eBay held Beginning and Advanced photography sessions at the annual eBay Live user conference last month. This year, David Wygant of eBay and Alan Reed of H.P. presented the classes. (Last year, the photography session was hosted by Nikon.) This year's conference included a computer lab, where space was restricted and filled rapidly.

Beginning-Photography Session
Trying to cover any photography topic in a few hours is extremely difficult. Add to that challenge the use of computers and Internet and weeks could be spent. The attendees for the Beginning Photography session ranged from novice to professional, and as a result the Q&A portion of the session rapidly turned to advanced imaging problems such as image capture of difficult objects, resolution and quality.

Some questioners had computer questions the really were more Windows related rather than directly related to photography. As a result, some novice attendees felt that the session was too technical and the more advanced attendees asked questions that probably would be normal topics for the advanced session. Personally, I liked the Nikon session better last year. It seemed that there were more real time demonstrations involving lighting, close focus and background control.

Key items of the presentation relative to eBay sales:

• 90% of all auctions on eBay have images.
  
• 83% of buyers skip auctions w/o images.
  
• eBay surveys have determined that gallery images increase bidding activity 15% and that supersizing photos increase final sales value by 24%.
  
• Descriptions with slow download times are frequently abandoned before downloads are successful.
  

Keys to achieving good pictures include:

• Use of a solid non-conflicting background to emphasize the item.
  
• Using natural light if possible and taking pictures early or late in the day when lighting is best. Also, cloudy or rainy days are also good picture opportunities.
  
• Isolate the object (remove clutter around or behind the item).
  
• Focus carefully and use the macro mode for close-up pictures. If lighting is low, then use a tripod to prevent camera shake and blurred images.
  
• Rotate images and crop.
  
• Resize images and adjust pixel count to speed uploads and downloads.
  

Uploading tips:

• Save photos with a descriptive name.
  
• Don't forget the file extension (e.g., jpeg).
  
• Keep the file size small (use 1 mega pixel level for pictures).
  
• Use eBay picture services
  
• Crop and rotate are possible and soon brightness and contrast will be supported.
  

Beginning-Photography Q&A Goodies

• Use GE blue colored light bulbs indoors to simulate natural lighting.
  
• Digital photo achievability can exceed 100 years if HP inks and papers are used.
  

Advanced-Photography Session
The Advanced Photography session was scheduled in the last time slot of the last day (just before the wrap-up Gala event). Over 500 people attended this session, demonstrating just how important sellers and buyers in eBay consider the use of photographs.

Many of the attendees had not attended the Beginning Photography session that was scheduled for the first time slot of the first day of the conference. The presenters said copies of the presentations will be available on the eBay Live Web site.

The majority of the material presented in the Advanced Photography session was also incorporated into the Beginning Photography session.

The Advanced session did expand upon some of the topics.

• During the discussion of solid backgrounds for photos, specific colors were mentioned: Medium gray, black, white, and blue. The background color should be chosen to make the object stand out and command attention. Try different background colors until the desired effect is achieved. Don't use a color, such as bright red, that might dominate the image and take the viewers attention away.
  
• Buyers want image clarity, color accuracy, detail, and multiple views. Photos convey to the buyer informational and emotional values that impact the purchase decision. Gallery image displays with multiple thumbnails increase listing conversions to sales by 10% to 15%.
  
• In addition to great product photos, impact descriptions also help to drive sales. The Wedding Guy auction is a perfect example. The photos certainly helped to display the wedding dress, but the descriptive narrative turned the listing into an Internet phenomenon.
  
• In addition to photos and an impact description, The Wedding Guy auction also used a live model. A pair of pants or a pair of shoes will look better on a model than lying flat on any background. The model does not have to appear full length to be effective...focus on the area of interest.
  
• Use GE blue bulbs (a suggestion from the Beginning Photography Q&A session). Also, use halogen bulbs with blue filters to provide "natural" light focus on objects.
  

At the end of the prepared material, Sam Sokol of CloudDome http://www.clouddome.com demonstrated the use the CloudDome product and also added some very welcome technical information. CloudDome was an exhibitor at the conference and Dave Wygant (eBay) was very clear in announcing to attendees that other vendors were also at the exhibit with products that help sellers take great product pictures.

In addition to providing products to help sellers take better photos, the CloudDome group provides seminars on taking pictures and using photo software. Some of Sam Sokol's key points were:

• Auto White Balance: many newer cameras offer multiple settings for white balance. Choose one that provides the best results with the light source in use.
  
• Stabilize the camera to avoid "shake and blur." The use of tripods or the CloudDome approach can be effective.
  
• Under one to three feet (depending upon camera model) use the macro mode (flower symbol) to keep the item in focus. Most new cameras can focus down to several inches in macro mode. This is important if you want to show detail important to the item such as the 14K symbol in jewelry.
  
• Use the camera timer to release the shutter. This will also reduce camera shake.
  

Advanced-Photography Q&A Goodies

• Some sellers have had problems with photos in Gallery. Usually this occurs because the seller already reduced the size and pixel count of the photo. Then, in Gallery eBay automatically resizes the photo and this results in poor image quality. It is better to upload a 1 megapixel photo and let eBay work with that image size.
  
• White balance can be customized if the camera presets do not work with the available light. Place a sheet of white paper where the object will be during the photo and then use the camera settings to create a customized white balance.
  
• Depth of Field can become a problem with macro setting. For instance, the top of a ring may be in focus but the mounting will not be in focus. Two solutions are to use manual settings to control the camera f-stop to maximize the depth of field or to take multiple images to show the detail for each area.

Final Comments
Overall, the session would have benefited from the use of real time displays and more examples. The old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words, was used during the session to describe the value of photos, and the same could be said for the session. With that exception, the session did provide valuable information. Hopefully, next year there will be multiple sessions each day with carefully focused subject material that is clearly described in the conference agenda to help guide attendees into the best sessions.