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Hack 55 How to Keep Your Item from Looking Pathetic
A simple approach to taking great photos ofyour items.Simply put, good photos will get
you more bids and more money. An attractive, clear, well-composed
photo will excite customers and inspire trust in your bidders that
you're selling what you say you're
selling.On the other hand, if your photos are blurry, poorly lit, too small,
or too cluttered with junk, your bidders will not be nearly as
impressed. Not surprisingly, bad photos will make your item look
pathetic, and as a result your auction will get fewer bids and less
money (if it sells at all).
5.2.1 Composition
Start
with a neutral background, like an empty table or section of the
floor. A little texture (like wood or fabric) can be nice, but
don't overdo it. Avoid carpet, which can make your
item look dirty and shabby. And nobody is going to want something
that is seen sitting in the dirt.
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of a busy pattern or other high-contrast background. Remove all
unnecessary clutter from the photo; it should be crystal-clear to
your customers exactly what they're bidding on.Shoot from an angle to illustrate that you're
selling a three-dimensional object. An object photographed slightly
askew will look much better than if it's perfectly
centered and aligned with the edges of the photo. Figure 5-1 shows the same object shot at two different
angles, one of which looks much better than the other.
Figure 5-1. Photograph your items from an angle to make them look more attractive
Make sure the photo is in focus. Most digital cameras let you zoom in
to inspect the detail of your shots using the built-in LCD screen. If
you're shooting with film, you'll
want to take a few insurance shots to ensure at least one good one.
(Instant feedback is one of the best reasons to shoot digital.)Show the entire item fully assembled in at least one
photo, preferably the first. Don't take it apart
unless you feel it's important to show an internal
feature or to illustrate the way the item goes together.Case in point: Not too long ago, I purchased a
toy car on eBay from a seller who included only a single, rather
small photo of the item. To illustrate that one of the wheel bolts
was missing, the seller physically removed one of the wheels and
placed it underneath the vehicle to prop it up. The photo made it
look more like a pile of junk than a car, and as a result, I got it
for less than half the price the model typically fetched. When the
car arrived, I simply attached the wheels and reveled at the great
deal I had gotten. Although the seller was probably just trying to
set a reasonable expectation, as detailed in [Hack #39], he went too far, and his car
looked simply pathetic.
5.2.2 Photographing Collections
If you're selling a
collection
of items, or if there are included accessories, include at least one
photo showing the entire collection together. Figure 5-2 shows a handheld computer (PDA), together with
a bunch of included accessories. The group shot makes your bidders
feel like they're getting a lot for their money, and
it clearly illustrates exactly what is included with the auction.
Figure 5-2. A carefully aligned group shot shows bidders exactly what they're getting
5.2.3 Lighting
Don't rely entirely on your
camera's flash to sufficiently illuminate your
object, or half your item will appear in shadow. You
don't need professional-quality studio
lighting, only a desk lamp or overhead
light to serve as a second light source. But if
there's too much light, any detail in the item might
get washed out. Figure 5-3 shows the same item
photographed with different amounts of light.
Figure 5-3. You can see the most detail if the object is lit from at least two sources
Finally, if you're taking multiple photos, shoot
each one as if it will be the only thing your bidders see. Given how
unreliable Internet connections can be, any single photo might indeed
be the only thing a bidder sees!
