Hot models anyone???  You're looking in the right place.  We've got them here.

For those of you that are into sellling clothing on Ebay, I believe that you may have noticed the huge problems with trying to photograph a piece of clothing and having it look, well, desirable.

At the beginning of my ventures on Ebay, I realized that photographing my line of custom painted items just was a nightmare.  The lighting is hard to get down right.  It's difficult to highlight the best aspects of my product.  Also, nothing... and I mean nothing, looks as good off as it does on. 

This was posing a major problem for us!  For starters, I make things in ALL DIFFERENT sizes and I don't know a ton of people in all different sizes that are willing to model for me.

So I had a real problem.  How am I going to get quality photographs without paying an arm and a leg???  Should I buy the equipment needed?

 Instead of running out half cocked and buying the equipment, I decided that I would consult with a friend of mine who is a professional photographer.  His answer (God bless his soul!) was that he would photograph whatever items I have in exchange for something....

And no, it's not a standing date every Saturday night.

Since he is a professional photographer (specializing mainly in Senior & Family portraits but he also dabbles a bit in fashion photography), he has tons and tons of subjects who are looking for something a bit different in their photo sessions.  My custom designed jeanswear give him that.

Not only that, but he also works very closely with a model who is trying to break into the field on a more professional basis. 

Coincidentally, she is going to Las Vegas next month to participate in one of the largest model searches in the United States.  And, yep you guessed it, she was wearing our custom designed items in the photos that she submitted to the contest.

So in exchange for me "lending" him the items to use in his photo shoots, he burns me a disc and gives back to me the photos that he takes.  It's a win-win situation.

Now remember, please and thank you are always free.  Propositioning someone to join into a business venture with you may make you feel a little uncomfortable.  But like any good salesperson knows, the worst thing that is going to happen is that you will get told "no."

Now I know that this scenario won't work for everybody but I also explored other options as well. 

Hiring a professional photographer is expensive.  It's generally about $100 an hour.  But I was thinking, I wouldn't hire somebody to paint my house that hasn't done it before.  So what about hire someone that dabbles in photography? 

The website Guru.com is a great source to hire "Talent".  Sure, a student of photography probably isn't going to be as good someone who has been actively working in the field for 15 years.  But then again, I know that his or her photography skills will far exceed mine.

Same goes for someone who is a student at a local junior college or technical school.

Not only that, you may be helping a student out that is more interested in photographing products rather than people.  I know that most people assume that photographers generally shoot people and places as subjects but that isn't always the case.  Think about the ads that you get in the Sunday newspaper.  Someone is taking pictures of that package of toilet paper that is on sale at Target.

And who knows, you might be hiring the next Ansel Adams.

No matter what you are selling, a GOOD QUALITY picture is worth a thousand words.  And yes, I will admit, I don't use the professional photos for everything.  I often get a little anxious to get a piece up and will resort to using the good old Kodak.  (A hint though: if possible, photograph outside...natural light just makes everything look so much more appealing)

But again, I do have enough professional photos in my store to not only show potential buyers that I am serious about my business but to also draw people in that are viewing one item and may be interested in seeing what's in the rest of the store.

Oh yeah, and by the way, my page views have gone WAY UP since I started using the professional photos and hot models.

To view some examples, please visit us at:

www.stores.ebay.com/Kai-Design-LTD