[Mr69]

I've got a ton of stuff I'd like to sell on eBay and I need help from you photography guys.
Is there a special light bulb to use indoors for the best pictures ?
I've got a fairly dark shop and need to set up an area for photos.

Any suggestions on lighting setup ? Background/backdrop, etc.

Seems the best pictures I have ever taken were outside right at dusk on a clear day. How can I simulate this indoors ?

Nate

 

[Johnny O]

I just use two of those cheap reflectors that you can buy at a hardware store or home depot...you know, the clamp on type that you can put any regular bulb in...I use one for the main lighting, and the second for fill in light, either from the side or top, wherever it looks right. Nice thing about them is that you dont have to set up much of a studio to do your pics. I use a card table with a cloth over it, and draped up over something attached to the back. (you need a plain background, and not the same color as your items for sale) If you go to Home Depot or a big store, look over the light bulbs, they have a daylight type bulb that looks good in pics, I think they're the same as a grow light for plants.

 

[Xtreme70SS396]

Depends on what quality pictures you want. I'm the CFO of a photography company, one of the names we do business as is Smith-Victor. Smith-Victor sells to dealers like Ritz Camera and has a light tent kit that's about as cheap as you'll find to get professional results.

If you have a lot of stuff to sell on ebay, it might be worth the $150 to you. The bulbs are daylight colored for best results, and for items that will fit inside the light tent you will not get better photos - no glare of any kind, just a clean picture. I'm not a photographer, so that's about the limit of what I can tell you. If you want more info I can ask some of the professionals here.

Here's a link at Ritz: http://www.ritzcamera.com/product/301780987.htm

 

[Andy69]

I've got a ton of stuff I'd like to sell on eBay and I need help from you photography guys.
Is there a special light bulb to use indoors for the best pictures ?
I've got a fairly dark shop and need to set up an area for photos.

Any suggestions on lighting setup ? Background/backdrop, etc.

Seems the best pictures I have ever taken were outside right at dusk on a clear day. How can I simulate this indoors ?

Nate

Heck Nate. I wouldn't go to too much trouble. I sell a lot of small items and all I do is use a light grey or off-white sheet or piece of felt as a backdrop over whatever ase I use (usually a rubbermaid container against the wall), then take pics with our Canon Powershot digital. Most of the time I just take them in a well-lit room, and the flash from the camera will fill in.

Here is one of my old auctions, to get an idea of what they look like:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6258474769&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESO:IT&rd=1

The key I've found is to have presentable photos. They don't have to be perfect, but they do need to be clear and well lit, and of sufficient resolution. They also need to show all aspects of the item and any flaws or imperfections if any. The biggest key I've found is to make the photos take up all the available space on the auction page i.e. big enough to fill up a 15 inch monitor but not so big as to make the veiwer have to scroll from side to side. I've found 850 pixels wide to display nearly perfectly on my 15-inch iMac. Oh, and if you have any flat items like books or photos, it's best to use a scanner.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Andy

 

[Mr69]

ok all good advice guys.
I guess I'm looking for what kind of bulbs to use.
I've done some research on the internet last night and I see that professional photographers use big reflectors (12") with diffusers and 500w tungsten photo flood bulbs.
I guess what I am looking for is specifically what kind of bulb/reflector/diffuser setup to use in a dark building.

I've been thinking of using a small table I have. It's stainless and built very solid. Lay down a colored cover (maybe red or blue)? and create a backdrop with the same.

Initially I was thinking I needed to hang some 8" flourescent lights overhead, but now I see that concentrated lighting mounted on either side of the table might be best ???

So, do I need to buy these 500w bulbs or ???
Learning as I go here........

The tent idea I have seen too, but I don't think it's going to be practical for me. I have approx 400 cyl heads to sell and I can't see hefting each one in and out of there. Much less a crank or a block.

Nate