Tracking Your Collectibles - Part Four, For Your Estate

It was a wonderful day for me when I first got a digital camera. At last! I didn’t have to print the bad photos, the fuzzy shots, the fingertip-in-the-lens disasters. I could not only look at my pictures before they were printed, I could even fix them up.

If you really get into tracking your collection, then photos are the next step. I have found that a good digital camera has an amazing ability to take good close-ups. My Olympus-for-Dummies can shoot as close as one inch from the subject and get a great, detailed shot. I can adjust the aperture to allow more light and don’t need to use additional lighting (I always seem to get shadows when I do that).

Most new digital cameras come with software for your computer that will allow you to keep the pictures online in virtual albums or you can use a website storage like PhotoBucket. I also store my photos on CDs, and have added a category to my Excel spreadsheets which tells where the photo is stored, such as “CD April 2008”. Take several shots from various angles and don’t forget to photograph any signatures, logos, etc. Sometimes you have to use reflected light, as with the signature and number on the Chris Buzzini paperweight in the photo here.

These photos are useful for various reasons. Sometimes I have questions about an item and want to know more of its history. Then it’s easy to add a jpeg to an email and zip it off to an expert. Many of the items I have are for sale, so I use the photos to give potential customers a good look at what I’ve got. But even if you aren’t interested in selling, it’s fun to post photos on message boards related to your collectible. Use them for insurance records, bragging rights, or just to finish off that tracking of your collection to which you’ve become (by now) very addicted. (You ARE addicted, right?) Hey, this collection is your passion! Take pictures of your babies!

Contact Carolyn Steele Agosta online at: http://www.tias.com/stores/agcs