Presentation is important. After all, you have to worry about getting the item to sell before you can worry about packing it. These are all important aspect-we’ll address them one at a time.
Displaying a digital picture of your product in the web broser window is the online equivalent of placing the merchandise on table, for inspection before bidding. This is, above all, the most important aspect of your auction. The image you provide will make or break your auction to each respective buyer. The clarity of the image you see depends on the clarity of your computer monitor and the quality of your computer’s video card. Because the image is broken down into tiny segments of digital information called pixels, and the visual details have been compressed into special graphics formats used on the web in order to get them online, you don’t get a perfect refresentation of the image when you see it online. If you can provide more than one image, so much the better. And you should do this. There’s really no excuse for not presenting multiple views of an item, since digital cameras make photography so easy and image hosting on eBay is so straightforward.
Making Clear Images
Making a good clear image for your eBay auction should not be difficult-especially with the advent of modern cameras. With a little time and patience, not to mention a well lit room and a digital camera, you can make your auction pieces sparkle and shine. You owe it to your self to show the items off in their best possible light.
Angle Is Important
The first thing to do is work out what angle your item looks best at-this is not necessarily to hide any scuffs and imperfections on your item, but to show it at it’s best for when the bidder first enters the page. With a dull photo, they may think of it as below spec and leave the item-whereas if you take a nice photo they might hang around to actually check out what the item is, what condition it is in (you should supply additional photos showing clear detail) and whether ofcourse they wish to buy it. One photo may not sell your item, but it may at least get the bidder interested in your other auctions.
Lighting Is Important
When taking any good photo, it is important to get good lighting on the item you are shooting, otherwise it will look bad no matter how preety your angle is. Depending on the item you are looking at lighting, this can range from easy to difficult-and as this photography and not videography, you don’thave to worry about permanent lighting. You may thing-why can’t I use a flash? And there is a simple answer to this-you can, but it won’t always yield the best result. In fact, the best results come from just a little bit of carefyl lighting, and your best friend for lighting small to medium items is the humble dest lamp.
Providing your desk lamp has a normal incandescent bulb in it, the colour you should get from using it as your main illumination will be fantastic. Now, for your feature shot you should use the lamp to illuminate the item so that it looks impressive, and has just a little shadow for dramatic effect. This is the shot we’ll use to grab the attention of the bidder, so it has to look suitable impressive. Take this piggy bank for example-it looks strange but you can’t deny the picture has certain something that will make you linger on it for just a little longer.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with your lighting-I find the best sort of lighting comes from the top right, covering the item with a clear light, but not actually completely filling the subject. If you are not completely sure you are happy with the lighting of the item, don’t hasitate to ask around for opinions on the job you have done. After all, you can only better your self by asking questions and listening.
As you shoot your pictures, you will probably find formula that works bestfor you. Not every item has to look fantastic, but it can’t hurt. And if you can find that sweet spot between time and effort, you will find that it will take no time at all to get quick effective result for your photos. One last thing before we get on, if there is what you consider to be a major fault with your item, advertise it not only in the description but by a separate photo of the damaged area also. The main reason for this if the problem with the item is well advertised, you will not get any negative feedback (although I’m sure some of the narkier bidders won’t hasitate to give you bad feedback-you can either settle this with eBay’s auction settlement scheme or just take it in your stride. After all, one piece of bad feed back isn’t the end of the world when compared to a long list of positive comments.
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