These past few days I have been learning how to sell on eBay. I finally decided to sell my Stangl Bird collection and to try eBay as the sales outlet.  If you have been following my blog you know I have written several posts on how to take photos for eBay and editing them for the best presentation using CorrectPhoto Editor.  The next step was to find the best way to present the photos of the item for sale.  I wasn’t impressed with eBay’s standard photo presentation and Craig told me about Auctiva. Auctiva is an eBay listing service that simplifies the process of eBay listings with a great photo storage and presentation feature. It also provides templates that make professional listings easy. Here is an example of one of my Stangl Bird listings. I chose a “neutral” (remember in photography neutral is black, white, or gray, not beige) background without a lot of clutter so the background doesn’t distract from the item photos.  On the eBay listing page the viewer can click on the smaller image and a full size (1024×768) image pops up.

Auctiva Listing Service Makes eBay Listing and Photo Uploading Easy

Since the maximum image size (1024×768) is generally smaller than the original or edited digital camera file you have two choices: upload the large file and let the photo service resize the image or resize the image before you upload the file. My recommendation is to resize the image before you upload the file. If you have Photoshop or Elements you can resize the photos by selecting Image/Resize/Image Size form the menu bar and entering the number of pixels (i.e 1024) for the width or the height and save the new size.

Using Photoshop Elements to Resize Images Before Uploading

I use CorrectPhoto to resize my photos because it is much easier and faster and, more importantly; the resize algorithm is very good. And, I usually do one click on the Sharpening icon to make the resized photo a little crisper.

CorrectPhoto is an Easy and Fast Way to Resize Images for eBay

Here is a composite of the photos I edited, resized, and uploaded to my eBay listing for the Stangl Owl. If you want to find my Stangl Bird listings on eBay and compare the photos of my birds with others just go to www.eBay.com and search for Stangl Bird. You shouldn’t have any trouble finding one of my birds among the listings.

Composite of Owl Bird Photos Edited and Resized with CorrectPhoto

I will have to wait a few more days to see if one or more of my birds have sold thus proving the point of several postings on “Better eBay Sales with Better Photos.”

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

OBN 20” Light Tent
The light tent kit (http://www.obnphoto.com/light_tent.html) included a foldable tent, and four backdrops (white, black, gray, and blue), and a storage case.  For my purposes I selected a 20 inch tent but they offer sizes ranging from 12” to 86”. Here is a photo of my initial test set up.

Light Tent Setup-Light Tent from OBN Photographic Equipment

I chose to use the gray backdrop for reasons that I explained in my previous post and took a few test shots with different lamp positions. I also set my camera to aperture preferred (f8) instead of auto exposure for greater depth of field.  Here is an edited photo of a test shot taken with the best lamp position.

Stangl Bird Photo using Light Tent and Edited with CorrectPhoto Editor

Overall my impression of using a tent for shooting objects is very positive. I still want to do more testing to optimize lighting and I want a smoother background. I might even invest in different and brighter lamps with a diffuser. But, I believe this set up is what I will use for selling some of my bird collection. Here is a comparison of all three of the setups; artificial without tent, natural outdoor, and artificial with tent. Note the different background in the tent shot. I think I like it better than the fleece I used in the other setups, but will reserve judgment. Let me know if you have an opinion. The color of the photo taken in the tent is closer to the actual color of the ceramic bird which is probably the best argument for using a light tent.

Photo Setup comparison: Artifical light, Natural Light, Light Tent

Based on my initial experience and testing I plan to use the light tent for all my product shots and will share my experiences and tips I learned along the way.  My next blog post will focus on editing the photo.

For more information on OBN Photographic Equipment go to their website, http://www.obnphoto.com

Wayne   www.correctphoto.com

Because we can!
The first reason is “because we can” and that is one of the real benefits and joys of digital photography. With a little cropping we can turn an average picture into a memorable photo. With film photography we basically had to accept what we got when we picked up our prints. How many times have you wished you could retake the shot and not include someones elbow or half a face? With a digital image we can easily trim or eliminate portions of the picture we don’t want or need.

Cropping Out the Fence Makes This a Better Picture

Aspect Ratios Vary
The aspect ratio (the ratio of the width to the height of the picture) of a digital camera sensor is typically 4×3 (1.33). The aspect ratio of a 4×6 (6×4) print is 1.5. The format for HDTV is 16×9 or 1.78. so, if you want 4×6 prints you should decide what portions of the image should be cut off and not let the printer software decide for you. Here is an example of what can happen if you let the printer decide where to crop the photo–And, it is my head that go clipped!

Crop photos before you send them to the printer

Turn and Average Shot into a Great Shot
here is an example of how to turn an average vacation shot into a great shot. I used a 4×6 portrait cropping format to creat this post card quality photo from a shot I took on a recent visit to Castillo De San Marcos in St. Augustine, Fl. For information on what software I used and how I fixed the photo go to http://www.correctphoto.com/GreatShot.htm.

Photo Cropping can turn and average photo into a great shot

Crop for Specific Uses: Scrapbooking, Facebook, Flickr, Websites, eBay, etc.
Cropping is an essential tool for almost any use for a digital photo. Whether you want to create a photo of yourself to post on your Facebook page, sell an antique on eBay, or optimize a photo for your website that little “digital scissors” called cropping will soon become your most favorite imaging tool.

Crop for Facebook, Scrapbooking and other special applications

Here are a few other articles and tutorials on cropping photos.

The Art of Cropping
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/learnmore/crop.mspx

How to Crop a Photo for Better Composition by Elizabeth West
http://photodoto.com/how-to-crop-a-photo-for-better-composition

Create a Memory
http://www.correctphoto.com/CreateMemory.htm

Create Outstanding Vacation Photos
http://www.correctphoto.com/GreatShot.htm

Hopefully, this discussion has illustrated the benefits of cropping your photos. Remember, every digital photo needs a little cropping. And, cropping is one of the easiest photo editing functions you can do and you will be amazed at how much better your photos will look if you just take a little time to crop. I will talk about “The How” of cropping in an upcoming post.

Best Wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com