Photo Taking Tips

Know Your Camera- Read through the manual to gain a better understanding of your camera's features including how to use different camera modes and how to best use the flash.

Lighting - This is considered the most important aspect of photography.  When taking photos outdoors, avoid taking pictures of your item in bright, direct sunlight.   Horizontal light, rising/setting sun, works best.  Take your photos a few hours after sunrise or a few hours before sunset for best results.  Overcast days are ideal for outdoor shots as well.  When taking photos indoors, find an area with lots of natural light.  If possible, taking the photos near a window would be the best option.

Control the Flash -You should never rely on the automatic flash setting.  Depending on the situation, you may need to turn it on or off.  It is always good to take some photos of your item with the flash on and some with the flash off.   Then after viewing the results, you can determine which created the best photo.

Macro Mode -This camera feature is ideal for taking close up shots and is generally represented by a flower symbol on most cameras.  If your item contains a lot of detail, you may want to take some photos in marco mode to capture those details for potential buyers to view.   Or if you are taking photos of smaller items, such as jewelry, this mode should be used to achieve a nice crisp photo. 

Setting up the Photo - Solid, neutral backgrounds are recommended.  You want buyers to focus on your item not on the background.  If your background is too busy, it may be difficult for buyers to see the item clearly.  The key is to remove everything from around the item you are selling.

Taking the Photo - Get close.  Buyers like to see detail, make sure your item takes up the whole frame so there is little border all the way around.  Consider taking a close-up section of the item as well to provide additional details.  Take photos from different angles.  Use as many photos as is necessary to capture the appearance of your item.  Be sure to hold the camera level and steady while pressing the shutter button to avoid blurry or crooked photos. You can lock the focus and exposure by half-pressing the shutter button.  Set up your shot, press the button down halfway and then depress it fully.  The picture will be taken immediately, so you don't have to hold it steady for that long.  This technique takes some practice, but once mastered can be extremely helpful when photographing.

Editing the Photo - Use your Digital Camera or Computer photo editing programs.  You can crop the image to remove empty space or distracting objects.  You may want to leave some space around the object as a visual frame.  Next, you can adjust the brightness and contrast as necessary.

Looking for more photography information?  Check out Everything Photography!

Do I really need to spend the time taking quality photos?

Yes!  Good photos of items attract more buyer interest and increase sales.  A study conducted by ebay, the world's largest online auction site, determined that auctions with higher quality photos sold faster and for higher final sale prices than auctions with lower quality photos.  Think about it, why do print catalogs spend thousands of dollars to hire photographers to take photos of their products?  The do this because good pictures of their merchandise will sell their merchandise, plain and simple.

The same concept can be applied to items being sold in the local newspaper classifieds.  A potential buyer will be more likely to follow up with a phone call if you take the time to include quality photos with your advertisement. 

As an added bonus, you may attract buyers to your item that were not even looking for what you are selling in the first place.  They read your ad in the local newspaper and notice there are online photos available.  Out of curiosity, they go online to view the photos.  If the photos are good, you may be able to sell them something they didn't even know they wanted.  This happens all the time on the Internet, in Magazines, in Newspapers, etc.  The bottom line is photos sell.

The good news is that you do not need to be a professional photographer to take nice photos.  Simply follow the basic photo tips described above and you will be creating great photos of your items in no time!