Photographing and highlighting your collectibles
Reading time 12 min
Collectibles can be one-of-a-kind items, stunning artworks or even everyday objects. If you are a collector yourself, you probably know-it-all. Though you might already master the art of collecting, we thought we could provide you some handy tips to make your collectibles look even more desirable and valuable behind screens. That’s right, here is a guide to master some photography tips and take breathtaking pictures of your collections!
What better way to showcase your collectibles than with crisp, high quality and well lit images? In this 11 minutes read we will try to enlighten you, you’ll be upgrading your photo skills in no time and you’ll be able to fill in your item’s description forms in a fashionable manner.
- Taking Beautiful Shots of Your Collectibles
- Editing the photographs of your collectibles
- Describing your collectibles and showing them off
- Conclusion
- Lexicon
Taking Beautiful Shots of Your Collectibles
Nowadays, thanks to our smartphones, taking pictures has become pretty easy. You can literally capture anything at any time. However, there are methods to capture THE perfect shot.
We are about to share a few crucial tips that work whether you have a smartphone or a professional camera.
Taking Pictures of Your Collectibles Using Your Smartphone
Taking pictures with a smartphone will be easier than with a conventional camera. No management of focal length, speed or aperture settings to manage in sight. Your environment is key when capturing your object, it’s the first element that will need some fixing before your photoshoot session.
Finding the Right Background
Finding the right background is an important part of the process. Sometimes white walls are rare in an interior. Here’s what you can do: use a white cardboard. You don't have any? No problem, even better, a white sheet! You might have that at home in your closet. Fold it in half, make it denser (and if the fabric is thick, even better). Now find a way to tape the sheet to a wall. Stretch it so it doesn't make unsightly folds, arrange it so that it creates a curve between the vertical and horizontal part and you're done!
Another solution is to consider buying a piece of black velvet. Black velvet has several advantages. It will give an impressive relief to your metallic objects. In addition, black velvet is a thick fabric that absorbs a lot of light, so it will avoid unsightly cast shadows. If your background has patterns that interfere with your object, you can edit them out, we dedicate a paragraph to this subject below.
Find the right lighting
Bear in mind that photography means "writing with light". Your lighting ambiance will be another key factor. Natural light will always look more beautiful than uncontrolled artificial light. If natural light is not an option for you in your setup, don't worry! You can use a lamp as a light source, you just need to position it correctly. The best thing is to avoid too many shadows, especially if you have a white background. You will need a front light or two side lights to eliminate extra shadows.
The light should not be above and in front of your object, but lower down. This will provide a softer light for a harmonious image.
DIY is your ally
In case you have positioned your lights but your object is still marked with shadows, we have a solution! You will need another white cardboard, if your cardboard is brown you can cover it with a sheet of aluminum. Now, it is time to practice your new role as a photo assistant unless you have a friend willing to give you a hand. Place your aluminum-covered cardboard in front of one of your lights (facing your shadows) and move it gently until you find the ideal position to erase them. Congratulations, your collectible should now be perfectly lit.
Take a picture of your collectible
Now, let’s guide you through the last step before uploading your photo to CollecOnline. Your set is ready, you know where to position yourself with your reflector (the sweet name for your DIY aluminum sheet and cardboard panel). But how do you trigger the shutter? It is recommended to use the camera’s timer to avoid shaking it while pressing the shutter. You will need to fix your phone to a tripod, if you don't have one, place it at the right height to have the view you want of your object. If you have an Apple device, your iPad or your AppleWatch can be used as a remote trigger to your iPhone camera.
Awesome! You finally have the perfect shot. All you have to do now is download it onto your computer and edit it if necessary, then upload your picture to CollecOnline where you will be able to crop and center it, if you are using CollecOnline Classic or Premium you can also apply a custom watermark.
How to photograph your collectibles with your camera
To take beautiful shots of your objects using a professional camera, all the previous advice is still valid. But some technical information might be added to that.
Choosing the right lens
If you have an SLR and you have several lenses, the choice you make is decisive. We advise you to use a fixed lens (For your information: 50mm is equivalent to human vision) to be placed at an aperture of f/8 or f/11 so that all your objects are in focus and your lighting can be controlled on your device.
Choosing the right speed
If you own some photo equipment and you are going to use flash lights, make sure to set up your speed to 1/250 to get usable content. If your lights are anchored on the floor, you will have to test different speeds to get the ideal brightness for your object. It will rarely be necessary to go below 1/60.
Editing the photographs of your collectibles
If you don't want to invest much in hiring a photo editor that might share results below your expectations another solution is possible, but you will have to go digital. Once your photographs are taken, sit down behind your computer and make the magic happen. You will need to learn a few things to retouch your images by yourself.
First things, download or open a retouching software. There are many payable or free softwares on the market: Photoshop (paying) is a great tool but can be costly, or go for a free version like Photopea, Paint.com or a simplified equivalent called The GIMP.
Isolate your object from its background
Using one of these softwares, you can crop your object, i.e. isolate it from its current background and add it to a new artificial background. This action will allow you to remove the cast shadows that might not be flattering. You will also be able to obtain a uniform background, thus highlighting your object.
To crop your object out of the background, you can use several tools:
- The simplest option but not the most effective: the magic wand. The magic wand will be very useful for some quick trimming. It works really well when an object contrasts with the background.
- The most meticulous option: the eraser or the brush. In the case of these two tools, the method will be the same. The only difference is that with the eraser you will remove the background and thus leave your object on a transparent background. The brush will paint your background in the colour you have chosen. The advantage of this solution is that you work directly on your image. The disadvantage is that you need to be meticulous. Your aim will be to erase or paint all around your object without erasing it. You will have to play with the zoom and the size of your eraser or brush to erase your entire background perfectly.
- The most technical option is the pen. If you are not familiar with photo editing software, this method can be quite technical but once you have mastered it you will be very fast and efficient! The pen allows you to put dots that form lines or curves to follow the contours of your object and isolate it.
Last but not least, you can use a simpler option to save time: Removebg simply allows you to upload your image and remove the background. In addition, an edit option allows you to put in a brand new background! We prefer to warn you though, this site has some limitations, if the colour of your shadow is close to that of your object, it will not be removed for example.
We'd like to thank Bnumis.com for that video.
Set a suitable background and join faces
If you have chosen the option of erasing your background with either the pen or the eraser, you will need to add a new one. A new neutral background, white, black or other.
To do this, simply open your object file without a background in your retouching software. All of these work using layers. Create a new layer, move it under your object, colour it with the colour of your choice and that's it!
If you now want to show the front and back of your object in an image, like a coin or a banknote: create a new layer or document and indicate the size you want. Colour it with the colour of your choice. Now open your coins images either directly on your document or in new files. If they are separate, simply move them (drag and drop) with the arrow into your other window.
You can now adjust the size of your document to the ideal size.
Other useful editing
Once your object is on its background, whether it has been shot or retouched, you can adjust the brightness and contrast. You should also consider the size of your image. The larger and heavier it is, the slower it will be displayed online. Do not hesitate to reduce its size and definition!
An image in 72 dpi and 800 px for the largest side is more than enough for the internet.
Describing your collectibles and showing them off
To highlight your collection on CollecOnline, beautiful photographs are cool, but now you need to describe your objects!
The title of your object is one of the most important steps. Make sure your title is clear and precise. An indicator will show you if the length of this title is ideal and detailed enough for people to easily find your collectible. The longer your title is on CollecOnline, the better.
We also invite you to add a description: add all the information you have of your object, it’s size, color, weight, a brief historical introduction… you might also want to explain its strengths and weaknesses. Describe its functioning, its composition and do not hesitate to mention existing variations for example.
You can complete your item’s form by adding Categories, such as the year of manufacture, the state, the country of origin, etc... This additional information will allow you to have the most accurate and understandable collectible form record.
Conclusion
You now know how to highlight and photograph your collectibles. Moreover, by sharing your objets on CollecOnline, you are enabling the transmission of your knowledge and your passion with us and the community.
With all these elements in hand, soon we might be admiring your collections online, as if we were in a museum.
Lexicon
- Focal length: also called focal distance. The focal length indicates the part of the scene that will be captured and its magnification. The longer the focal length (85mm, 135mm, etc...) the narrower the field of view and the higher the magnification, we are talking about a zoom. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the lower the magnification (all focal lengths under 50 mm), we are talking about a wide angle.
- Speed: also called shutter speed. It corresponds to the time during which the shutter remains open to let the light through and create the image on the sensor or on the film. If the shutter speed is slow, the shutter stays open for a long time and the sensor receives little light.
- Shutter: A shutter is a mechanical part placed between the lens and the sensor or film. It is the part that allows light to pass through the lens before it is captured by the sensitive digital or film surface.
- Sensor: photosensitive electronic component used to convert electromagnetic radiation into an analogue signal. This signal is amplified, digitised and then processed to obtain a digital image.
- Film: It is a flexible medium coated with an emulsion composed of light-sensitive elements, usually silver halide. Their configuration gives the film characteristics such as sensitivity. When the emulsion is exposed to light, an invisible image is formed. To obtain a visible image, it must be developed. Development is a chemical process in several phases.
- ISO sensitivity: this is the measure of the light sensitivity of film and digital sensors. It is essential for determining the correct exposure.
- Exposure: in photography, exposure refers to the total amount of light received by the sensitive surface (sensor or film) during the shot.
- Aperture: this is the setting that adjusts the aperture diameter of the diaphragm. It is characterised by the aperture number noted f/N. The smaller the number, the larger your aperture. The larger the number, the smaller your aperture.
- Diaphragm: this is a mechanism in the lens through which light passes to the light-sensitive surface. It consists of several blades that open and close at the specified aperture value when the shutter is released.
- Lens: an optical system consisting of several lenses that produce real images on the sensitive surface of the camera.
- SLR: we speak of a SLR or Reflex camera when the camera has a mirror system. In these cameras you look at your image through a mirror. Reflex cameras also have interchangeable lenses.
- Reflector: in photography or film, a reflector is a flat reflective surface used to redirect light towards a subject or scene. The reflector is often used as a source of supplementary lighting. It can also soften the light for a less contrasty look.
- Fixed light: also called continuous light. Frequently used in photography and video. It allows you to illuminate objects with less equipment and to make a series of images. It allows you to see the result of the light under the object directly.
- Flash light: it allows to freeze fast subjects or to use a small aperture to have a maximum depth of field. It is a system that mobilises great light power in a very short time.
- Depth of field: this is the distance between the nearest and furthest elements of a scene that appears to be acceptable to the eye. This is the area that will be in focus when the picture is taken. The extent of this sharp area is what is called depth of field.
Magalie from CollecOnline.
