What's the hardest thing for you to photograh? Suggestions needed...

[sebw1959]

Sometimes, I just wanna jump up and down and yell at a piece that won't photograph well.  I have a decent camera, a few props, and a small (need a bigger one) photo booth.  Most things photograph well.  But some items just don't do worth a hoot in there.  Outside isn't in the cards right now.  It's been cold and rainy constantly.

I used to think diamonds were the worst.  Not so in the photo booth but angel skin coral and fine jewelry gemstones give me fits.  I've tried everything and I'm still losing a lot of details.  Feel free to look at my listings and you'll know the little devils I'm speaking of.  They're some of my more expensive pieces and I just cannot get them at the level desired or that really shows how pretty they really are.  

Input for working with angel skin coral and/or elaborate cut stones is needed.  Thanks!

[old.crows.nest]

For faceted stones I used to use LED Flashlights pointed a the piece from different positions until I found the best angle. I have seen some posts where a one gallon milk bottle is used as an alternative light box.

[old.crows.nest]

Oh, if your camera has focus options try the "center" not "face". My camera I could center focus and then depress shutter button half way to compose a picture.

[rubiano98]

 The hardest thing for me to photograph is my black cat. Only his eyes show up. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I have an inexpensive light box but so far the only thing I've used it for is antique glass. Some of those pattern and cuttings give me fits.

But for hard to photograph, for me,  are the small pieces of jewelry like earrings, when I want to get a clear, close shot of a signature. Trying to prop the earrings back side up is a challenge.

[scifidaughter64]

Hardest things for me to photograph is anything bright silver or white. Bangle bracelets are next. I have two that I have reshot several time, with different backgrounds and can't get them to shoot well enough to list.

[sebw1959]

Taking photos of Divine Diva Kitty aka Honey is no issue.  Dealing with her pickiness is another matter.  She's 10 years old, weighs 6.2 pounds and is part Siamese.  Small and in charge. 

The macro setting on my camera is great for small things.  I crop in Ebay Editor to get close ups when I don't get an in focus photo zooming in.  Ebay cropping allows better centering for me.   Now sometimes you lose the zoom capability but you can't have everything.

Coral, coral, coral, especially angel skin which I have two expensive pieces of gives me absolute fits.  I lose color and tons of details no matter what.  Yes, I could buy a more expensive camera but I upgraded recently and it didn't fix it.  

One day when it's bright and sunny, lord knows when that will be.  I'll take it outside.  Haven't found anything else that works.  

See, Diva photographs just fine.  😉

[whering660]

Rubiano, try using those nifty little glue dots to hold your earrings and other items. These use them on tv to display rings,  earrings, etc.

Diane

[rubiano98]

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@sebw1959 wrote:

One day when it's bright and sunny, lord knows when that will be.  I'll take it outside.  Haven't found anything else that works.  

Outside on a cloudy day, or outside in the shade, works very well. No reflections, no highs and shadows. Try it.

As for very sparkly things, a light box is probably best. They come with their own lighting, which is excellent for clear, detailed photographs. They can't make up for an iffy lens, though.

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[theshoppingmom2]

I use a Lumix camera.... I have several of the old ones... and love them.... I search eBay and other venues for them as  I am afraid  the ones I have will break and wont be able to find them again.They have a Leica lens and they take amazing pictures! and they are not that expensive

I put the exposure to -2 and use flash or exposure to +2 with no flash

This is what I get with  this camera

exposure -2 with Flash

exposure +2 without flash

no flash 0 exposure close up macro

I just did this now, no natural light at all

[sebw1959]

Whoa, gotta check into that one.

[eclectic_seller_too]

I think your photos look fine, except, in my opinion, there's a lot of unnecessary background in some of them, which makes it difficult to see the item.

I've used IrfanView for years to crop out the background in photos. It's a small, free program, that you can download off the Internet. It's very easy to use.

[mforjan]

The hardest things for me are rhinestone jewelry and silverware.

Rhinestones just don’t seem to photograph well for me, they never look as bright and shiny in photos as they do in real life.

Silverware is tough because of all the reflections. I see myself in almost all the photos!

[rubiano98]

I am on another Ebay discussion board and someone posted a couple of photos yesterday that are incredible in their clarity. I don't know what the camera is, or if the person is a professional photographer, but oh my, these photos really pop. Wanted to share.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Pottery-Glass-Porcelain/Help-with-maker-and-use-for-cranberry-drink-se...