EBay for Dummies (58 page)

Get it on camera

Point-and-shoot may be okay for a group shot at some historical monument, but illustrating your auction is a whole different idea. Whether you’re using a traditional film camera (so you can scan your developed photographs later) or a digital camera to capture your item, some basic photographic guidelines can give you better results.

For more on using scanners, zoom ahead to the next section, “Use traditional photos? Yes, I scan.” Then c’mon back to these do’s and don’ts to ensure that your digital image is a genuine enhancement to your auction:

Do
take the picture of your item outside, in daylight, whenever possible. That way the camera can catch all possible details and color.

Do
forget about fancy backgrounds; they distract viewers from your item. Put small items on a neutral-colored, nonreflective towel or cloth; put larger items in front of a neutral-colored wall or curtain. You’ll cut out almost all the background when you prepare the picture on your computer. (This chapter explains how to prepare your picture.)

Do
use extra lighting. You can do this with your camera’s flash mode or with extra photo lighting on stands. Use extra lighting even when you’re taking the picture outside. The extra lighting acts as
fill light
— it adds more light to the item, filling in some of the shadowed spots.

Don’t
get so close to the item that the additional light washes out (overexposes) the image. The easiest way to figure out the best distance is by trial and error. Start close and keep moving farther away until you get the results you want. This method can get pricey if you use film, but that’s where digital cameras really shine: You can see the picture seconds after you shoot it, keep it and modify it, erase it, and start again.

Do
take two or three acceptable versions of your image; you can choose the best one later on your computer.

Don’t
use incandescent or fluorescent lighting to illuminate the photos you plan to scan. Incandescent lighting tends to make items look yellowish, and fluorescent lights lend a bluish tone to your photos. Some sellers use
GE Reveal
incandescent bulbs; they throw a good-quality light which, when combined with natural daylight, produces an even tone. My favorites are the 5,000 degrees Kelvin full-spectrum bulbs. Yes, at $20.00 apiece they’re very expensive, but with a 10,000-hour lifespan, they should have you taking pictures into the next decade. (
Hint:
you can find 5,000 Kelvin portable lamps on eBay for just a little more.)

If your item relies on detail (for example, an engraved signature or detailed gold trim),
do
take a wide shot of the entire item — and then take a tight close-up or two of the detailed areas that you want buyers to see.

Do
make sure that you focus the camera; nothing is worse than a blurry picture. If your camera is a fixed-focus model (it can’t be adjusted), get only as close as the manufacturer recommends. If you go beyond that distance, the item appears out of focus. (Automatic-focus cameras measure the distance and change the lens setting as needed.)

Taking pictures of your item from different angles gives the prospective buyer more information. When you have several images, use your photo-editing program to put them in one composite image, as shown in Figure 14-2.

Some eBay creeps, whether out of laziness or deceit, steal images from other eBay members. (They simply make a digital copy of the image and use it in their own auctions. This is so uncool because then the copied image doesn’t represent the actual item being sold.) This pilfering has happened to me on several occasions. To prevent picture-snatching, you can watermark your user ID to all your photos. Then, the next time somebody lifts one of your pictures, it has your name on it. Don’t forget to report these tools by using the Report Item link at the bottom of their listing —
stealing photos is against eBay rules!

Use traditional photos? Yes, I scan

If you use a scanner and traditional (that is, nondigital) camera to create images for your eBay auction, you’ve come to the right place. (Also check out the tips in the preceding section.) If the photo processor will create digital images for you, be sure you get that done. It will save you lots of time in scanning. If that’s not possible:

Have the photo developer print your photos on glossy paper; it scans best.

When you take traditional photos for scanning, get as close to your item as your camera allows. Enlarging photos in the scanner will only result in blurry (or, worse, jagged) images.

Scan the box that the item came in, or if there’s a photo of the item on the box, scan that portion of the box.

If you’re scanning a three-dimensional item (such as a doll, jewelry item, or box) and you can’t close the scanner lid, drape a black or white T-shirt over the item after you place it on the scanner’s glass plate; that way you get a clean background and good light reflection from the scanner.

If you want to scan an item that’s too big to put on your scanner all at once, scan the item in sections and assemble the digital pieces with your image-editing software. The instructions that come with your software should explain how to do this.

Software that adds the artist’s touch

After you take the picture (or scan it) and transfer it into your computer according to the manufacturer’s instructions, the next step is to edit the picture. Much like a book or magazine editor, you get to cut, fix, resize, and reshape your picture until you think it’s good enough to be seen by the public. If you’re a non-techie type, don’t get nervous; many of the programs have one-button magical corrections that make your pictures look great.

The software program that comes with your digital camera or scanner puts at your disposal an arsenal of editing tools that help you turn a basic image of your item into something special. Although each program has its own collection of features, a few basic tools and techniques are common to all:

Image quality:
Enables you to enhance or correct colors, sharpen images, remove dust spots, and increase or reduce brightness or contrast.

Size:
Reduces or increases the size or shape of the image.

Orientation:
Rotates the image left or right; flips it horizontally or vertically.

Crop:
Trims your picture to show the item, rather than extraneous background.

Create an image format:
Gives your edited picture a specific format, such as .JPG, .GIF, or others when you save it. The best format for putting photos on the Web (and thus the preferred format on eBay and the one I strongly recommend) is .JPG (pronounced “JAY-peg”).

Every image-editing software program has its own system requirements and capabilities. Study the software that comes with your camera or scanner. If you feel the program is too complicated (or doesn’t give you the editing tools you need), investigate some of the other popular programs. A simple-to-use program called Fast Photos was developed by an eBay seller with us in mind. It’s incredibly simple to use, and the learning curve is small. I use it and love its simplicity and speed — and it costs only $24.95 (you can get a free 21-day trial at
www.pixby.com/marshacollier
).

Copying someone else’s auction text or images without permission can constitute copyright infringement, which ends your auction and could get you suspended from eBay.

Making Your Images Web-Friendly

Because digital images are made up of pixels — and every pixel has a set of instructions that has to be stored someplace — you have two difficulties facing you right after you take the picture:

Digital images contain computer instructions, so bigger pictures take up more memory.

Very large digital images take longer to
build
(appear) on the buyer’s screen, and time can be precious in an auction.

To get around both these problems, think small. Here’s a checklist of tried-and-true techniques for preparing your elegantly slender, fast-loading images to display on eBay:

Set your image resolution at 72 pixels per inch.
You can do this with the settings for your scanner. Although 72 ppi may seem like a low resolution, it only nibbles computer memory (instead of chomping), shows up fast on a buyer’s screen, and looks great on eBay.

When using a digital camera, set the camera to no higher than the 800
×
600 format.
That’s custom-made for a monitor. You can always crop the picture if it’s too large. You can even save the image at 640
×
480, and it’ll display well on eBay — but it will take up less space, and you can add more pictures!