What do you think? Can you enhance photos if it makes the coin...

p8nt

Browsing Ebay I have noticed there are several people that enhance their pictures of (often resulting in hundred of dollars in profit). I spoke to one of them and they told me that they "do enhance pictures but not to deceive, only to make the coin look like it does in hand." The problem is that by enhancing the photos they often do make the coin look better than it really does (I have owned some of the same coins).

So I am curious to hear your thoughts on "juicing" a photo and whether you agree with it and think it should be allowed or not. Does it matter if it is a toned coin where "juicing" a photo will result in hundreds of extra dollars?

BECOKA

The only enhancing I have everdone is whitebalance adjusting. Like you mentioned to get the coin to look as close to what it does in hand. I would never try to hide nicks and dings.

mgoodm3

If it's a truly accurate picture, I don't care what enhancement was done to get there. Many on Ebay are not accurate.

BillJones

I make an effort to adjust my photos so that the picture of the coin makes it appear as it does "in hand." Sometimes for whatever reason a photo can look washed out when the coin is actually nicer that it appears. Sometimes you just can't get exposure such that reflects the true look of the coin. That's when I make some minor adjustments to the photos.

Trinketts

Being that I would eventually like this to be a livelyhood for me I try to get the most accurate pictures I can from my camera and NOT photoshop...If I can't take an accurate pic with my camera I really don't want to have to tweak it with photoshop.

I illustraded in another thread how I can take pictures of Morgan Dollars and make them look like MS65+ all day long and they are really MS62-63. There is no shortage of scammers on Ebay, and it showed just how easy it is to do with a little knowledge.

It's funny though I think it hurt me in auctions that closed last night... Mine with far superior pictures to those that have closed in the past sold for less, in some instances much less.

airplanenut

I'll adjust my pictures to be accurate, and I don't mind if anyone else does, either. The key is accuracy. Most likely, whomever you spoke to was lying, as many on eBay go way over the top. Bondman22 is a great example of going way over the top.

DickyBetz

I think it is alright if you do it just so the buyers can get a better idea of what the coin looks like in hand, but if the enhancement makes the colors look more vibrant than they are in reality, or it hides hairlines, hits, corrosion, etc., then it is wrong.