Bad Drum Photography

TK-421

Senior Member
In this day and age where every smartphone has a really capable camera that's like having your own personal Annie Leibovitz, how on earth is it even possible to take such horrible photos—especially for something you're trying to sell?

This Craigslist ad claims this is a vintage K ride. Maybe it is... but really, how can you tell? I think it would actually be better to not have any photos than to have these. BTW, I love how there's not one but TWO blurry photos of the stamp.

1624004758553.png 1624004798845.png 1624004843430.png 1624004892034.png 1624004939771.png


And, I kid you not, these are for a "Pulse drum set metallic blue with stands":

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Maybe this can turn into another Tom Angles thread, except for crappy Craigslist or eBay photos.
 
why do those ads spark a 'danger will robinson' moment for me?

kinda like getting an email from an ethiopian prince wanting to pay me a few million if I will allow him to deposit funds in my bank account...just send the routing and cvc
 
I notice that a lot on Musician's friend's used drum pages.
That and on CL, they almost NEVER post sizes of drums.

Maybe YOU or others here could go to dude's house and physically see/tell if that is what is claimed, but I wouldn't be able to.
 
I think this applies. It's not blurry, but a horrible pic nonetheless. Way too busy and the drums themselves seem secondary. It feels like a bad museum piece.
View attachment 105522

by the look of the surroundings, you can probably tell how the drum set was taken care of...buyer beware!
 
Everyone issued a cell phone should not be allowed to take photos until they graduate from a mandatory class on Basic Photo Composition.
 
In this day and age where every smartphone has a really capable camera that's like having your own personal Annie Leibovitz, how on earth is it even possible to take such horrible photos—especially for something you're trying to sell?

This Craigslist ad claims this is a vintage K ride. Maybe it is... but really, how can you tell? I think it would actually be better to not have any photos than to have these. BTW, I love how there's not one but TWO blurry photos of the stamp.

View attachment 105488 View attachment 105489 View attachment 105490 View attachment 105491 View attachment 105493


And, I kid you not, these are for a "Pulse drum set metallic blue with stands":

View attachment 105495 View attachment 105496 View attachment 105497 View attachment 105498

Maybe this can turn into another Tom Angles thread, except for crappy Craigslist or eBay photos.
Is @cbphoto trying to sell his cymbals again?
 
Is @cbphoto trying to sell his cymbals again?
I’ve found that many good photos help me fetch good prices in my used gear.

These below were the primary pics for that item’s sale on Reverb or eBay. For cymbals I always show both sides, plus closeups of the hole, decals and the stamp(s).

Only lazy losers and scammers provide questionable pics.

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And thank you @Supergrobi the image resize makes things fast & easy!
 
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Everyone issued a cell phone should not be allowed to take photos until they graduate from a mandatory class on Basic Photo Composition.

I actually have a photography degree, and I've always stated to others that it definitely guarantees that I can hold a camera. ;)
 
My hands shake, so I always have to brace.

me too...this gets me out of having to take a lot of pictures I would rather not take...like 500 pictures of some random flower or the kids smearing food on each other for the umpteenth time
 
These below were the primary pics for that item’s sale on Reverb or eBay. For cymbals I always show both sides, plus closeups of the hole, decals and the stamp(s).
Wow, these nearly look too professional. I would see them and think "Alright, you got a photo from the manufacturer, but I want to see the actual cymbal that's for sale". :D

My favorite photos are three shots from the same angle. I get it that some people just sell stuff they found in the attic but why not show the side and bottom of the snare.. I don't need a close-up photo of the Remo logo...
 
At first I thought thought this was a picture of someone's recyclables to be picked up at the end of their driveway.
It's a current advertisement for a Drum set.

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I don't get it. The camera does all the work for you these days. You have to be either totally inept or intentionally taking a bad picture. I am by no means a photographer, this is what point and shoot gets.DSC_0970.jpg
I find its really hard to take bad pictures like the ones my dad used to take when we were kids. Red eye, over exposed, under exposed, etc.
 
I don't get it. The camera does all the work for you these days. You have to be either totally inept or intentionally taking a bad picture. I am by no means a photographer, this is what point and shoot gets.View attachment 105529
I find its really hard to take bad pictures like the ones my dad used to take when we were kids. Red eye, over exposed, under exposed, etc.
That’s the whole point of why I started this thread. How such terrible pictures like the ones I initially posted are even possible these days is beyond me. Even if I really wanted to take photos that bad, I don’t think I’d be able to. The technology simply wouldn’t allow it. And I’m not even talking about bad composition. I’m talking some crazy combination of blurry, underlit and overlit—often all at once—in addition to horrible composition.

Now that I think about it, it probably takes a certain skill to be able to pull that off. Sort of like a photography version my mom, who used to be the most computer illiterate person imaginable (fortunately, she’s gotten better). She used to somehow mess up her computer in such new and inventive ways (which I’d have to fix), I was beginning to think she was actually an IT genius and was just putting my skills to the test. :)
 
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How such terrible pictures like the ones I initially posted are even possible these days is beyond me.
There’s only two possibilities (an idiot or a fraud).

However, crappy pics actually function to repel me from any possible problem. They’re basically announcing, “ Suckers Welcome”.
 
Ebay Germany always is a great source for crappy images:

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...although this image series is plain art:

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