Quality commercial photography has gone through a series of transitions over the years so that the dark room age is quickly becoming almost obsolete.  Yet a dark room technician is one of the most prized and valuable talents in the photographic world. They are artisans who are truly able to create a lost art form. There are not a lot of dark room photographers being churned out of today's art schools.
    Wait, that doesn't mean that a digital photographer is without skill and talent?  Hardly, there are professional digital cameras now that are as much as forty five thousand dollars or more and using them doesn't happen over night.  Should an artist be chastised for utilizing a relatively new photographic form of capturing images?  Not at all, even digital cameras on the low end of the spectrum can be difficult to use.  Ask anyone who has ever tried to photograph their item for Ebay with a low end consumer oriented digital.  What a challenge!
    Back to the dark room.  A dark room print, hand created is usually done on traditional black and white paper (such as Kod** or Ilf***) using black and white photographic chemicals. Does that mean that a machine print such as those in the one hour quick photo stores is faulty?  Again, hardly... a color machine print, if orchestrated by a good technician, can be brilliant with color and sharp as can be if shot on a camera that has a focal system producing sharp images and was in focus as it was shot.  However we get what we pay for at times and a commercial color photographic lab usually puts out higher grade professional images and more professional finishes on their final product.  Elder fine portrait photographers have known this for years.
    Home computer printers - what about those for printing photos?  They are great, depending upon what they are used for and how they are used.  They can with practice, deliver a fairly pretty image depending upon the original photograph, whether it's 35 mm, professional two and a quarter format, a 4 x 5 view camera, or a more expensive SLR digital camera.  Some home printers will print from negatives but the best are usually from a more professional, high end printer.  Home printers were originally designed to make for fun scrapbooking, greeting cards and family snap shots. Nothing wrong with that market, it's been very successful.
    Confused?  Well an image can give what's put into it.  Even though there are home printers that print nicely, the best used by still photographers and professional artists are those which offer the Giclee' printing processes.  Those printers such as the Eps** brand professional printers can print on any number of papers and products. The final product is outstanding if created by someone trained, with plenty of practice not to mention a good eye for composition and technical skill for color calibration.  You see the printing process can involve another person or conceivably still another artist.
    Professional printers can print on canvas, fine art paper, fine photographic professional finish paper, card stock, water color paper, and even fine silk which gives the impression of a silk-screen when actually the image originated from a camera.  What kind of camera and how snobbish should one be about it?  Same with the printer?  What is today's world's best?
    I sat in a newsroom of videographers once and listened to the most snobbish of rude critique and jabbing remarks back and forth.  Common sense tell us art is truly in the eye of the beholder.  If you have questions about the origins of your fine art print or your fine art photograph, by all means ask the artist.  Knowing which questions can help and for the most part the origin of the image is a place to start as well as the kind of printer used to complete the processing of the image. 
     Ask about any processes in between too as some artists utilize computer art programs which digitally alter and improve, a process done in between the photography and the final printing process.  Those are what make magazine photography look so slick and every bit of skin perfect without a single blemish.  Many a model cheers them for they also dismiss other flaws, we never see.  Many a good art director is paid high dollar for their artistic ability in using these programs as well.  Some programs start in the five hundred dollar range, quite an investment.  Once again it can take a fairly skilled artist to enhance a photograph in this manner.
    No one product is any lesser per say.  Aw come on, why?  Simple!  The purchaser's budget is a consideration too.  There are mediums which last longer, so one might want to inquire about archival longevity.  There are sprays and coatings which help in ultra violet and humid environments, so one might want to ask about protection added to a photograph or a fine art print.
    The Giclee' printing process is probably one of the foremost ultimate processes, again involving a professional printer using an original French printing technique. However, if you like the art you are looking at and your Ebay research shows the price is reasonable, ask how the final product has been created if it's not clear to you.  Then remember that art like the shape of a woman is in the eye of the beholder.  A perfect testimony to that is the era of Rubenesque paintings compared to runway models.
    Just as a self taught artist in South France is a good painter, doesn't mean that the highly art degreed professional is any more perfect.  Some simply had an art calling at an earlier age prior to a formal education.  Another case in point might be Grandma Moses.  You see, she began painting later in life.  Yes of course those who go through the education process are to be highly commended for these accomplishments as are their hard working parents who often financed their expensive expeditions.
    Learn what you can about art processes, be it photographic, fine art prints, painting, or otherwise.  There are art educators who also sell on Ebay and like to help.  Ask plenty of questions so that you become as knowledgeable as you can and by all means, enjoy! That's what art is about, to enjoy!  Viva la gift and those patrons who appreciate it.
    A few more artist comparisons, if you've seen the paintings of  Actor - Tony Curtis, Political Leader - Winston Churchill, Comedian - Jonathan Winters, Musician - Paul Mc Cartney, or Rock Singer - Grace Slick?  They to be chastised for being multi-talented?  Then there is Actress - Candice Bergen.  She's a fine photographer as is former British model Pattie Boyd.  Art is rather like music, some of us like Jazz, some like Opera, others like Rock or Classical.  Regardless there is something on Ebay for everyone and for every budget.
    In summary, check an artist's feedback and stay in learning mode by asking questions, reading, thus self educating.  After all, art is an arena in which there is always room to learn more, delightfully so.  And above all else, thank you for supporting living, breathing, bill paying, family feeding, self representing, Ebay artists!

Lar Shackelford
Fine Art Shack Gallery Ebay Store

Shackelford, an award winning TV news videographer, was originally trained in Radio - TV - Film Art in college at the University of Texas.  He continues to broaden artistic horizons in still photography, painting, drawing, mixed media, and occasionally video.  He says, "I enjoy several art mediums and am blessed to participate on Ebay with some extremely talented art sellers."