ATR Photo Tip: Try Some Macro Magnification

As part of our efforts to bring you news you can use - not merely the events in and around the world of auctions and buying, selling and collecting but also practical tips to make your efforts more fruitful - we offer this photo tip.

Stating the obvious, good photos are essential to the viability of your online auctions wares. To mine the old adage, at a thousand words a piece, your eight photos on eBay are worth quite a few words, so you want to make them count. This means not only shots that display each item in all its glory (and grime), but those that set that item apart in the minds of prospective bidders.

Often this means showing the details. Whether it's the signatures on the bases of your Wee Forest Folk, serial numbers on old Marantz gear or the makers' mark on that funky china piece, these details can be important to collectors. Yet showing them clearly can be problematic. The macro settings on even the best digital cameras can only get you so close - and sometimes that's not close enough.

The solution: a simple magnifying glass, or maybe a handsome 19th Century piece such as the one pictured. Place one in front of your camera with the macro setting on and the zoom pulled out to full wide. With your camera in auto focus mode, point it at the tiny area you want to shoot. The macro setting ought to try to focus on your desired spot while compensated for the added optics of your magnifying glass.

You'll have to play around with this, and it won't work on the very smallest of items. But for the right item, the result can be a clear picture of the kind of small detail that may make a big difference to bidders.

(Photo: item for sale at George Glazer Gallery)