So what are some tips for taking great eBay photos? Well, it’s certainly not rocket science and you don’t need to have thousands of dollars invested in camera equipment to get outstanding results. The first thing you need is, obviously, a digital camera. Choices in cameras these days vary more than they ever have before. You can go with a Digital SLR camera (Single Lens Reflex) which allows you to take higher quality photos, have more creative control over what you shoot, use interchangeable lenses, etc., but with those categories of cameras comes a higher expense and a higher learning curve to boot. To take great product photos for eBay though, this is the ideal and yet certainly not a necessity. In fact, many low-budget point-and-shoot cameras take wonderful photos and you don’t need to have a big budget to get good results from many of these cameras. You can even get great deals on used cameras on craigslist or eBay (how about that?). 

So, when shopping for a digital camera, what are some things to look for? The current buzz word for digital cameras is “megapixel”. You’ll hear that word used a lot and while it is an important factor in buying a camera, it is way less important than many people realize. Again, it’s a buzzword used to sell cameras. Many people think more Is always better and that’s very far from true. There are many digital cameras that shoot in 10+ megapixels and their photos look like crap by comparison to some older, professional digital cameras that shoot in 3 megapixels. How many pixels your camera shoots into is not directly indicative of it’s quality. A megapixel is a term that is used to reflect 1 million pixels. A pixel is like one tiny dot on your computer monitor. To reflect a standard 3:2 format many digital cameras and computer monitors use, certain standard combinations have been established over the years. For example, you may be reading this article right now on a monitor that is set to 1024X768 pixels or even 1280X1024. One “megapixel” is determined when you add up all the pixels used so 1280 X 1024 rounds out to 1.3 megapixels.

Now, there are so many other factors that create image quality other than the number of pixels in a shot. Digital cameras use a digital image processor to interpret the shot nowadays as opposed to the film cameras of yesteryear. These sensors all respond to light and color differently so the quality of the shot is often determined with those factors, not just how many pixels are in it. It’s a combination of quality AND quantity so don’t let the high megapixels used as a marketing tool be the sole, determining factor when buying a camera for simple product photography.

So what else do you need to take great photos for eBay? Well, you definitely want a tripod. This will help stabilize your camera and get you much more consistent shots. Plus, you will probably be shooting your wares without a flash so a tripod will be a big help. “Why no flash?” you ask? The reason is your on-board flash is designed for photographing people or subjects at around 10 feet. When you use your flash to photograph an object close-up, you will get horribly bad shadows that will make your beautiful products look terrible. So instead, you want to light your area with external lights off to the side of your object and angled slightly in front and slightly behind your object. This creates a fill-light for your object and also illuminates the area behind it to cut down on shadows. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on lights either. I suggest getting two swing-arm or desk lamps from your local office supply store. Your total budget for lighting should be less than $30.00. 

As far as a backdrop is concerned, remember to remove any and all clutter from your area that you are using for product photography. Three options include using a roll of butcher paper, large flip-chart type paper, or even a flat, white sheet folded in half so it’s more opaque. The preferred color is always white as it makes virtually every product put in front of it really pop. There may be some instances where your product is mostly white so if that’s the case, perhaps having a second color like gray would be good although most of the time, it may not be necessary. To create a mini photo studio, simply push a small table next to a wall in your home you plan on using long-term for your photography. Then tack the paper or sheet up on the wall, about 2-3 feet higher than the table top, and drape it down over the table creating a slight curve to the background rather than a hard edge. This will help eliminate any shadows also and makes your object really look great and stand out. If you set your area up like this, you’ll never use the flash on your camera but you’ll get awesome results. When you aim your camera, make sure it is angled slightly down to your product and the top of the backdrop is not in the shot.

Take a look at the example above. You will notice here that a simple piece of flip-chart paper is taped to the wall and draped over the table. A simple ceiling lamp is positioned directly over the subject to help kill shadows behind it and in front of it and then, to illuminate the product itself, a simple desk lamp from an office supply store is positioned so it is outside the shot. This simple setup will yield outstanding results, can be designed with a very low budget, and is easy to setup.

Another route to consider is using a small photo tent which can be purchased online or at any good camera store. I’ve seen kits such as this sell for around $75 or less complete with lights and backdrops. Here, the tent itself will diffuse the light coming into it, so you want to position your lights on each side, about 8-12 inches away. When setup, you take one of your backdrops (preferably white) and it will attach to the top, back wall of the box and drape down inside (usually, these are held up with either velcro or small clips). Just remember to add a little curve to the backdrop when draping it inside to the bottom. The lights will illuminate everything inside and give you outstanding results.

Here is a shot I took just this past weekend for a client’s website (www.designsbylala.com) using a light box. 

Lastly, if your camera has a “Macro” feature, use it. The universal symbol for macro-mode is a flower/tulip looking icon (as many people use macro photography for flowers) Sometimes this can be found by turning a dial on your camera, sometimes by pushing a button, or on some Digital SLR cameras, you may have to have a specific macro lens in order to use this feature.

Macro photography involves moving your camera as close as possible to your object yet allowing to focus clearly at the short distance. If you don’t know how to find the Macro mode in your camera, consult your user manual. Just like the human eye, a camera is unable to focus properly when an object is moved too close to the lens. Using a macro mode or a macro lens forces the camera to adjust it’s focal range to an object closer to the lens and gain more clarity in the shot. As with most cameras or inexpensive lenses, the more you have to zoom into an object to photograph it, the less light the camera allows in (referred to as aperature or "f-stop". In a future blog, I’ll be explaining this in greater detail. For now though, and for simplicity sake, just understand that if you are zooming into your subject from across the room, or from two feet away, you will see different results as the available light the lens will take in will be different. 

With this basic instruction on product photography techniques, you should start creating awesome images right away and make all your listings look like the ones the big power sellers have. Pretty soon, if you stick to it, you’ll be one of those sellers too!