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A PICTURE CAN SELL A PRODUCT, no doubt. Just ask any advertiser.

Companies spend millions each year in obtaining the best photographers in the world to show their products in the best light, because they know that a good picture can push a sale better than any advertising slogan.

This holds just as true on Ebay.

Often, when I am looking for a specific product, say a good secondhand digital camera, I will run a search, only to be presented with about fifty different results, all with the same specs, all selling at about the same price. I will then browse through a few of these products, and the one with the best pictures, ones from which I am able to judge the condition of the product, will have my bid. And I'm sure I'm not alone.

This simple fact seems to have escaped so many sellers on Ebay. Too many images are badly lit, have busy distracting backgrounds, and have placed the product too far away from the camera, leaving it small, with details indiscernible.

Fortunately, there are easy ways of getting good images, that will show your product at its best and place it at the top of the shopping list of all the buyers.

Using the principles of still life photography you can easily improve your pictures.

The first thing you need to think about, is the lighting. Having expensive sets of flashguns or dedicated units are certainly an advantage, but good old daylight will be more than sufficient.

Find a space with a big window, with lots of light streaming through it, but do not set up directly in the bright rays, where the light will cast big ugly shadows. Instead, find a spot nearby where there will be enough ambient light to bask your product in beautiful soft light.

Second comes the background. More often than not, you will want this to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible, meaning that you will want an even-toned, neutral colored sheet. I prefer using a large sheet of blank white paper, but there may be circumstances, such as when you are photographing a white object, that you will use a darker color, such as grey or black. You may of course use a large bed sheet, or towel, or even flexible plastic if you prefer.

This backdrop is then placed in position so that the item you want to sell can be placed on top of it, while extending far enough back so that you can lift the back edge, making it form a smooth curve with no creases. It will form both the base and the background.

Now place your product. Your first shot will probably be a frontal view, with the whole of the object showing, but while your instincts might tell you to look at it directly from the front, you are often better off with a "three-quarter view" so that the front of the product is aimed about twenty degrees away from you. This gives a good overall view of the product.

For this particular shot, you will also want to use a camera angle which is about twenty degrees above the object, for similar reasons as above.

In most cases, you will want the flash turned OFF. If you leave it on, it can ruin all your attempts at good lighting. To learn more about using flash in a subtle way, read our flash photography tips

When setting up your camera, zoom the lens as far as you can, which will allow you to be as far away from the product as you possible. This will prevent you and the camera from casting nasty shadows in the picture. Provided, that is, that you do not own a ridiculously long lens, such as a 500mm or equivalent, about 200mm should be fine.

Now, as you look through the viewfinder, or on the LCD screen, make sure that the product fills the frame to the brim, right up to the very edges, always checking the rim of the photograph to ensure that you are not cutting off any details.

Now fire away.

You will, of course, want similar shots of the back of the product, and a few close-ups of details of particular interest, and the rules for all of these are the same.

A word of warning, though, every camera lens has a minimum focussing distance, and you cannot go any closer than your particular lens will allow, or else the product will be out of focus. Your camera may or may not have a "macro" function, (which is often indicated by a icon which looks like to one on the left) that will allow you to get in a little closer.

The closer you get, though the less depth of field you will have. For more on depth of field, click here.

Make sure you get all the important details, including features specific to your product, and shots of the damage you are going to list. This will prevent you dealing with disgruntled customers later.

And voila, good ebay pictures are as easy as ABC.

Continue on to page three for details on dealing with specific tricky situations.

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