topic Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK? in Selling

Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:32:41 GMT

I'm trying to photograph some things to list this afternoon and I'm having big issues. I'm really having issues with purple things, they keep showing up as royal blue. I only have the camera on my newish Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, which normally is spot on with colours, to the point I rarely need to do any touch ups before listing. Even before I take the photo, they are showing up as blue on the screen. I have tried flash, no flash, artificial lighting (LED torch) with flash and no flash. The light coming in from outside is virtually non existant as it's pouring rain and probably about to snow, so quite dark for 2.20pm.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get my phone to recognise purple as purple? If not, I'm wondering if it's OK to use a stock photo, making sure I mention that the main photo is a stock photo, then add a couple of the carppy photos so people can see the actual item they would be buying, even though the colour is wrong?

Thank you wonderful people!

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

*crikey*mate* — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:45:18 GMT

I had that probklem with red stuff the other day...

went away eventually...

I did what you suggested - use a stock photo showing true colour and tyhen photos of the actual item etc

also if something has sparkly bits or gets light reflection - I'll include a stock photo then as well

I THINK I saw somewhere a policy about using stock photos though - will have to have a squizz

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

essel_emporium — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:48:46 GMT

I had noticed slightly different colours of an object depending upon different background colours. Thetype of light source will affect the outcome too, but you've experimented. It may be the consequence of having a poor quality camera. I feel convinced that's my probem. It could be awkward if someone is buying something based on the colour. If that's the case it may be worthwhile putting a standard colour in the photo as well; like a paint colour card. That way the punter can go to a hardware store and get the same colour card and see the exact colour. So long as you tell them what the colour card code is.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

*crikey*mate* — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 04:49:24 GMT

Picture policy

Note it says can't use for used items etc

BUT

as eBay has a stock photo album for things such as books which some sellers do use for second hand books - I think that rule means, with no other pictures or something to say - this isn't the actual item, it just shows you an example.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

aussie-picker — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:14:03 GMT

Why dont you try what we used to do back in the old days . Use a normal digital camera and or scanner for best results.

Stock Photos Suck if selling Second Hand Items , you need to put each one on individualy to be Honest and Fair to buyers

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:25:13 GMT

Thanks guys!!! Now I have to hope I can find a photo!

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

chezzy — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:29:45 GMT

@aussie-picker wrote:
Why dont you try what we used to do back in the old days . Use a normal digital camera and or scanner for best results.

Stock Photos Suck if selling Second Hand Items , you need to put each one on individualy to be Honest and Fair to buyers

Agree here, you can pick up a decent compact digi pretty cheap these days. It is almost criminal how cheap some good cameras, including dSLRs go for. Take your pics, pop memory card in card reader or straight into computer. You don't have to have Photoshop or Lightroom, there are some good freebie programs around which I am sure will help with colour correction too. Sounds like you need to add more warmth (red) or remove blue. I am pretty use to tweaking colour channels to get something closer to how it is in real life. You can edit til the cows come home but the viewer might see the colours differently anyway especially if their monitor/screen is not calibrated.

Yep, MUCH better to supply your own photos that represent the actual item.

I don't know what the current situation is on ebay but when I quizzed them about stock photos recently I am fairly sure they said they are looking to do away with stock photos.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 05:28:31 GMT

@aussie-picker wrote:
Why dont you try what we used to do back in the old days . Use a normal digital camera and or scanner for best results.

Stock Photos Suck if selling Second Hand Items , you need to put each one on individualy to be Honest and Fair to buyers

My old 10yo digital camera packed it in and I haven't had a scanner for years. My items are mostly listed as new. They've either been in boxes or drawers since I bought them (I had good intentions, and we know what can happen to good intentions LOL!).

I'm hoping to get a new camera when I get my tax cheque back.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

aussie-picker — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 06:07:12 GMT

A cheap digital camera in good natural light will beat a Dumb Phone hands down any day , for Great Ebay Pics

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

chezzy — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 06:29:17 GMT

@aussie-picker wrote:
A cheap digital camera in good natural light will beat a Dumb Phone hands down any day , for Great Ebay Pics

I am not a smart phone user but I know they are getting pretty advanced and people have fun playing with their apps.

I am a keen photographer so I tend to use SLRs for a lot of things. But when it comes to ebay I use my trusty little

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-n1 which is probably about 9-10 years old and with its touch screen is pretty advanced for

its age! It does pretty decent macro too! I always keep it in my pocket and is constantly used for ebay photos,

for photographing parcels I am sending off (record of date and packaging, address etc), even photographing

receipts etc because it is quicker than scanning...

As I have never used a phone for doing ebay stuff I don't how the processes compare (getting photos off the device, editing the photos, drafting/uploading listings etc)

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

digital*ghost — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:10:01 GMT

Check your phone settings and see if you have any filters or other settings that will adjust the tone of the image - look for something like a warm filter (red based), with purples, sometimes I had better luck with the cool filter (blue-based), even though it was coming up as too blue already.

If you can edit them on a PC, try using Windows Gallery or PhotoFiltre (both free) to adjust the colours - Windows Gallery is pretty simplistic, and you can adjust colours with temperature and hue, and PhotoFiltre is a little more advanced but the effects are more dramatic, so I tend to find something that works well in WG for one photo won't work as well in PF for the same image, and vice versa.

Often, I'll take the image on a white backgroud, adjust the colours on the computer so that the item itself looks right, then touch up the background of the image to make it white again in PicMonkey (free online tool for the basic stuff, can also be used to edit colours, temperatures etc if needed).

If you're still at a loss, feel free to send me a pic to see if I can do anything with it - I used to touch up pics sometimes for another seller a while back, no guarantees, my skills are still pretty basic but I'm happy to give it a shot anyway.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

digital*ghost — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:17:02 GMT

Oh, and sometimes, it'll actually work better if you include a contrasting coloured item in the shot that you can edit out later - sometimes digital cameras over-compensate when there's not a broad enough spectrum of colours in the shot, so including a red item or blue item etc can sometimes help it to adjust properly.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

extra-keen — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 07:30:08 GMT

As suggested above, make sure there is plenty of other stuff in the photo - a good average across the board of colours and contrasts, then crop down for your listing.

However nothing replaces a good camera and a decent editing program for slight corrections of colour, exposure and contrast. It is good to experiment with your equipment as it does help you know what its abilities and limitations are.

Have fun, photography is fun!

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

mckma04 — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 09:11:47 GMT

As a buyer, I will not bid on items that have a stock photo.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

sonya0576 — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 10:56:35 GMT

I use my S4 for most of my photos and when I have problems with colouring I turn off the lights and use the flash, my picture comes up with clear colours then.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

phorum_junkie* — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:41:18 GMT

My camera never plays to the same tune, one day the purple is spot on and the reds come out wrong, another day it is turquoise, I am now so used to adjusting the colour when editing that I don't even think about it.

I never use a stock photo for a second hand item as the main one but may crop a piece out of it and say that is the actual colour or if it is a style that is hard to show I may use a stock photo if I can find one but make it clear that it is not the actual garment for sale.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:51:11 GMT

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I'll give them all a go and see how I go. If I can't get it to work, I'll hold off listing them until I get my tax back and get my new camera (I pay second job tax on purpose to ensure I get a good return every year). Even if my old digital still worked, it would be no good for what I want because I need to use macro for these items and that camera didn't have macro. Normally my phone takes exceptional photos, it's only these 2 things I'm having issues with. Interestingly, I photographed and listed larger purple items (amethyst and ametrine) and the colours were spot on, so not sure what's up with these 2 things, give that one of them is an amethyst cut stone.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

davewil1964 — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 11:52:05 GMT

As long as nothing comes out cerise....

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

cherry*135 — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:20:20 GMT

All listings* on eBay.com.au (and most other eBay sites) may not:

List an item without at least one photo
Use stock photos for used, damaged or defective items

crikey wrote: as eBay has a stock photo album for things such as books which some sellers do use for second hand books - I think that rule means, with no other pictures or something to say - this isn't the actual item, it just shows you an example.

No that rule doesn't mean that. If the item is not brand new, then you can't use stock photos at all. A stock photo of a new item, isn't

If I am buying a used book, I want to see what the book I am buying looks like (what condition it is in). Not a stock photo of a new book.

Re: Photography Issues.....Is Using Stock Photos OK?

i-love-my-sheep — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 12:25:51 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
As long as nothing comes out cerise....

But I like cerise!