Taking the perfect photos of the products you sell

Let’s say you have a few products that you want to list on eBay, but you don’t have any pictures of them. So you pull out your phone, snap a few pictures and you’re ready to list them on eBay, right? Wrong.

Invest some time in taking the perfect pictures for your listings! We can’t stress enough how important it is to properly showcase your product. It’s very important to display all the defining elements of the product. It is also very important to match these photos with the product description. If the boots that you want to sell have a special type of sole and you’ve mentioned this in the description, make sure one of your photos showcases the sole of the boot, so the customer can see this feature.

One more thing to remember – if the product that you plan on selling isn’t new and has a few defects, showcase these by taking close-up photos of them. If you sell a smartphone and you mention that the screen is scratched in the description, that’s a very vague explanation. Taking a close-up picture and show it. A picture is worth a thousand words.

A few tips for taking the photos

Make sure the product is clean – This is especially important if the product that you’re selling is used. Give it a good clean before snapping pictures of it.
Do NOT use your flash when taking photos. Seriously. Using the flash will create uneven lighting conditions and will generate shadows, flares and glare. Try to take the photos during daytime in a well-lit place. Natural lighting is the second best option, while the absolute best option would be to take the photos in a dedicated studio, but that might be too much for some sellers.
Use a plain, white background. Don’t have your couch in the background of the photo, it looks unprofessional. Try to set-up a place to take all of your photos, preferably somewhere with a white background. Even a place with a plain white wall will be good. The key aspect here is to not divert the attention from the main subject of the photo (your product) to the background.
Make sure the background contrasts with the image. What do we mean by this? Well, if you sell a white product, and the background is a white wall, the main product will blend in and it won’t be too visible. You want the product to stand out.
Remove any clutter from the photo. If you can’t get a plain, neutral background and you really have to take the photo of the product on your couch, make sure to remove all clutter, such as pillows.
Make sure to take a photo of the product’s accessories and packaging as well. This is extremely important! Highlight any accessories that come bundled with the main product.
Shoot the image at a slight angle. While we’re not trying to be professional photographers, this is a great tip. For your primary photo, you should photograph the item at a slight angle, which will reveal the depth of the object. For the additional photos you will feature in your listing description, you can snap straight-on shots showing the front, back, sides, top and/or bottom.
Shoot the nasty parts as well. Don’t forget to take a picture of any defects or wear and tear that you’ll be mentioning. Contrary to popular belief, this is a good thing. Buyers don’t want to “guess” what the scratch looks like and it avoids surprises after shipping or pickup.
Have the camera steady. We don’t want a blurry photo, that’s literally the last thing we want. Try to have steady hands while taking the photo, and if you still don’t manage – use a tripod for your camera.
Last but not least – don’t “photoshop” your images. What do we mean by that? Don’t over-edit them. Don’t cover up scratches, don’t enhance the colour, etc. However, things such as cropping or adding a tiny bit of extra brightness/light are acceptable.

Take extra shots

Unsure if you took the right photo? Take more photos from the same angle. This is done so you can choose the perfect photo afterwards.

Maybe one of the photos was a bit blurry, but since you’ve taken 3 similar photos, you get to choose a better one. Neat trick, huh?

Here’s another tip – did you know that if you use Ad-Lister, you can download the app the take photos directly from it? Simply download the Ad-Lister app and create a product directly from your phone. Add a title, a description, put a price and take a few photos directly from the Ad-Lister app – then simply list the products on eBay!

And our third tip for the day – watermark your images! Don’t want your competitors stealing your images? Add a watermark to them directly from Ad-Lister.

To sum up

Having high-quality pictures of the products that you’re trying to sell is important. Just as important as a good description and a competitive price.

We are sure that by following these tips you will notice an improvement in your sales. It might take a bit of time and effort to come up with the perfect pictures, but in the end, it will be well worth it.

Taking the perfect photos of the products you sell