Photography Sells on eBay - copyright 2010 by Peter Lerman
Simplify...
There is nothing as counterproductive as including a bunch of visual noise in your product photography. Buyers give photos one quick look and if they can't figure out what you're selling and how wonderful it is right away, they are off to look at something else. That's the reality of the short attention span buyers for whose dollars you are competing. Here is a great (*BAD*) example:
This is a photo I found on eBay (really). It was put there by someone selling (can you guess?) an hourglass. I look at the photo and I can see an hourglass. And I can see a lovely lace-trimmed place mat, a globe, a half-burned candle in a glass holder, two little dishes of who-knows-what on the right. Before you know it, I have lost interest in the... the.... What was I looking for? Oh yeah, the hourglass. Well nevermind. Now I want to go look at globes, or placemats, or candles.
You had your shot at selling me the hourglass and you blew it. You shot yourself in the foot by putting all that "noise" in the photo.
Now it's your turn. Can you see what's wrong with this example (left)? It's another real photo swiped from an actual listing.
[Hint: Bad color, under-exposure, electrical cord dangling in the background, edge of table distracting in shot, item too small in frame, important details lost in shadow, some kind of flower pot off to the left... (shall I go on?)]
My first piece of advice: Simplify! Keep it clean! Loose the distractions. Here's how I do it...
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