Capturing the true essence of a card through photographs can elevate certain cards from want list to grail status.

For me, this is the ultimate example: 1998 E-X2001 Essential Credentials NOW & FUTURE parallels.

These two had been on my want list for forever. The scanned pics at the bottom were on a collector’s website, and I didn’t think much of them.

Until I saw a Ripken that was properly photographed.

My jaw DROPPED.

They went from my want list straight to my dream list. Seeing a properly photographed exemplar instantly elevated them in my mind to some of the most breathtaking cards the ’90s ever produced.

Nowadays, the cat is out of the bag. Heck, even the common cards in this set can sell for several hundred dollars.

I’ve had the Canseco pair for years now, but the first thing I did when I had both, was photograph them in such a way that did them justice. What a difference!