Anyone who has ever used a camera has at some point had trouble taking a good picture. It happens to everybody, and if you're like me and forgot to major in photography while in college, then you probably get as frustrated as I do when you take picture after picture and never seem to get a good one.

When it comes to online auctions, the inability to take quality pictures of your items can literally be the death of your business. In an online marketplace where the buyers cannot touch the products they want to buy, the two things that sell are Picture and Description. But if you have a crappy picture or worse not picture at all, you are sabotaging yourself and losing money.

Lucky for me (and lucky for you) I have a friend who did major in photography in college and now makes his living as a professional photographer. The lucky part is that he agreed to help me create a simple guide for helping people like me learn how to take high quality pictures of their items.

The rest of this section is dedicated to helping you take better pictures of your auction items.

Get the Right Equipment

When my friend started the guide with the above words I got scared, visions of shelling out thousands of dollars for high tech equipment went running through my head. Fortunately he quickly put my fears to rest by telling me that you can get professional results without the super high dollar gear.

Digital Camera
Get yourself a good digital camera. With digital cameras you get what you pay for, so we suggest a camera in the $200-$300.00 range, your picture quality is much better. We also suggest that you get a camera that can be plugged into a power outlet; this will save you from having to buy expensive batteries. Search eBay and uBid for great deals on digital cameras.

Picture Storage Capacity
Consider your cameras memory storage capacity. Some cameras come with a small memory stick that can only hold 8-12 pictures. If that's the case then you may want to consider buying a larger memory stick. The most common memory stick capacities are 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB, and 1Gig. I recommend a 32-mega bite or larger memory stick.

Why a digital camera?

• A digital camera allows you to transfer your pictures quickly and easily to your computer, no more having to wait for your film to develop.
• A digital camera allows you to take as many pictures as you want with no film cost, so you can be more free to experiment with different conditions and angles to get the best picture and not have to worry about wasting film.
• Digital cameras have better focusing and imaging programs built into them so they take better pictures in low or harsh light. A big plus for beginners.

Tripod
While this is not necessary a tripod will help you take clearer and more focused pictures. A tripod is also very handy if you have or plan to have a dedicated photography workstation set up in your home. That way everything is always set up, and all you have to do is put your item in front of the camera and shoot.

Shooting your Image

This is where trial and error comes in. Every cameras different and so is each lighting condition and photographer. Therefore the best way to get good pictures is to experiment with your camera. Use the following information to help you achieve professional quality images.

Move in Closer Optically and Digitally
It is always a great idea to move or zoom in closer to your subject. Almost any scene will benefit from you taking two steps forward. However, with digital cameras, there is a catch. As much as you may be tempted to use the powerful digital zoom on your camera, avoid it. The image quality is much better when you move in closer using either the "sneaker" technique (walking up to your subject) or using the optical zoom on your camera. Avoid the digital zoom.

Streamline Your Image
Turn off the Date Function and any other fluffy features that the manufacturer gives you. If you really want to remember when the photo was shot, use another method such as naming your digital file with the date in the name or, if worse comes to worse, writing the date down in a notebook as you are out shooting. The idea is to eliminate distracting elements whenever you can.

Use A Tripod
Without the control of shutter speed, many cameras shoot too slow and end up capturing a blurry image. If you can adjust your ISO setting and you are consistently getting soft pictures, push up a stop or two. If you are stuck with whatever ISO equivalent your camera features, use a tripod. Combine a tripod with a remote or a self-timer for optimal results.

Anticipate The Moment
Since many digital cameras suffer from a delay when you press the shutter button, practice getting faster and faster to the draw.

If you are shooting anything active, make sure you press the shutter button down long before your subject is at its optimal position. You may need to take many pictures to make up for the error factor.

Rely on Available Light
Get away from that on-camera flash whenever possible. Only turn to it when: You are shooting in bright conditions and simply need a wee bit of fill flash; or You have no alternative but to rely on your on-camera flash. Turning to reflectors and using available light as much as possible will yield great results.

Look at the light, by this, I don't mean look into the sun - no, that won't do at all. But it is good to see what kind of light you are working with. Which way are the shadows falling? Unless you want a silhouette effect, where your subject is black against an interesting background, it's generally best to shoot with the sun behind you.

How is the light affecting your subject? Is the subject squinting?

Is the light blazing directly and brightly upon your whole subject? This works well if you are in love with the bold colors of your subject.

Side lighting, on the other hand, can add drama but can also cause extreme, hard-to-print contrasts.

Lastly, indirect light can be used to make your subject glow soft and pretty.

Use the LCD Monitor
Practice, take a shot, look at it. Given you cannot see a full size version of the image, you can still often see enough to know about major problems. For example, you will see right away if the flash did not fire or if you were a little off center.

Even if you don't plan on selling your photo to the Smithsonian, make every effort to keep it balanced and beautiful. On one level or another, everyone responds better to a picture that has all elements in balance. Even if you don't plan on selling your photo to the Smithsonian, make every effort to keep it balanced and beautiful. On one level or another, everyone responds better to a picture that has all elements in balance.

• Keep the horizon level.
• Crop out extra elements that you are not interested in.
• Consciously place your subject where you think it most belongs rather than just accepting it wherever it happens to land in the photo.

Focus on your subject Practice shooting with different apertures and monitor the results from the lab to learn how depth-of-field effects your photo.

You will find that a smaller depth-of-field (and smaller f-stop #) focuses all the attention upon your subject. This is great for taking a picture of your child, your dog, or your husband - subjects stand out against a blurry background.

Likewise, you will find that a greater depth-of-field (bigger f-stop number) will make everything from here to eternity appear in focus. This will help make those landscapes fascinating and lovely.

You will also want to become familiar with the way your camera focuses. If it is a simple point and shoot camera, you will likely indicate which part of the picture to focus on by following these steps:

1. Aim so the object you want in sharp focus is in the center of the viewfinder.
2. Press the shutter button down half-way and hold it.
3. Move your camera until you have the composition you like best
4. Press the button down the rest of the way to take the picture.

Keep it Simple
While you may wish to have "all the bells and whistles" available just in case, you will probably get the best results if you do not try to use them all the time and instead learn a simple set up that works best for you in most situations.

This doesn't necessarily mean keeping your camera set on "Program" - while this mode may be perfect in its simplicity, it may be frustrating in its tyrannical control.

Instead of relying on a fully automatic program, pick a simple, semi-automatic program such as aperture-priority and master shooting in that mode. Then, you'll be able to control certain basics without letting the other basics control you, and thus keep that 150-page manual where it belongs - in your camera bag.

Crop and Compress Your Images
After you transfer your picture to your computer, you need to open each picture in some type of imaging program like paint shop pro or photoshop and crop all the wasted and unnecessary space in your photos. This does two things. First it helps the viewer focus on the item and second it makes the image file smaller.

Next you need to use some compression software, I recommend JPEG MAGIC to compress your image to the smallest possible size without sacrificing picture quality. The reason you do this is because each image you have on your listing causes your ad to load slower and the average internet surfer will only give your page 12 seconds to load before they move on. Therefor it is very important to compress your photos. NOTE: Be careful when choosing a image compression tool, many of the free compression tools on the internet destroy and damage your image file, and they will not display well in you auction ads.

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