This one hot tip could just change the way you buy records online. No, it isn’t a way to get free records, but wouldn’t be great if there really was a way to get free music? Anyway, this one trick will help you get better value for money the next time you buy a record on the web.
How? Well, simply by using some basic tools in Photoshop, you can ensure that the record you’re buying is in the condition that the seller is claiming it is. With a simple Photoshop shortcut, you can ensure that copy of Axis: Bold as Love really is in “Very Good” condition and not, y’know, scratched to shit.
As very helpful Reddit user REMAIN_IN_LIGHT recently explained, via The Vinyl Factory, “The problem (mainly for buyers, of course) with photographing vinyl is it’s hard to photograph something that is black and shiny and still capture the actual surface of the record unless you understand manual photography.”
“In fact, the shine (‘luster,’ ‘gloss,’ whatever you want to call it) of a record – which often remains a characteristic of the vinyl regardless of surface marks, unless the record is very, very worn – can be misleading as to its true condition. A camera’s automatic exposure factors mostly in the highlights, and a lot of information remains buried in the shadows.”
But REMAIN_IN_LIGHT has the remedy and you can even play at home, if you like. Get on Discogs or eBay, get an image of a record that looks like it’s in good nick, and throw it into Photoshop. Now you just need to play with the levels to manipulate the level of shine.
It’s easy – go to Image > Adjustments > Levels or hit Command + L for the shortcut. Now you simply have to start playing around with the sliders (the circled triangles you can see in the image above) until you start to see what’s hidden behind the darker, shadowed areas of the image.
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You may just be surprised by the results and the seller will likely be surprised how you knew that “Very Good” condition Beatles record had in fact been kept between two pieces of sandpaper for the past decade.
