, and manual edits is now fast, guided, and efficient.

Dealership staff can photograph cars right after detailing, using just a phone, with the app walking them through every step. That speed means more vehicles get listed sooner, without bottlenecks or backlogs. And because every image follows the same visual standard, the entire digital inventory looks clean and consistent, which translates directly into a better online shopping experience.

The team also values how self-sufficient the workflow has become. With CarCutter, there’s no need to rely on third-party lot services or chase down missing images. Vehicles move through the pipeline quickly, with minimal back-and-forth.

“Everything’s shot the same. It looks great. It makes my life easy,” says Jeff.

The impact for Ourisman has been both practical and measurable. By simplifying how vehicles are photographed and ensuring every image is clean, aligned, and consistent, CarCutter has helped them reduce time-to-market and present their inventory with a higher level of polish. It’s taken a formerly disjointed process and made it feel effortless, giving their team time back, and their listings a professional edge.

Keen to see how CarCutter can streamline your workflow? Get in touch.