Over the years on eBay many people have asked me the best way to shoot and light their items for eBay sales.  I use a simple one light set myself that works great and can be duplicated for a fraction of what I have spent for mine.  I use a professional DynaLite studio flash head that is mounted on a light stand with a small Photoflex soft box that spreads and softens the light.  One light is enough for most of my table top work and at times I might use a small white reflector to bounce some light into the shadows.



Some people prefer to use a continuous light (we call these hot lights because they are always on and generate heat). You can also use the new High Output Fluorescents lights now being sold for photography, but they tend to be expensive, so read on and I will show you how to make your own for this use, later in this article.

The results are excellent using a hot light or a flash head (monolight) as you can see from these photos I shot.  The bottle was shot with a hot light set up and the others with a studio flash or monolight.

      

As you can see, one light for small items is enough to get the results you will need.  Again, you can use white cards, a silver foil covered cardboard, mirror and or any other reflective item that you can prop up or insert in a ball of clay to hold it in place.  All of the above shots were only shot with the one light in the soft box.  Companies like Photoflex sell nice lighting equipment and even offer some free lessons using their equipment. Do a search on eBay for Photoflex, Chimera, Soft Box, Hot Lights, Monolights to get some idea of the lighting equipment you might want to use.

Another method of diffusing and softening your light is to use a photographic umbrella. These come in various sizes and types. I like the white ones that you can use and shoot your lights through them:

  

I have sold these on eBay when I had them new for around $15, so they fit many budgets.  The umbrellas require a light stand and a light which has a hole the umbrella slips into with a screw that holds it in place. If you don't want to invest in a studio light (they cost anywhere from $150 up for a decent Monolight and continuous or hot lights cost from around $50 up.  Of course on eBay you can find some decent lights for much less.  I would suggest starting with a Monolight because they are a self contained and portable flash unit that has a modeling light that enables you to actually see what your end result will look like before shooting your photo.  This is important when positioning your light to avoid unwanted glare or shadows. 

Now continuous lights or hot lights are OK, but as the name implies they get hot and you need to be careful not to use certain boxes and umbrellas because they can burn. They do make special soft boxes and umbrellas with special heat resistant fabrics and are safe to use with these lights.  There are now other options for continuous lights and they aren't hot any longer...read on to find out more about these new lights.

I work with flash heads, which I think are worth the investment, if you intend to shoot a number of products for sale on eBay and may have other uses for them, like shooting portraits of the family or pets as I do.  Some people even use an inexpensive flash head set up on a light stand with one of the many mini-soft boxes or umbrellas, but this won't offer you the ability to see the lighting until you click the shutter button on your digital camera and is a poor mans way to shoot products, there are better ways then this method and certainly on the camera or build in flashes are almost useless because of the very poor results you will get with them.  If you want your shots to look professional, you need to use professional technique and equipment...or do you?

Now there is something new and better for those on a very small budget and that is the availability of new High Output Fluorescent lights.  You can purchase a $45 Lights of America flood light, connect a simple line cord to it so you can plug it in to your homes outlets (they have two wires for outdoor installation, so you need to modify them) and set it up on your table top and this will also do the job.  I used to re-manufacture these lights for plant growers and for aquarium use and you can see photos of this light here:

  

Go to Home Depot or Lowes or even shop on eBay for these floods they are Lights of America 9265 or 9266, they will give you the same amount of pure daylight as a 500 watt hot light, but they are cool, they are low cost, they won't require a soft box, they will mount on a light stand with a little bit of simple engineering and you will see exactly what you want. They are great for shooting small items as well as larger ones and you may even find similar lights now available in these new Hight Output Fluorescents that come with their own stands. Their are many work lights that you will see that use the hot Halogen bulbs, but, I believe these are now being replaced with this newer energy efficient technology.  These lights can sit on your table top, right next to your objects on their end and provide some great light.  Put a white card on the other side of the object to bounce some of that main light into the shadow area and you are set.  Put the light on a light stand and point it down on the object and you are also ready to go, you can work with these cool lights a number of ways, it is easy and fun, especially when you realize you will be saving hundreds of dollars on this DIY project.

So for most uses, and for budget minded photographers, this is the way to go. Now there are many systems using white fabric tents or domes, with similar fluorescent lights, but frankly they are expensive and will only handle small items, so I like my floods better.

You will also need a decent back drop and I sell some great ones that are hand silk screened on a heavy vinyl made by a company called Flotone.  You can see from the photos that they are available in various color combinations and I use many for my auctions to change the look and feel.  The Flotones give the effect of a gradual color change similar to those you would get with colored gels and multiple light sets ups, but it is all in the way they screen these drops, they are great as you can see in my photos.

These sell for around $70 each at major photo stores, but I bought a large lot at auction, so I sell them for less.   I also use some solid color rolls of background paper for others and you can see these photos of my little Chihuahua how nice these look with a one light set up.  These solid paper rolls cost around $20-$25 and last a very long time as well.

      

I also sell some white rolls of vinyl material used as an inkjet print material for banners and posters, but again I bought them at auction and sell them for use as table top background material, but again budget minded people can find all sorts of acceptable material for this use, I am sure.

You can set your backdrops up on a table as I do and simply put a few push pins through it into your wall and drape it over your table or a folding table or you can purchase a back drop stand and use that (cost around $100).  Again, your budget will dictate the way to go here. Now as far as available light goes, I find this doesn't work for me because as the name implies it has to be available and when I shoot, it isn't always there for me. You can't depend on light entering your window or the quality of that light, so forget it unless the item is so large you have no other choice. Remember, also if you like to work at night, you will need lights.

Now, the good news is that if you are shooting clothing, large items, etc., you want a nice flat even light and once again, you can save money, buy two of the Lights of America floods, mount them on two light stands or make your own with some PVC pipe and have one at a 45 degree angle to the product on the right and one at a 45 degree angle to the left.  This will give you nice even, flat and soft lights, great for photographing art work, photos, wall hangings, clothing etc.  You can light up an entire wall with these lights and each light only draws 65 watts of power but will deliver the same light as a 500 watt traditional bulb, so with two lights you will have the light output of a 1,000 watt lighting system and only use 130 watts of power, unreal.

I used to study the catch lights in models eyes to see how the photographer set up his lights. Look at professional photos and look for the shadows in the photos, catch lights, etc. and try to figure out how they did it and do it yourself. Of course now on the internet you can get all this information with a simple google search.  There are some great photo books also available that show the exact set ups for shooting various subjects. Buy one and you will find out how the pros do it and then modify their methods with your home made lighting or with your pro lights, that is how you learn.

The great thing now is digital photography. There is no need to wait to see results of your lighting efforts, you can see them on the spot and adjust your light set up and try again, until you have it right.

I hope this guide will help you set up your lights properly. Please visit my web site at: internationalpress.com and see some of my work or visit my eBay auctions and see my product shots there.

Good shooting and good selling on eBay.