Hi everyone and thanks for coming to the workshop.

I've been a regular on eBay since 1999, mostly specializing in selling photo equipment. From the first, I realized that not only was it important to know my products, but also to present them in clear, professional-looking auctions. That meant really good photos.

Fortunately, I had been an avid photographer for years. My only formal training was in the Army, where I was an aerial surveillance camera operator. Afterwards, I turned pro for a while, doing magazine illustrations and product photography for some ad agencies and companies in the Philadelphia area.

I got out of that business years ago, but when I finally discovered eBay, I also discovered a new outlet for my interests in both photo equipment and photography. Not only do I regularly take photos for my eBay listings, but I also participate in eBay discussion and chat boards about photography, sharing what I know and learning from other ebay photographers.

If you haven't found them already, I would recommend you visit the eBay Photos & HTML and Photography discussion boards. I thought I knew photography when I got here six years ago, but these people have helped me learn much more. I'll be using some material regular board members have contributed in this workshop.

I'll take questions shortly, but first I want to post some info I've prepared about practical photography for eBay...

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

For ebay use, you don't need a high-resolution digital camera. Almost any digital camera can make a 640x480 pixel image at its lowest resolution setting, which is large enough to fill a standard VGA computer monitor, or about 2/3 of a 17" monitor.

If you use eBay Picture Services, the standard picture size is just 400 pixels wide and even Supersize pics are only 800 pixels wide. That's less than 1 megapixel, - so you can see why a low resolution camera setting is all that is needed for eBay.

If you also want to make prints, you'll want more resolution. As a rule of thumb, you need 3 megapixels for good 8x10 prints. That is also the entry level camera these days.

Regardless of the maximum file size of your camera, you can shoot with almost any camera at the 1 megapixel setting, which will give you plenty of room to crop your photos. Anything more will just take up more room on your memory card and pretty much be a waste of pixels.

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

For an "ebay camera," you want...

1) Good macro (close focus) capability. Limit your search to cameras that focus to within 4 inches or less. This is close enough to capture important details or get frame-fillling shots of small items.

2) Ease of use. This means the camera controls are logical and it's easy to access manual override functions. For some, this also means an easy method of transferring the photos from your camera to your computer, such as the docks sold with some cameras (I'm not a big fan of these, but to each his or her own).

3) Comfortable handling. Get a chance to handle a camera before buying it. All the best reviews in the world won't help if the camera feels awkward in YOUR hands.

Among the current entry-level models I like as "ebay cameras" are the Fuji A330, the Nikon 3200 and the Canon A510. All of them focus close and they can produce outstanding results. The Fuji is the cheapest. The Nikon focuses closest. The Canon offers more manual control options and is probably the one I'd choose if I had to buy right now on a budget.

However, you can't go wrong if you stick to the major camera manufacturers (Fuji, Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax, Sony) and pick a camera which focuses close enough.

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

I've already discussed why you want to set the camera resolution low for ebay pics and the importance of close focusing (that macro setting). But what about those other settings? The reason you want to disable the built-in flash on your camera is because it is just about the worst sort of light for product pics. Direct flash makes your objects look 2-dimensional and it also glares back at you from any shiny surface. The white balance actually controls color temperature balance. Every type of light has a color temperature and almost every digital camera also has an automatic white balance feature, to try to adjust for this. That's fine for snapshots, but product photos are more demanding, so you'll need to learn how to preset the white balance to match the type of light you're using (daylight, shade, tungsten, fluorescent).

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

"A camera meter tries to set an exposure setting based on an evenly balanced scene of lights and darks. If there is too much dark in a scene, it will overcompensate and the image will be too light; if there is too much white in a scene it will overcompensate again and the image will appear too dark.

The following image was shot on a half black and half white background using the same amount of light and auto exposure:"

"The meter sees equal amounts of light and dark, is happy and you get a good exposure and photo."

"The meter sees too much black, thinks, 'Whoa, way too dark. I had better lighten up a bit' and you get a too-light photo, overexposed."

"The meter sees too much white, thinks, 'Whoa, way too light. I had better darken down a bit' and you get a too-dark photo, underexposed." "There is no such thing as your photos are too dark because you don't have enough light. You could have tripled the amount of light on that last photo and the meter would still think 'Whoa, way too light. I had better darken down a bit' and you would still get a too-dark photo. I have taken photos in extremely dimly lit situations where I had to leave the shutter open for several minutes but still got a good photo."

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

Lighting is nearly as important a tool as your camera.

It may be strange to think of lighting as a tool, because it always seems to be there. After all, you can take a snapshot almost anywhere, with either available light or the light from a built-in flash which turns on automatically. In fact, you are always choosing your lighting, even if only by default and it is shaping how your subject appears.

The key to effective product photography is lighting and the key to effective lighting is control. Once you understand how, you can control the strength, size, position, color and number of lights you use. And, each of these controls changes how the subject looks.

However, let's take it one light at a time...

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

How do I enter the workshop?

I'm a newbie needing to know how to get my picture to show on the listing page, instead of the little green camera.

But what if you don't have a handy window like that, or need to shoot at night?

Then, you can use plain old tungsten (incandescent) lights. These are just regular household bulbs - the kind you use in your table lamps. A couple of 150 watt bulbs would be enough, as long as you remember to use that tripod.

You can use these bulbs in either photographic reflectors with light stands (available on ebay or from a camera shop) or just in simple clamp-on reflectors of the sort sold at home centers for $10 or less, such as this one...

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

You can turn those lights into window-like sources by aiming them through translucent white material (a sheet of tracing paper, a piece of white plastic, etc.), or by bouncing them off reflectors. Professional photographers use many tools and techniques to diffuse light. If you don't mind spending a few bucks (or more), here are a couple of the more useful ones. First, below is a white photographic umbrella, attached to a studio light. In this case, the light is shining through the umbrella, but the whole thing could also be turned around and you could use the light bounced off the inside surface of that umbrella...

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography

In addition to key (main) lights and fill lights, photographers often add other lights for special effects. For instance, in portrait photography, a photographer will sometimes use a "hair light" to add highlights on the subject's hair. This can also help separate the subject from a dark background. This small light is placed high, on the back side of the subject (often somewhat to the side, to keep it out of the picture). However, you don't have to buy or use lots of lights when you're dealing with small items for ebay. For instancce, a simple magnifying makeup or shaving mirror can reflect your main light in a small controlled spot back at the subject. I use one whenever I want to add some sparkle to an item. Here is one being used to brighten up that little rabbit, along with a single softbox... You might notice I also used a long piece of black posterboard to create a graduated shadow on the background. Here's the resulting shot...

CameraJim My Guides to eBay Auction Photography