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10 Top Secrets to Creating Incredible Photographs of Jewelry for Your Online Auctions With Guaranteed Higher Sales and Profit Results
My name is Candy and I have been a buyer and seller of antique and vintage costume and fine jewelry on eBay for 12 years and more recently on Vintagel Gems Emporium the Premier and Exclusive Auction Boutique for Antique, Vintage and New Costume and Fine Jewelry at www.VintageGemsEmporium.com. Over the years I have discovered the ten essential secrets to getting fabulous photos for online jewelry auctions.
I took photography for three semesters in college as it was required for my degree in interior architecture, The camera I used was a Nikon 35mm and TriX black and white film. As part of the photography course work, composition, focus, contrast, and more were stressed to creating the perfect architectural photograph. Now I am by no means a professional photographer but I have discovered the secrets to getting better than average, attractive and attention-getting photos of jewelry so that the buyer will take a second look.
Of course now the 35mm is primarily used solely by the true artists and the digital camera has taken over. I currently own three Sony Mavica CD1000 cameras… why three you ask, well I love the camera so much I bought three so I would always have one that works. When I am up to full speed in listing auctions I am taking close to 1000 frames a week, so as you can see my cameras get a work out. The Sony Mavica CD1000 is no longer available but is unique in that instead of having a memory disc it actually records the images inside the camera on CD-R disc, which can be easily snapped into an adaptor and popped into the drive and the images are ready to be enhanced and turned into jpegs to be uploaded onto the auction site.
The program I prefer to use to touch up my images is Microsoft Picture It!! as it is very user friendly and has all of the bells and whistles that I need. When using any image enhancement program be sure to not overdo the touch up or you will have a lot of disappointed buyers when they receive an item and it does not come close to looking like what they saw on the auction.
Over the past eight years I have discovered the following 10 secrets to taking incredible photographs of jewelry and of course these secrets would also work for anything that is small in size, such as coins, stamps, baseball cards, cabinet and post cards and more.
SECRET # 1: Most jewelry (bracelets, pins, brooches, necklaces, earrings and sets) is either a gold or a silver finish (whether real or not) and having sets or not all look great on a black background. I prefer black velvet in that due to the nature of the fabric it will not reflect light and actually absorbs the light around the object and it is also very easy to touch up should a spec of dust, dirt or hair end up in the photo.
SECRET #2: Unlike the jewelry discussed above, wristwatches and pieces of jewelry where there is great detail in the hardware or complexity to the face with the writing and all, photograph better on an off-white or cream velvet background. The velvet again will not reflect the light and is a soft texture as a backdrop to the hard edges of the watch or other detailed pieces.
SECRET #3: Do not photograph the item looking down on it, you will create shadows and light distortions on the piece of jewelry. The best way to photo most jewelry is where it rests against something (a box underneath the velvet) that puts the item parallel to you when you are at eye level with the item. In other words, sit down at the table where you will be photographing and prop the item up so that you are looking directly at it. The photo will not distort or keystone the item and the items shape will be portrayed correctly and it will more than likely be in focus.
SECRET #4: To add drama to the photograph composition, lay the item down on its back and shoot from a side angle and this will give the item an interesting perspective. Be careful, however if you see that only a small amount of the item (especially when photographing necklaces or bracelets) appears to be in focus, just slightly raise the camera and then most of the item will be in focus.
SECRET #5: My cameras and most decent digital cameras have five things that are truly essential when photographing small items like jewelry. The first and second are Auto Focus and Steady Shot… make sure both are on. The third is a Close Up feature to get within an inch of the item to the capture detail. The fourth is how many Pixels the photo will have. Pixels are simply a dot matrix and the more dots per inch the more detail the photo will have. So if given a choice use the 1600 pixel setting or as close to it as possible. The fifth is White Balance, and this will allow you to balance the coloring of the photo by being able to have more yellow on golden pieces and less yellow and more white on silver and rhinestone pieces.
SECRET #6: The best light to show the brilliance of sets and quality of the metallic finish is a combination of Halogen and Incandescent. Halogen is the whitest light there is and incandescent adds just slight pinkish tone to the overall lighting. Fine jewelry stores use halogen lamps inside their showcases that is why you can not resist trying on that $25,000. diamond ring. What I use is a cheap gooseneck desk lamp that came with a halogen bulb and I place it behind the item to be photographed. My overhead lighting is a mix of halogen and incandescent bulbs. Halogen bulbs that fit into standard lamp sockets are available at most homestores and are about $7.00 – $10.00 each but they last up to two years and a 50 watt halogen gives off the equivalent of what a 100watt incandescent does so you save money on electricity.
SECRET #7: When you are listing an auction online you have a blank canvas basically to put your photo into… well think of this not as a blank canvas but as a billboard. Crop the photo as much as you can so that the billboard you are creating is not a lot of blank ground space (no money there) but is filled with the image of what you are selling. In the sort, your photos will stand out since there is not alot of red, white or whatever everyone else is using as their backdrop.
SECRET #8: When photographing your item try as closely as possible for it to be in a square format. In other words, not a rectangle. If the item is long and thin as with bracelets or soem pins, put it at a 45% angle so that when it is cropped it will be a square shape. Again in the sort it will stand out and make for a more interesting photo of the piece. I also sometimes photograph even a perfectly square pin tilted on the diagonal and then still crop it to a square and this is also a stunning way to show the item.
SECRET #9: There are basically three types of photos that sell the item. An Overall, a Close Up and a photo of the Back. Well for a low cost item where you do not have much opportunity for much profit let one photo do the trick… and most cases it should be the close-up, this will answer most buyers questions as to color, details and size. If there is more opportunity for profit then use all three and show the closeup first so it will be the one in the sort and the other two will be within the auction for more clarity. I also feel that holding the item in the close-up is a great idea for two reasons… it does a better job of showing scale and size than say a “25 cent quarter” and also the coloring of the piece is accentuated by the fleshtone of your hand by giving the buyer an idea of how it would look on.
SECRET #10: Finally the last secret I have to share. DO NOT OVER FOCUS OR OVER TOUCH UP!!!! Quite literally over focusing (accomplished by overdoing the contrast) HURTS your buyer’s eyes and gives them a headache and they will RUN from your auction as soon as they can. Overdoing on the touch up is also not good as this is deception.Making an item more gold or more whatever than it really is is deceiving the buyer into thinking they are buying something other than what you have to sell. Now there is nothing wrong if the photo is too bright and you need to enhance the color of the goldtone, but literally hold the piece up to the screen of your computer and make sure they look alike.Your customers will have faith and trust in what you sell and will be abck many times.
Well as stated I am not a professional photographer nor do I claim to be one, but I have over the past 8 years probably shot almost 500,000 images … now why do I bring this up… well when I took photography why back when, my professor told us to be prepared to throw away almost 80% of what we shot, as they were not going to be good. And today the same thing applies to this subject, be picky about what you show for your auctions, the time and care you take will reap more sales, higher sales and more profit. Good Luck and Happy Shooting!!!!
By the way for more jewelry tips and to buy and sell on what will soon become the place for Antique and Vintage Costume and Fine Jewelry come see me and others at VINTAGE GEMS EMPORIUM at www.virtualgemsemporium.com. See you there.
About the Author:
My name is Candace Daugherty and I live near Charleston, South Carolina. I am an entrepreneur and have worked as a retail design and marketing consultant with many internationally known retailers and fashion designers over the past 30 years. I hold a BS degree in Interior Design from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA.
My passion however is Antique and Vintage Costume and Fine Jewelry. I have collected jewelry for over 35 years and own many incredibly fabulous book pieces as shown in the many jewelry price guides authored by Harrice Simons Miller, Roseanne Ettinger, Jeannene Bell and others.
I love Victorian, Art Nouveau and Edwardian pieces and have been fortunate to find many wonderful and highly collectible pieces right here in my own backyard of Charleston, SC. I have a special fondness as most do for Miriam Haskell, DeMario, Schiaparelli, Alfred Philippe, Staret, McClelland-Barclay, Pennino and more and have found wonderful ways to put my hands on these pieces at a fraction of what most retailers or collectors could ever expect.
Since September 15, 2008 I along with three others have founded the first of its kind, an exclusive auction boutique for antique, vintage and new costume and fine jewelry. We started Vintage Gems Emporium at www.vintagegemsemporium.com with three concepts in mind. One, a special boutique environment in an Auction Venue just for the collector and specialist of antique and vintage costume and fine jewelry. Two, to be the lowest cost auction or fixed price venue on the internet. And three to put the entire Vintage Gems Emporium community first with unbelievable customer service and fair equal treatment of all trading partners.
My name is Candace Daugherty and I live near Charleston, South Carolina. My passion is Antique and Vintage Costume and Fine Jewelry. I have collected jewelry for over 35 years and own many incredibly fabulous book pieces. I love Victorian, Art Nouveau and Edwardian pieces and have been fortunate to find many wonderful and highly collectible pieces right here in my own backyard of Charleston, SC.
Wall Mounted Wine Rack – Show Off Your Vintage Proudly
For many people, give them a good vintage bottle of wine and their in what I call euphoric bliss. In order to truly understand why wine is so popular around the world, you would have to collect wine as a hobby. Then after years of personal experience tasting a variety of different wines you would become what is known as a wine connoisseur.
For those of you, and you know who you are, who have collections of fine wine in your home, you are aware that you must store you wine properly in order to preserve the quality of your collection. It is far too easy to let a fabulous vintage turn to vinegar in no time at all.
For those of you who are just starting out, you need to know what you have to do in order to keep your bottled wine from spoiling. It is often said that ignorance is bliss, but ignore your collection of fine wine by standing the bottles straight on a shelf and you will soon see (and taste) how good wine is not supposed to taste.
For the novice wine collector, you are the individual who has a need to know that you have to preserve the cork in the wine bottle by placing the bottle on its side. This will keep the cork from drying out and breaking the seal to the precious wine inside.
You must also know that keeping wine at a cool temperature is a must. Temperatures too warm or too cook will damage your wine. The result is an embarrassing moment when you have friends over, you pop open a treasured vintage and a distasteful expression appears on their faces.
None of this will ever happen if you take good care of your wine collection. An easy way to take care of your vintage wine is to store your wine on a wall mounted wine rack. These wall mounted wine racks are easy to install. Depending on the amount of wine bottles in your collection, you have a variety of sizes, styles and features to make each and every wine bottle in your collection extremely happy to live a long and tasteful life.
So now let’s go over your options and you can see for yourself what type of wall mounted wine rack best fits into your wine collecting lifestyle.
I’m going to start with the Cioso wall-mounted wine bottle holder. This simple straight vertical bar wine bottle holder has eight rings integrated into the bar. There are, of course, enough rings to hold eight bottles of wine by inserting the bottle neck.
If you have a larger collection of vintage wine, then the Deluxe wine & glass wall wine r rack may be something that you may be interested in. This 3-tiered wrought iron wine rack has three shelves that hold 4 bottles per shelf. Also, the bottom of this rack is a wine glass holder that holds the wine glasses upside down by sliding the inverted glass base into the provided slots. Very decorative.
For my last example today, let’s take a look at the Series Twenty-Seven bottle wall mounted wine rack. You guessed it. This wall mounted unit holds 27 bottles of your prime vintage. Much like the Cioso wall-mounted wine bottle holder, this wall mounted rack boasts superior air flow, so all bottles will receive the proper temperature although they are stored three bottles side by side and nine rows tall. Perfect wall mounted unit for slightly larger wine collections.
If you are looking to store larger collections of wine, you might want to look into floor standing wine racks.
Wall mounted wine racks serve two purpose. They help keep your vintage wine from spoiling over time. They also can add a decorative charm to a kitchen or dining room. Those of you who have a passion for fine wine will want to have a wall mounted wine rack in order to show off your good taste.
Barbara Tobiasz is an expert in interior/exterior decorating. Along with her husband Joe, they own and operate Wall-Decor-Concepts.com. For more information on Wall Mounted Wine Racks, go to Wall Accessories at: http://www.Wall-Decor-Concepts.com
Early Vintage Computer Buses Have Their Influences On Your Computer Today
The term “expansion bus “is a frequent term in vintage computer terminology which requires elaboration. Much of the legacy of vintage bus systems are in our current computer systems today.
To begin with the “expansion bus” is a data highway for computer data information to travel on: the bandwidth is in essence the number of lanes. The bigger the bandwidth the more data can be sent. As examples, an 8 megabyte bandwidth means that data can be sent in 8 bits chunks. Our current systems use between 32 bit and now 64 bit bandwidth.
An expansion bus is where cards connect to the computer; Cards have an expansion edge, which fits snugly into the bus much like an electrical plug fits into a wall socket.
When cards are plugged into the bus, they communicate with the system, sometimes through the BIOS and others not. (The BIOS is the basic input /output system that tells the computer how to move data from the different components.) The 8, 16 or 32 bit bandwidth is an important consideration due to communication time between the cards. For example you have a 16 bit vintage 286 PC and it is sending out data at 16 bits a: your video card is also 8 bits. If you have an older 8 bit bus, such as in early IBM PCs and clones, the bus will become a bottleneck in the system; it is like having a 4 lane highway connected to another 4 lane highway by way of a 1 lane road. At most times regardless of the faster 4 lane highway traffic will be slow – limited by the single lane connection road.
There were basically 3 types of expansion bus available in vintage computers: ISA, MCA, EISA systems.
Each early development in major ways paved the way for the later systems which indeed we take for granted today. This was both in terms of hardware and basic concepts in our computer systems and technology as well as computer marketing that we take for granted today as simple basic facts of life without any consideration due.
Basically the newer buses offered increased performance over the older technology buses.
The basic explanations of the buses are as follows:
The 3 bus standards to note were Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) .Micro Channel Channel Architecture (MSA) and Extended Industry Standard (EISA) bus systems.
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). This was the original AT bus also called an ISA bus. It was the original 8 bit IBM PC bus which was bumped up to 16 bits at some point in its later development. Fine for a 16 bit 286 or very early 386 computers
Micro Channel Architecture (MSA). This was an early 32 bit bus system which was not received well but set the stage for an industry consortium of the major non IBM computer manufacturers ( at the time referred to as “The Group of Nine) to develop the EISA standard bus.
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA). The EISA bus standard was a standard of its own right which was 32 bit, included bus mastering and importantly remained compatible with previous older expansion cards. 32 bit systems were first to incorporate in later 386 systems. The 486 line solidified and standardized the 32 bit systems in the established software of the day.
Backward compatibility at the time was a novel new concept which has remained an important consideration in the computer industry.
EISA slots would accommodate both the ISA and EISA expansion slots to allow hardware upgrades, However the EISA expansion boards would be of little advantage and would seldom work in the older ISA expansion slots.
On the other hand the Micro Channel setup was not backward compatible. On the one hand the Micro Channel developers were free to initiate new radical changes in computer development and hardware which would have allowed for major new useful features in computer software. However owners of previous systems would have been left with then obsolete vintage useless hardware which would have been of no use and certainly little financial value.
Hence there was a lot of resistance to the Micro Channel bus setup.
It died a lingering death with its legacy living on in the aspirations of features offered in future developments and standards.
Thus the die was set for future hardware standards and software function as well as standard computer marketing concepts that we take for granted like mother’s milk today.
Arthur Z. Felon
Vintage Computer Historian
Vintage Computer Manuals
http://www.badgerlinux.net
http://www.vintagecomputermanuals.com