How to take good quality and professional pictures?

I want to take good quality pictures so I can attract more peoples attention, I really like the plain white background look and also how some ebay sellers have their usernames faded in the picture so that no one can steel it, how can I do this myself? Here is an example below:

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Photo editing software is the trick, the better the quality of the software, the easier the job of isolating an image from the original background.

You could take a look at Adobe Photoshop or something like Coral Photo Paint. Both will do a good job, but aren't cheap. Some cheaper programs can do it, however with cheaper software you need the image you want to isolate to be quite distinctive in colour from the background colour, because these programs can struggle to give you a perfect isolation and leave you with a poor quality image that just doesn't work at all well.

The technique in photography terms is called green screening by most. The idea is you can take a pic of an object in front of a solid green screen, although blue is quite often used as well. With a solid wall of one colour in the back-ground, the image is then very simple to isolate and manipulate.

Also popular in video work as well to drop in different locations where required, for example, check out the weather forecast done from a studio. The presenter is actually standing in front of a blank green screen, even though it looks like they are standing in front of the weather map.

It's all based on the same process!

:)

GIMP works at least as well as PhotoShop for this, and it's free. You just need to tinker with it a little, because the interface is not as intuitive. Link hidden: Login to view is a very good, step-by-step video on how to creat such images in GIMP. It's really pretty simple once you get the hang of it.


Frank

Or you can buy a small box lighting kit which will give you the white back ground and lights to make the images look good. You can find these kits at your local camera shop or on Ebay starting around $19.95.

Hi babydoll85,

If you don't have money to spare for the editing softwares or for the lighting kit, ten31 suggested and prefer a simpler way, then you might find the tips listed in this blog/guide quite helpful -

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Remember that your product photo is a key factor for potential buyers so make sure you use the best you have!

All the best :)

Thank you all :)

You can use picnik.com to edit and add text into your photo's. It's free and no need to dl anything. I use this for all photos.

fudjj,

Which Adobe Photoshop program do you recommend I get for the type of pictures I am trying to achieve shown in the link above? I went on the website and they have several different ones and I got confused.

Adobe are absolutely top shelf products, but I think to get started one of the free options that are around would be the better way to go. Most should do a decent job and save you the big outlay.

The Gimp program that Frank mentioned might be a good place to start.

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As you progress, you may well find that you develop a keen interest in overall design and at that point you could well consider something more flexible if a free option isn't delivering what you need to move forward.

Marc,
So with this progam can I enlarge a pic thats (300x300px) in size to something much larger without making the pic blurry, below are small pics of hats that I would like to enlarge after copying and pasting, by the way fashionunic.com (the link below) gave me permission to list their items before I buy it from them and they said I can only copy and paste their thumbnail pictures and that they can only give me larger pics after I place an order with them which is dumb and doesnt make any sense cause I need the larger picture first so customers can see it well to actually consider buying it. So its kinda like dropshipping but not really, anywho I was wondering if that program you told me about would let me enlarge small pics and still be nice and clear? Thanks and the is below:

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You will need to work within the original pixel ratio of the image, trying to increase the size will just pixelate and destroy the quality the image, as you have found out from what you have written.

It is a stupid decision for the drop shipper to with hold quality images from you. You make sales, they make sales, so one would imagine they would bend over backwards to provide you with quality marketing material. That said, just because they are in business doesn't mean they are smart unfortunately.

Short of making them see sense, my only suggestion is to find a supplier that does understand how drop shipping actually works, and is prepared to provide quality marketing tools to assist you in making them money.

: )

The issue I have is I don't have a DSLR that will take macros, (up close & personal of jewelry items). Can I just use an image from Google Images & put a note in the description saying 'your item may vary from image'?

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Hi and welcome TXwinelover :) Glad to have you with us!

I think not all sellers have a DSLR for taking product photos so if you have a good digital camera, you should be able to take decent photos especially if you follow the tips suggested in the quoted link above.

But using stock photo from published sites or from Google should be fine. Regardless of the photo source I have noticed a number of sellers adding a note to most of their listings like "Product color may vary due to lighting difference..." or something of the like.

Hope this helps, all the best!

The issue I have is I don't have a DSLR that will take macros, (up close & personal of jewelry items). Can I just use an image from Google Images & put a note in the description saying 'your item may vary from image'?

Yes, not having a macro function does make it hard to get a detailed close up of finer features. As Richelle as suggested, using a generic Google image will be fine. In your listing I would draw the customer's attention to the fact that the display image is in fact a library image only, and is used for display purposes only.

If there is quite a difference between the image and the actual product, then I would also highlight what those differences are or you could have some very unhappy customers after receiving something they feel that they didn't actually bid on.

The issue I have is I don't have a DSLR that will take macros, (up close & personal of jewelry items). Can I just use an image from Google Images & put a note in the description saying 'your item may vary from image'?

Yes, not having a macro function does make it hard to get a detailed close up of finer features. As Richelle as suggested, using a generic Google image will be fine. In your listing I would draw the customer's attention to the fact that the display image is in fact a library image only, and is used for display purposes only.

If there is quite a difference between the image and the actual product, then I would also highlight what those differences are or you could have some very unhappy customers after receiving something they feel that they didn't actually bid on.

Thanks, Marc. After doing some searching online, I think I might have found a way to use my existing digital camera to take the shots.

If that doesn't work out, then there is a camera shop nearby that will rent a Nikon for about $100 a day (lens & body)....

100 a day, woa, I hope you have a lot to photograph TX or that won't be a very cost effective option for you.

Not sure if you use a program like Photoshop or some other such as that, however you can manipulate some good quality digital pics to enhance fine detail with that type of software.

It might be well worth looking at that option, even getting a test copy to try out and get everything done before the test period expires if you don't have a copy.

[quote:25c9cf4d]100 a day, woa, I hope you have a lot to photograph TX or that won't be a very cost effective option for you.

About 250 jewelry pieces....

OK, well you would have to call that cost effective, although it's a lot of work for one day. I would suggest you set up a jig (a stage) so you have the camera locked in position, all your lighting rigged and all you are doing is placing pieces in position and clicking.

I would still encourage you to look at good quality photo editing software, it can be invaluable even if you are taking macro shots.

Happy snapping TX :)

Likewise here are a couple of sites you can also check out for stock photos of various products -

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Cheers!