How I Organize My Inventory: Part 2- From Box to Photographing

** This post contains affliate links which may benefit me monetarily if you choose to click and purchase from them.

This a continuation of my first post about how I organize my inventory You can read it here. (Link)

I usually photograph one afternoon a week for a couple of hours. I photograph every week, even if I haven't listed anything new- that way I always have plenty ready to go. There have been a few times the kids were sick, or I had extra time to list, but wasn't able to because I didn't have photographs done. If I have a stock pile of listed items I am ready to list at a moments notice. A couple of hours of photographing usually gives me enough to list for the rest of the week plus a box or two extra. I usually keep about 4 boxes of unphotographed inventory in my ebay room on this amazing shelf I have. I love it to store unlisted hanging items as well as 4 bankers boxes with unlisted inventory.

      

When I'm ready to photograph I grab a box off of the shelf and turn on my photo lights and my "studio' is ready. I also have a 3 sided poster board for the background (I have a plug right in the middle of the wall where I take photos, and the board covers it well.) I also have a white foam board sheet for the bottom. I have both of these things set up on top of  a old dresser and in the top drawers I keep my photo props (plate holder, foot forms, etc) so they are easy to access quickly. In the bottom two drawers I keep things like candles, perfume and other meltable/freezable items I have listed. My ebay room is heated and air conditioned, so they will be safe in there.

I also make sure to have an empty bankers box ready to go, so as I take out of one box to photograph, I can put it in another box when I'm done. That way nothing is sitting out with the possibility of getting broken- trust me I know this from personal experience.

        

Then I start taking photos, lot of photos! I try to take photos from every angle and get the enough to fill the 12 pictures in Ebay listings. Get it from every angle, with close-ups of names, writing, damage, maker, size, fabric content. etc. I can usually get thru 4-8 boxes on a photo day- depending on how cooperative my children are! Once they are all photographed, they go back to the unlisted storage area, but this time on the photographed side. All ready to list, whenever I am. 

I also have to recommend a good camera and my eye-fi card which I would have a hard time living without. (read my post about it here) A good camera saves you a lot of time in editing and re-doing pictures. I started out with a $49 camera and my ipad in the beginning, but I currently use the Coolpix and love it. You can good a really good deal on these cameras several times a year (especially at Christmas time) so be sure to do your homework before purchasing. It's not the most expensive camera, but it works good, and takes awesome pictures for me. I combine it with a tripod to help stop the camera from shaking- which can happen after you photograph for a few hours.