Transferring Images to your Computer
When you have taken the pictures that you need, it's time to transfer them to your computer for editing and uploading. Most images are stored on a removable memory card or chip. To transfer the images, remove the card from the camera and insert into a reader designed for this purpose. With some cameras you can download images directly from the camera on to the computer. Check your owner's manual for details about how your camera handles this function.
Organizing your Files
You'll save yourself more than a few headaches if you get into the habit of organizing your photos. When you move your pictures onto your computer, create a logical file structure so that you can find what you are looking for later. Many cameras come with software that is designed to transfer photos into folders on your computer. There are also several that are commercially available.
Editing the Photos
The beauty of digital photography is that you can manipulate and change the photos yourself. Even though you've taken great care in setting up your product, everything may not be picture perfect.
You may have to rotate the photo or perhaps crop it. For posting online, you will most certainly want to resize your photo's file size. If your file sizes are too large, they take a long time to download and most prospective buyers simply don't have the patience to wait. As well, the photo may be so huge that only a corner of the object is visible on the screen.
Image Editing Software
To make these kinds of alterations (and others) to your photos, you'll need image editing software. There are many programs out there. Some of the popular ones are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, ACDSee and many more. Most digital cameras also come with an image editing program.
Getting Started Editing your Photos
To begin editing your photos open the image with your image editing program. There are several ways of doing this, but the easiest way is to open your image files through your image editing software.
Making changes to the image
If you want to rotate, crop or in some way change the way your photo looks, now is the time to do so. There are a variety of different tools and commands provided with your software. Consult your user's manual for the instructions on using these editing tools.
Resizing an Image
When you have made the changes you want to your picture, you need to resize it for viewing online. You may wonder why you need to resize your image, when it appeared to be quite small on your screen when you opened the image file in your editing program. Most image editing programs automatically reduce the viewing size so that you can see the entire image on your screen without scrolling back and forth. However, very often it is only a percentage of the real size of the image.
Somewhere along the menu bar you'll find a box that indicates the size of the image you see on your screen. So while you might think you are viewing the photo at full size, it may really only be displaying at 25% of its original size. If you were to view the image at 100%, you'd only see a portion of it on the screen. Files this big take way too long to load, customers aren't willing to wait and you'll lose sales.
It is the width and height of the pixel dimensions that you want to resize. If the pixel dimensions are not shown in pixels, click on the down arrow to change it to pixels. For best results, resize the image width to no wider than 500 or 550 pixels wide. This will keep the load time down while also displaying a photo capable of showcasing your product.
Saving your Digital Photo
Once you've edited and resized your photo you need to save it. All image editing software handles this task similarly.
On the menu bar click File > Save As. The Save As dialog box displays
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In the File name field give your photo a name
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In the Format field specify your file as JPEG File Interchange Format (jpg, jpeg). If JPEG is not already selected click the arrow to choose from the drop-down list.
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Click the Save button and your image file is saved.
Most image editing programs prompt you to choose a JPEG quality factor for your file. The higher the quality of the image, the bigger the file is in kilobytes (KB), and the longer it takes to download. Your aim is to load your images online and into your product descriptions as quickly as possible. Generally, lowering the image quality makes little visible difference online. If you choose a mid level quality, your photo will still look great and not take forever to download.
In ClosingTaking good photos is essential to optimize your product descriptions and increase your sales potential. With a little practice, you'll be able to create professional looking ads that showcase your products with photos that clearly display the features of your offerings. It's worth taking a little time up front to produce good images. Now go become an auction shutterbug with style!
