Fake Ruth on hibid

[steve B]

A light box is somewhat standard for small auction houses that sell more dimensional stuff.
It's a nice way of assuring the item is properly lit and has a background that doesn't obscure the items. (Like leaving the scanner lid up so cards get a nice black background - except for cards like 71 Topps where that black background would make it harder to see.

Like any tool, the results vary depending on the photographer, and it can be used with different degrees of dishonesty. Or simply to overcome the limitations of a venue.
One of the days during my very brief employment by a pro photographer He showed me how he used a polarized filter to boost the contrast of the photos he sent to the printed card sales ad paper. Their system made most cars look bad because the images were low contrast by adding contrast his looked normal.

And to think I got paid to learn that.
The prior week I got paid to help install the tonneau cover. Which mostly meant handing him the screwdriver when he needed it.