If you are one of the many thousands of people who have sold products on Ebay, or maybe one of those whose product did not sell, one thing that is often overlooked is the importance of a good quality photograph.
Pictures for Ebay auctions need to show the item you are selling in exact detail, since your potential buyer cannot touch, smell, or feel the item before buying it. A good digital camera, even an inexpensive one, will work nicely for most Ebay pictures.
If your item is small, you should photograph it on a white background, unless the item is also white, in which case black or gray color backdrops are fine. You can take a sheet and drape it over a chair, making a nice platform and background for small objects.
If your item is very small, you will need to have a camera that has a macro focusing feature, so you can get in close for your shot. There is nothing worse than an out of focus picture, even if the item has a great deal of perceived value.
If your item is larger, you can use an old bed sheet as a background by taping or thumb tacking it up on a wood garage door, or the wood siding of your house. Leave some of the sheet on the ground, or on a table moved into position by the wall or garage door so that you have a place to set the object you need to photograph.
Very large items like cars, boats, and motorcycles should be photographed in a nice outdoor setting, like a park. Take the extra time to find a pleasing location, and your item will appear much more valuable than a poorly photographed item on an ugly background.
Get in as close as possible, while showing the entire item. You may want to take more than one photo, especially for items like cameras and lenses that have many sides that need to be shown to any potential buyer.
Be careful of any built in flash on your camera. Disable it unless your subject is more than 10 feet away, especially if your item has any shiny surfaces. In many cases, you can just hold a finger over the flash when you take the picture. The best photographs for Ebay use are taken outside on a cloudy day, or in an area of open shade.
Depending on your camera, the finished pictures may be quite a bit larger than necessary for your auction photo, and should be reduced in size before submitting to Ebay. There are many free software programs that allow you to change the image size. You can get a list of them by typing "photo editing software" into a Google.com search.
Be aware that some digital cameras, and many consumer film cameras will render pictures that are slightly blue when the photo was made in open shade or under a cloudy sky. This undesirable blue or cyan tinge can be removed with some of the software mentioned previously.
If you take just a little bit of extra care when making the photographs for your Ebay auction, you will have a better chance to make a great deal when your item sells.
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