The pictures on my Etsy site were what my son would probably characterize as “meh”. I was aware of this problem for a long time, but didn’t think that I had enough photography know how to make a difference. After reading an Etsy Success newsletter about improving shop photos, I scoured the internet for ideas on light boxes, and white lighting and a bunch of other stuff that I have since forgotten. I learned that:
- a white shower curtain placed over a window with sunlight streaming through would create nice photos
- cropping an image greatly improves the look
- a (inexpensive) digital camera and a $15 tripod are a necessity – good pictures require a steady hand and u never realize how shaky yours is until you compare the two versions of your pictures
- what a difference a cardboard box can make (thanks to my DH the Woodchuck)
I have had some trouble with lighting still and believe I need better /different bulbs. Mostly I just use my room lighting (I have a lot of overhead lights in my studio).
Now for some examples.
 This fedora is not dark gray |
 Wow, what a difference |
 Too light, too bright,not focused and way too much going on in the background |
 Now you can see the colors in the cap, the design etc |
 I used to think this was a great picture |
 Now I know better |
To have good pictures, one must take good pictures- lots and lots of them. I take 10 to 20 pictures of each item even though I only need 5 or 6 for my Etsy and Artfire shop. I use Picnik.com to crop and correct my photos- I don’t have an account or premium membership but I’m thinking about it since I’m on there just about every other night.
I learned how to make the lightbox :
From Strobist and also Darren Rowse although I didn’t know he was a photographer did u? This is one I have not done but may do a large version of because I want to photograph larger items. I also watched quite a few YouTube videos – it;’s true almost everything you want to know about anything is on the interwebz already:)
Now to fix the pictures on my Artfire site….
