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Post by stardiamond on May 25, 2019 17:55:45 GMT -5
I had my first Etsy return a Morgan Hill. The buyer praised my workmanship but said the cabochon was not what she were expecting. I try to take honest pictures and when I can't get an accurate picture, I post multiple. We had a long friendly and productive conversation. When I get the cab back I'll carefully compare it with the picture. I don't think 10 pictures would have changed anything. Here's a picture of another cab I listed:  The color and polish are spot on, but the 30x30 cab would not be as impressive. Over the years, I bought a lot of lapidary material and the pictures were not honest. The actual material was darker than the picture and most recently the color wasn't even close. I understand how difficult buying from a picture can be. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 25, 2019 18:58:40 GMT -5
I had my first Etsy return a Morgan Hill. The buyer praised my workmanship but said the cabochon was not what she were expecting. I try to take honest pictures and when I can't get an accurate picture, I post multiple. We had a long friendly and productive conversation. When I get the cab back I'll carefully compare it with the picture. I don't think 10 pictures would have changed anything. Here's a picture of another cab I listed: The color and polish are spot on, but the 30x30 cab would not be as impressive. Over the years, I bought a lot of lapidary material and the pictures were not honest. The actual material was darker than the picture and most recently the color wasn't even close. I understand how difficult buying from a picture can be. It's difficult, there's no denying that. I think a lot of pictures really does help, though. So does using natural light. I like that Tommy will post pictures of the cab at a distance in his hand for scale, too. I can't do that for reasons I won't get into, but those pictures do a good job showing a pattern at a distance instead of only up close. I take a picture in a light tent, too. Those pictures are no substitute for natural lighting but they do a good job showing the character of the stone without a lot of reflections. I get a lot of comments from clients who appreciate my pictures, so I think I am doing something right. But, if I were you, I would use more pictures and try to get one with it in your hand for scale. |
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Post by fernwood on May 25, 2019 19:05:28 GMT -5
So sorry to hear you had a return. Do not let this discourage you.
Photos can be tough for some to interpret.
Did the customer give any details on why the photos did not represent the item she received?
I will not purchase anything off the internet that does not have the following:
Multiple, clear, in focus photos. Natural light, and indoor light, with the type of indoor light stated.
A size reference. My brain does not think in mm's or carats.
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Post by Rockindad on May 25, 2019 19:11:42 GMT -5
Certainly can be a fine line between putting any product being sold in the best possible light vs. most accurate. Gets even more convoluted with digital photography where corrections are being made automatically as pictures are taken and editing might be necessary to present a more realistic image.
Al
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Post by stardiamond on May 25, 2019 19:12:12 GMT -5
I only use natural light and have started to take pictures of the same cab at different times. I've tried taking pictures of some cabs in my hand, but it is challenging to remain steady. I believe that the return was more related to individual preference than the picture. I didn't consider scale to be helpful in additional to providing measurements.
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Post by stonemon on May 25, 2019 19:29:54 GMT -5
I try to shoot in natural light, in a light box and include a shot with a penny or some other size reference as well as a mm declaration. I do not always succeed in doing those things. I have had three returns over the last 5 years but I always make sure the customer is satisfied with the process and the final $$$ outcome. It is difficult to get them all right. The best thing to do IMHO is to be great about it and make sure the exchange leaves both satisfied.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller 
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on May 25, 2019 22:00:07 GMT -5
Based on the cab photo posted, my eye only noticed a focus issue with that presentation.....that could be attributed to the crop size and or original JPEG file size taken, once magnified, pixel balance and resolution were effected.
It has been my experience shooting "macro" polished stone and jewelry (anything shiny), lighting plays a major part. Digital camera's are light sensitive. Too little and over saturation fools even the best high pixel (over 16mp) digital cameras......Point and shoot types can be more forgiving, but often will lack the flexibility of a decent cropping. DSLR offer more flexibility and various settings that will compensate for poor environment conditions, at a cost.
I've just recently been at this modern DSLR shooting with a pretty good camera, so I'm still learning........that said, if you are using anything that has a mega pixel factor better than 16, taking close-ups (macro), and cropping the original photo to show, try to get the best (highest JPEG) and size setting you can for the original shot. Don't try to "zoom-in" on the subject so tight that you don't leave yourself enough cropping space.....and when downloading the cropped to a web site, depending on the software you use, try to size the photo for transfer "medium to small", (unless you have a reason to accentuate a particular aspect of the product)......a tri-pod is considered a "must have" once you get serious about your photo's.
Lighting and backgrounds, as has been my experience, is something that takes time to learn, experimentation and much practice. Natural sunlight plays games with shine, contrast and color depending on the stone type. From the looks of your photo and your own observations, that has not been a "deal" breaker so far.
A common misnomer about many digital camera's is "they have a mind of their own" and automatically adjust the photo quality to what it thinks it should be. That may be true for the less expensive point and shoot models. But, the serious models (and not just the more expensive), have the ability to let the operator decide how and what is to be shot.....even in an auto setting...........just a side note as to remind any user to study all of the cameras abilities in order to get the best out of it's production.
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Post by stardiamond on May 25, 2019 22:18:15 GMT -5
If that picture isn't in focus, I'm doomed. I crop with PS and upload to Etsy. When I post here, I open the picture with paint, reduce by 60%, save and upload and link to.
My digital camera, Olympus Pen is not very smart. When I take a picture of a display box of cabs that contain light and dark cabs, it is incapable of getting the right exposure. When the darks are good the lights are too light. I'm not going to invest in another camera, just learn to work around the limitations.
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on May 26, 2019 12:10:03 GMT -5
If that picture isn't in focus, I'm doomed. I crop with PS and upload to Etsy. When I post here, I open the picture with paint, reduce by 60%, save and upload and link to. My digital camera, Olympus Pen is not very smart. When I take a picture of a display box of cabs that contain light and dark cabs, it is incapable of getting the right exposure. When the darks are good the lights are too light. I'm not going to invest in another camera, just learn to work around the limitations. There are many work-around's with digital, as I'm also just starting to learn. That is one of the nice aspects. Wasn't implying you needed a different camera. Pretty sure the Pen can provide nice and accurate results. Like you said, just need to learn it's in's & out's.......and practice.........Happy shooting.......! |
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,688
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Post by NRG on May 26, 2019 16:12:50 GMT -5
Some stones should only be sold in person. Let me explain:
#1) An example is Sheen obsidian. It ALWAYS shows in photos far better than in person. Every single example (n=scores) looks 100x better in images than in person.
#2) many materials (Morgan hill is one) show better contrast in digital images than in person. In person these materials are often muddy and lacking contrast. I too would be disappointed in getting this in my envelope after seeing a sharp contrasty pic.
NOTE: I'm not saying this is the case with your Morgan hill. I've no clue what yours looks like. I'm offering a possible explanation.
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Post by stardiamond on May 26, 2019 16:35:07 GMT -5
I took some new pictures. I can't hold a cab in my fingers right now, so I put some double sided tape on a dop stick and held the dop stick in my hand. I remove the tape from the cab and reuse for the next picture. My camera is much happier and all I have to do is crop to get a representative picture. I'm taking 3 now, in the hand, on the stand and on a box next to a quarter. The hand pictures are far the most accurate. The focus in the hand pictures can be off, but with practice that will improve.   |
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pizzano
Cave Dweller
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,390
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Post by pizzano on May 26, 2019 17:06:10 GMT -5
Very nice......a much better representation than the very first photo posted........!
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Post by rockjunquie on May 26, 2019 18:17:29 GMT -5
I took some new pictures. I can't hold a cab in my fingers right now, so I put some double sided tape on a dop stick and held the dop stick in my hand. I remove the tape from the cab and reuse for the next picture. My camera is much happier and all I have to do is crop to get a representative picture. I'm taking 3 now, in the hand, on the stand and on a box next to a quarter. The hand pictures are far the most accurate. The focus in the hand pictures can be off, but with practice that will improve. GREAT JOB! Adding those pictures will help, for sure. They look so good, too. Great work around.  |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 26, 2019 18:18:25 GMT -5
If that picture isn't in focus, I'm doomed. I crop with PS and upload to Etsy. When I post here, I open the picture with paint, reduce by 60%, save and upload and link to. My digital camera, Olympus Pen is not very smart. When I take a picture of a display box of cabs that contain light and dark cabs, it is incapable of getting the right exposure. When the darks are good the lights are too light. I'm not going to invest in another camera, just learn to work around the limitations. Does your camera have exposure compensation? |
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Post by stardiamond on May 26, 2019 18:31:33 GMT -5
I don't know what that means. It is a full featured slr and can adjust aperture and exposure time,
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Post by rockjunquie on May 26, 2019 19:10:46 GMT -5
I don't know what that means. It is a full featured slr and can adjust aperture and exposure time, I have a mid level Canon and a Nikon DSLR. Which Olympus Pen do you have? I'll look into it and see if they have what I am talking about. It's an easy way to make your picture lighter or darker. I shoot automatic outside with the canon and manual inside with the nikon. Both allow me to do this in auto or manual. |
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on May 26, 2019 23:41:14 GMT -5
Photos "in-hand" are good. The skin tones will show that the colors of the stone are true.
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Post by stardiamond on May 27, 2019 12:03:55 GMT -5
I don't know what that means. It is a full featured slr and can adjust aperture and exposure time, I have a mid level Canon and a Nikon DSLR. Which Olympus Pen do you have? I'll look into it and see if they have what I am talking about. It's an easy way to make your picture lighter or darker. I shoot automatic outside with the canon and manual inside with the nikon. Both allow me to do this in auto or manual. PM1. |
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Post by stardiamond on May 27, 2019 12:11:34 GMT -5
I received an inquiry about the Blue Biggs; is it that Blue. The answer was no. I took a another picture holding the dop stick in my hand. So no more cab stand pictures. I'll start rephotographing for the listings. The gray photographs blue. More accurate color:  I took another picture of the Blue Mountain cab and everything is better except showing the shine:  |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 27, 2019 12:20:29 GMT -5
Looks like you found the magic. Every camera has it's own weaknesses and strengths you have to work with.
I found the manual, too. Look on page 40 for the exposure compensation. It's a very useful thing to know and use. Easy, too.
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