Photographing my collection for eBay

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I am new to digital photography and am wondering if there is any good software out there for photo editing? I would like to edit my pics, doll them up, and then post to ebay. I have a train sets that I would like to see so I can make my current one huge.

Thanks! Any thoughts are appreciated!

- Peter

[andrechapelon]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Peter16

Hi,

I am new to digital photography and am wondering if there is any good software out there for photo editing? I would like to edit my pics, doll them up, and then post to ebay. I have a train sets that I would like to see so I can make my current one huge.

Thanks! Any thoughts are appreciated!

- Peter

You can't go wrong with Adobe Photoshop http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/main.html.

Andre

[Anonymous]

If your planning on selling these on e-bay why would you want to alter their apperence ,doll them up.As stated earlier I allso use adobe and it is a good program.I buy and sell train items fairly often from e-bay and they are allways sold as is I don't want anything looking better than it actually does when the buyer opens the box.

[Anonymous]

There are many cheaper alternatives out there to Photoshop, some are even free. Do a Google search on "photo editing programs" or such. I personally have been using Paint Shop Pro for many years to prepare my eBay photos from my digital camera.

Shoot to include as much of the item as possible, not leaving much blank space around the item. Get a sheet of light blue bristol board to be used as a background, to eliminate any distractions. Be sure to have your camera on a tripod, use plenty of household lights or place the shooting table near a window that does not have direct sunlight shining in. Do not use flash.

Good luck!

Bob Boudreau

[PennsyHoosier]

Bob's advice is good, both on lighting and on other free programs. However, if you don't want to mess with searching for a program, I'd suggest Photoshop. It works very well for me.

[chutton01]

Heh, I just did this yesterday (photographed a locomotive and some Superliner cars for eBay sale) - I use Photoshop Elements, which doesn't have all the functionality of the full Photoshop, but still has plenty of functionality at a rather decent price (it was, after rebate, something like $70.00 last year - I do use it for many other purposes too, so I can justify the price).
I use Photoshop (Elements) for cropping (removed extraneous background), image resizing (so it's not a 500K byte file - get them down to 20K or so), and flood filling/contrast (so you can actually distingui***he black underbody of the Locomotive) - even with decent sunlight illuminating the models, some areas just remain dark (and I didn't want to put fill lights everywhere) - the Photoshop Elements Flood Fill tool works very well.

[Anonymous]

I got Adobe Photoshop Elements for $90 (no rebate) at Staples.

[Jacktal]

Want my opinion on this?....I wouldn't bid on an item that doesn't seem "natural" on the picture,or at most,bid very low.If it looks too nice to be true or I can barely identify the item,I just stay away from it.

[Bikerdad]

Can't offer you any suggestions on software for this, just this advice on the pictures themselves: MAKE SURE ITS IN FOCUS!!!

Y'all may now return to your normally scheduled forumming ...

[Anonymous]

I agree with Jacktail. I saw a Key Imports 4-8-8-4 Big Boy for a buy it now price of $50.00 on ebay once. I slowly backed away.............[:p]

Although sometimes the to good to be true prices can be bargains. I just bought an Athearn FP45 off ebay for the bargain price of $25.00. Got it today and it runs beautifully and is an awsome model.

As for dolling up your photos, I don't see the need to. As Railguyho said above, it won't look any different than it was when the buyer opens up the box.

[Anonymous]

Try to take the pictures in good light in a neutral setting such as a cloth on a table facing some trees in a window or something. Nothing that will give away any clues to your location.

More importantly keep it real... I occasionally have seen glue spots on a prospective model that the sellor probably rather me not see in that very focused model . Or some dust balls in a corner somewhere. That does not bother me at all.

Dont try to make a model prettier than it is. That will drive poeple away thinking you have something to conceal. IF there is a small flaw you are concerned about simply state so on the selling sheet such as "There is a glue spot on the corner of the building, an old man like me finds it hard to control the glue sometimes"

[Anonymous]

Hi,

There are so many image editing software packages out there you can get overwhelmed. I have used all the ones stated above but for only $44 you can use the best for the money > StudioLine Photo 2

You can buy or use for free at: http://www.studioline.biz

It is well worth a try...

Enjoy!

[Anonymous]

Don't pay $50 + for any software until you see if there is a "freeware" version that does the same thing...

Try PhotoFiltre....
http://www.photofiltre.com/

[Anonymous]

i dont think "dolling up" is a good idea for ebay. many poeple who buy and sell on ebay, including myself expect to get exactly what they see. Many people will still pay whatever it takes to get the item thay they're browsing for, damaged, scratched, or not. People look there for things that they either want or need, not to be misled. To tell you the truth, the only possible reason that i could see to use any type of photo editing for ebay pics would be to remove something that is in the background or something else that is in the picture that is not relevant to the auction. Anything else is just dishonest in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

Peter,

There is probably software on your computer or that came with the camera that will suffice for editng your pictures. Most common picture modifications are cropping, brightness and contrast adjustments, and compression. None of these enhancements will "doll up" a photo. IMHO none of these adjustments are dishonest. They just make it easier to see what is already there.

Dis-honest stuff might be If you want to remove scratches, cover things, cut out stuff... this is harder than it might seem to pull off convincingly and to be undetected requires the expensive versions of photo software. The time it takes might also limit the cost effectiveness of doing this sort of thing.

When I post auctions I always point out the flaws in the item in the text and try to show photos so the buyer will not be disappointed and to be as honest as possible In my Ebay experience, most of the other train guys selling stuff are very honest as well.


Guy