How to Take Effective Photos for Your eBay Listings
Believe it or not, you don’t need to be a seasoned photographer to take effective photos for your product listings. The only training that you actually need are the tips that I have compiled for you in this article—which are the same steps that I follow whenever I need to photograph my own items.
So forget the fancy equipment and years of experience; the only things you really need in order to produce persuasive photos are my tips and your digital camera.
Tip #1: Take photos of your products from several different perspectives.
Your goal as an eBay business owner is to recreate the shopping experience for your bidder. In order to do this, your bidders should be able to feel as though they are getting the same information from your listing as they would if they were physically viewing your item in a store. You can accomplish this by providing several different views of your item, which your bidders can then use to examine the overall quality of your product.
Tip #2: Get your products ready for their close-ups.
It’s obviously important to give your potential bidders a view of your entire product, but the smallest details are just as significant. In order to take an effective close-up, use the “macro” feature on your digital camera. This setting typically has a flower symbol on it, and it will allow you to depict even the tiniest attributes of your product.
Tip #3: Use bright lighting for your photos.
As a serious eBay business owner, you should take a few extra steps to ensure that your photos are as clear as they can be, which usually means acquiring light from an outside source. To effectively light your photos, place several spotlight lamps around the area where you will position your product, use only lighting that radiates white light, and set up a white sheet or white poster board as a background for your product.
Tip #4: Get rid of the glare from your camera’s flash.
It’s a hard habit to break, but be sure that anytime you take photos of your eBay products that you turn your flash off. Not only does it create unnatural looking light and colors, but it can also prevent your entire product from showing up in the photo. Any products that have a reflective surface, such as a plastic CD case or metal appliance, will produce a glare in the photo.
Tip #5: Compare your product’s size to that of an everyday item.
Unfortunately, close-up photos of small items make it difficult for your buyer to determine the actual size of your products. Because of this, you should provide a point of reference to your buyer using a common item that is comparable in size. For instance, if you are selling an action figure that is the same size as a can of soup, you can use that as a size reference in your product’s description.
Tip #6: Prepare a plain background for your product.
The color of your background should be one solid color that enhances the appearance of your product. For example, if you are listing a glass punch bowl for auction, you will want to position this item against a black background so that it clearly shows up in your photo. Any items that are not clear or white in color can best be seen against a white background.
Tip #7: Edit out the extra space surrounding your product.
The purpose of your photos is to enhance the appearance of your products and compel your viewers to place higher bids. To do this, you want to be sure that the product is the only focus of your photo. Remove any extra space that might take away from the presentation of your product. You can use the “crop” feature available in most image editing software programs to eliminate extra space.
If you follow all seven of my tips, you can almost guarantee that the result of your concentration and preparation will be professional, clear, and compelling photographs of your products that are sure to turn any prospective eBay buyer into a loyal customer.
