Kevin's Photography Tips

Kevin’s eBay Photography Tips

I cannot make this any easier or clearer. If you want to bring top dollar for your items you need professional looking photos. This is especially true if you sell in the jewelry, collectible or antique categories. Below I provide provide photography tips as well as affordable, professional photography set-ups that are perfect for eBay sellers.

Get a Professional & Affordable eBay Photography Set-up!

I have searched the photography marketplace for what I believe are the best set-ups for eBay sellers. I have tried these or have seen them personally demonstrated. I have to admit, the professional kits do a much better job than home made set-ups and yet, are still very affordable.

If you are serious about your eBay business you need to set yourself apart from your competition. The best way to do that is with professional looking photos of your products.

The Photography Kits I recomend for eBay sellers are:

• Cloud Dome - Perfect for eBay sellers of Jewelry and small collectibles
• Photography Background - A simple background for sellers of small to medium sized items
• Cloud Cube - A Professional difussing cube for medium sized items.

                               

                   Cloud Dome                      Photography Background

        

               Cloud Cube

Click here to see all the eBay Photography Equipment I recommend.

What Camera Do I Recommend?

I don’t recommend a particular brand or model. Just about every digital camera sold today will meet your needs for eBay pictures. However, here are a few requirements your camera should have.

• Must be digital
• Must have the ability to "white balance" to your source light
• Must have Macro (ability to take pictures very close. You may be selling an item that is very small, or will need a close-up of collectible items)
• Ability to turn off the flash (most digital cameras today do not need a flash. The exception is when photographing an item that is black such as a black leather coat. Without the flash, you can’t get the detail of the coat’s texture).
• Camera should come with an easy way to download the pictures to your computer
• Camera comes with its own editing software (you will need to crop and possibly do some slight editing/adjusting before you submit the picture to eBay)
• A decent sized LCD screen on the back of the camera so you can see what you are taking without having to look through a small viewfinder
• Ability to plug in a power source (if you are taking several pictures, you will drain your batteries, or be very annoyed that the camera keeps shutting off just about the moment you start to take the picture. Speaking from experience.)
• Ability to mount the camera on a tripod
• A “nice to have” feature is the ability to plug in remote lamps that will by-pass your own camera flash (this is more for a professional set-up)
• Another "nice to have" feature would be a video out jack so you can hook your camera up to a 13" portable TV next to your camera so you can get a much better view of your shot.
• Personally, I would also want the camera to be light weight and small to medium sized

Again, almost every digital camera on the market today will meet these requirements. You should be able to find a camera with all the features above for about $150 - $300. A great place to look for deals on cameras is eBay!  There is a lot of great comparison information about cameras at www.cnet.com. So check there first before you buy.

Photography Tips

If I were to give just four tips that, once I learned them, improved my photos dramatically, they would be:

1. Use a white or gray background for most objects

2. Use reflector boards and/or light difussers

3. Always "white balance" your camera to the background before you take the picture (check your owner's manual for instructions)

4. Always use a tripod & hold your breath when you click the camera (or use the timer).

Doing just these four tips will make your item appear to "float in space" with a totally white, neutral background.

Want more eBay photography tips? I give detailed tips and discuss photography equipment in my book eBay Business At Your Fingertips!

Copyright 2008 Kevin W. Boyd at www.trainingu4auctions.com