What’s Your Image Like? Part 2

Having a good eye catching image is the first step in getting prospective buyers to look at your eBay listing. In this case a picture is worth more than a thousand words.

Make sure you have a good clear picture or pictures, many people have digital camera these days so getting a good picture should not be a problem. Even phones with built in camera produce a very good quality digital print. Take the time to get the picture just right, this could by the difference between selling the item and not selling it. No need for mega high resolution photos a good 640×480 pixel image is good enough.

Lots of digital cameras come with bundle image manipulation software that allows you do manipulate and enhance digital images. You will find this very useful to crop and edit your listing pictures. You won’t need anything sophisticated such as Photoshop or similar. I have for many years used Paint Shop Pro which was given away as a cover disk, but there are many free packages such as Serif, Irfan view etc. Try out a few and see what suits you best.

Good lighting is essential as a poor picture will not attract prospective buyers to open them. A low cost photo booth can be a useful investment if you are photographing a large number of items. These are quite cheap and can even be bought in my local supermarket; you then have your portable studio. Use what you have to advantage; I sell in the natural health and beauty market and use a tree stump located in my garden as a surface to place my items for photography. The back drop of the trees also re-enforces the natural message.

Clothing items can be simply photographed flat or on a hanger or if you have access to a mannequin all the better. Jewellery items can be photographed flat on a piece of fabric or on a bust if you have one of these. But don’t go to the expense of buying expensive props when you are starting just use what you have available.

Rob