Shoot too few photos and bidders can’t evaluate the lot. They either don’t bid or bid low with a mental discount. Shoot too many photos and your catalog page becomes a scrolling contest, and you drown yourself in cataloging time you don’t have.
Three photos per lot is the sweet spot for 90% of estate and general merchandise. Here’s the anatomy:
Photo 1: the hero shot
The whole item, well-lit, on a neutral background, taken from the angle the bidder would want to see it if they walked up to it in your shop. For a piece of furniture: three-quarter angle. For a bowl: from just above so you can see into it. For a piece of jewelry: on a plain background, close enough to fill the frame.
This is the photo that shows up in the catalog thumbnail. If it’s bad, bidders never click through. If it’s good, the other two photos are the ones that close the sale.
Photo 2: the identifying detail
The maker’s mark, the signature, the label, the model number, the hallmark, the serial number. Whatever provenance the piece carries. On a piece of pottery: the bottom, close and sharp enough that the mark is readable. On a book: the spine and the copyright page. On a piece of jewelry: the shank. On a tool: the manufacturer’s stamp.
This photo is what serious bidders zoom in on. It’s also what protects you against "I thought it was a real one" complaints after the sale — you documented the mark; they bought what the mark said.
Photo 3: the flaw
Every used item has a flaw. If you don’t show it, bidders assume the worst. If you do, they trust everything else you said. Chip on the rim, wear on the finish, tear in the leather, scratch on the case — get in close, get it in focus, put it in the catalog.
You can also use this slot for a scale reference on things where dimensions matter more than words (a ruler next to a small item, a hand for a wall-hanging piece), but usually the flaw is the more useful photo.
Exceptions
Some lots deserve more than three. Furniture over $500: shoot each side plus the top plus the underside plus any hardware. High-value jewelry: shoot the mark, the stone, the setting, and the piece as worn if you can. Fine art: shoot the front, the back (canvas / stretcher), the signature, and any label on the reverse.
Some lots deserve fewer. Box lots and grouped consumer goods can get away with one wide shot. A pair of matching lamps can be one photo of the pair plus one detail. A stack of paperbacks: one shot of the stack showing spines, no detail needed unless something in the stack is particularly valuable.
Lighting: one lesson
Overhead fluorescents are your enemy. They cast a green tint and flatten everything. If you can, work in a well-windowed room, back to the window, item on a table facing the window. Diffuse the daylight with a white sheet if you need to soften it. If you can’t use daylight, get one softbox light and put it 45 degrees above the item on one side. Don’t mix light sources — either all daylight, or all softbox, but not both at once (the color temperatures fight).
A good, consistent backdrop matters more than a fancy camera. A phone in daylight on a plywood-painted-gray backdrop beats a DSLR under fluorescents on a patterned tablecloth. Set up the space once and reuse it.
The mobile question
Phones from the last five years are more than good enough for auction cataloging. What matters more than the sensor is that you can shoot fast — hero, mark, flaw, next lot — without fiddling. If your cataloging software has a mobile shutter you can hit rapid-fire with your thumb, use it. If you’re walking through a house with an iPad and a Bluetooth camera, you’re losing minutes per lot.
Three photos, ninety seconds per lot. That’s a good cataloging pace for a general estate. Beats "get some photos and figure it out later" every single time.
Our mobile capture is built around the three-photo rhythm — a big shutter, no menu diving, and a barcode scan mode for the things where the barcode does the work for you.