Excellent pictures will help sell your item!

This guide will give several tips on how to achieve more professional looking photographs.

Your scanner can be a camera for some items!

For coins, especially proof strike, use your scanner in a higher resolution mode and scan the coin like you would a document.  You can even scan coins in the plastic holders they were issued in from the mint.

A high resolution scan will allow interested buyers an excellent look at the coin's strike and shimmer.

Create a portable"Mini-Photographic Studio"

Most home improvement stores carry single bulb, spun aluminum, "trouble light" shades with built in clamps (Shown Above).  Purchase several and use them with the new twisted flourescent bulbs.  The shades can be clamped to the back of a folding chair as a mount.  Use several for plenty of clean white light.

Use a cardboard box draped with a white bed sheet or drop cloth as a table.  Use a black cloth for jewelry items.  You can drape the excess cloth up over the back of another folding chair for a nice clean background (Shown Above).

"Mini-Photographic Studio" in Action! (Shown Below)

Digital Camera Choice Basics.

In general, try to choose a digital camera with the highest possible megapixel count and largest lens size your budget will allow.  Also, choose a camera that has a good "Macro" or close-up mode.  Many of your item pictures will show greater detail in a smaller photo size when shot in a close-up or "Macro" mode.

Steady Now!

An inexpensive tripod will allow shake/blur free close-up shots.  You can use the tripod and the cameras timer to achieve excellent results.

Using most camera's built-in flash alone results in uneven lighting or shadows around the item.  Using the trouble light array helps "Wash Out" any shadows.

Close up, detailed shots with a clean uniform backdrop will catch the eye of many prospective bidders!

Crop, crop!

Be sure and use your favorite photo editor to "crop" or trim any unnecessary edges from the picture.  Make the edges as close as possible to the item without cutting any part of it out.  If you are going to use the basic picture option when you sell, resize each photo until it's about 4.5" x 4.5" on your screen when shown at 100% zoom.  If you are going to sell using the enlarged picture option be sure to save a larger copy of the item photo.

The picture shown below is the result of the setup described above.

Sort, Sort!

I find it helpful to create a set of directories on my hard drive with folder names that describe the item photos that are in it.  Many camera "mounting "and "uploading" software applications will use default names for the directories where it stores the uploaded photos. These default names are usually the current date and or time.  After creating specially named directories for each item, incorporating the item name in the folder name, you can save each set of photos there as you open and re-size them.

Some higher end digital cameras allow custom naming of each photo as you take it.  Some also allow voice audio tagging of photos.

You Big Show Off!

If your budget allows, always use the gallery option when you submit an item for auction. This will show the first picture of the item when it is presented in the buying search window. The picture will appear, in a reduced size format, to the left of the item title.  Think about it, when you search to buy, which items do your eyes go to first?  Which do you ignore?  Usually those with clear crisp images of the product are the big attraction!!

SAY CHEESE!!!!