I hope Dale does not mind too much as this wanders off the subject of classic bikes directly - though the recording of the parts and the bikes I think is very important particularly during restoration - absolutely essential on a machine with original finish and not just when selling.
I use Photoshop - but only because I have it already - it is not essential - the software you use needs to have control over the contrast and image density and also in most cases needs to be able to alter the colour balance. And of course it is essential to have the facility to crop and resize the image. My pictures are initially saved as high res jpegs and then after the necessary image manipulation - normally a touch in levels (to get the image density and contrast reasonably OK) and colour balance and a crop before finally resizing down to a suitable file size for the web.
I do think it is important not to use Ebays Ipix picture service - you can control the size of your images far better if you have your pictures hosted elsewhere. I use Andale which for around $5 a month is cheaper than using Ebay and allows your pictures to be the shape and size you want them to be.
But no image software will sharpen out of focus images or images that have camera shake. With bikes and their parts I think it is essential to have a camera that has manual focus and you can see it focusing. You can get away with an autofocus camera but you have to know the point it focuses on. I use an Olympus E10. To avoid camera shake you will either need a tripod (simple and cheap) or lighting unless you have ideal daylight the whole time.
And this takes us onto lighting. Lighting needs to be pretty soft - not contrasty like sunlight. I do not have enough space inside to do the larger parts such as rims, guards or frames without a lot of trouble. So outside I prefer slightly cloudy conditions bright not not clear sunlight.
Inside for all the parts I use a small studio flash unit overhead with a softbox with extra tracing paper taped over it for an even softer light. It is simple and very quick to set up. The results are not perfect or even very near but generally are fine for web viewing and enable the buyer to see the important details clearly. But it is also perfectly possible to use diffuse light through a window. When I have done that in the past I have taped a large sheet of tracing paper over it to soften the light.
With bikes I simply balance the bike with a mudguard stay from the rear dropout/rear axle. This means the background should be at least slightly out of focus and allows the eye to concentrate on the bike and its parts.
For frames especially avoid using a wide angle setting on your camera - otherwise distortion often creeps in and it looks as if the frame is bent. A slightly telescopic setting is preferable.
Hilary Stone, Bristol, England
Troy Warnick wrote:
>
> One thing I have enjoyed while browsing through Ebay are the photos (and
> items) offered by Hilary Stone. Bravo, Hilary. I don't know how many of your
> photos I have eating away at the available memory on my hard drive. I realize
> this could be considered off topic, but could you let us know your methods?
> Particulary what photo software you use.