Product Photography Basics: Boost Sales and Visibility on Etsy and Beyond!

I'm often asked for tips on my product photography, and I'm happy to share my pointers on taking appealing photos that raise interest and help you sell! You don't need a fancy camera or equipment to start with. All you need is time, patience, and a stubborn dedication to quality!

1. Consider Your Background: You can use colorful paper, vintage fabric, or let your home be the backdrop. Be creative. My background is a sheet of fifty cent poster board, but the result looks professional!

2. Bright Natural Light & Tripod: I see a decline in photo quality when I don't shoot in bright natural light. Schedule picture-time accordingly. Always use a tripod to prevent blur caused by camera movement.

3. Try Many Angles:  I forbid you from taking pictures from one angle! Get on your knees, lay on the floor with the subject. Turn the subject in all directions. Get intimate. It's photo-love-makin' time, baby.

4. Communicate the Use: Stage your item in use. Hell, create new uses for your merchandise! I "made" a planter (above) into a "pen cup" and sold it for twice as much as I would have before.

5. Play and Edit:  It's up to you to make the photo tangible and appealing to the buyer. Brighten, straighten, and crop your photos to perfection. I will follow-up with photo editing tips next time.

6. Right In-Camera: I may edit every photo I put online, but I also get my pictures right in-camera. It cuts down on editing time and yields a better result. Using a tripod and natural light will help you get the proper exposure so your post-production is only for minor and/or artistic improvements.

7. Personalize: My first product photos were rushed and bland. Now I'm getting a feel for them and inserting my personality. The increase in traffic and favorites is substantial! Stage your photos, and add props. Your viewers know when you're having fun, and it makes them want to buy and share your work.

8. Don't be Afraid to Re-Take Photos: My first priority is getting the rest of my merchandise online, but when that's done I'll replace photos that don't fit my new standard.

9. Innovate and Practice, Practice, Practice: Strive to learn new techniques, master your camera, and practice your ass off.

10. Shoot Daily: Try new things EVERY DAY and you'll see improvements quickly.

Just Get Started! My first product photos were not my best work, but they were clear and technically correct. I got my merchandise online and in front of eyes quickly and made sales immediately. Don't agonize if your work isn't where you want it to be. Just keep shooting daily, you'll discover your style and make improvements along the way. The priority is getting images online and making those sales! Be dedicated to quality, but don't get so wrapped up in it that you're paralyzed and don't get started. That used to be me, but no longer!

Got any photography tips to share? Still got photography questions? Let's discuss in the comments. I will follow-up with more product photography tips next time.

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The Secret to Perfect Photos: 8 Ways to Develop Your Photographer's Eye

Every photo you take should be a piece of art. Unique photos bring the clicks. They help us sell! I'm eager to improve, so when photographer Ferina Santos offered advice on developing a photographer's eye I lept on the opportunity! I'll let Ferina teach us from here:

When you start to really look at things, the experience becomes profound, even scary. The world becomes more full. You see things you never knew existed or thought much about. This guide may help you if you're just starting out as a photographic artist, or if you've been shooting for years but your vision is losing its strength or starting to pale. [Van's Note: The latter in Italics is me to a T!]

ONE: Revere the Mundane: Scrutinise a rusty bolt. A lot is going on there – oxidation is producing flakes of metal in various subtle hues. See the feathers on a duster, the texture and weave of a dish towel, the crazy pattern of milk spilt on a table.

TWO: Watch Photographers Work: You will pick up many mundane tips and shortcuts. Discover what they are looking at and figure out why. Ask questions.

THREE: Analyse the Masters: Find a set of pictures from a photographer you admire and start making a list of what appeals to you in each. Make the list specific, homing in on the traits you like in each.

FOUR: Watch the Light: Become sensitive to colours, shapes, textures, and shadows, and how they contrast or flow together. See how the light changes as you change your point of view. If you really like a subject, visit it often throughout the course of a day and see how it changes as the light changes.

FIVE: Listen to Yourself: Just as you did when you analysed the masters, go through your own photos and list what you do or don't like about each photo. Keep and improve the positive. Discard the negative or redo.

SIX: Start Shooting: Practice passionately. Approach a subject from as many different points of view as physically possible.

SEVEN: Abandon Rules: Master photographers know all the rules, but they don't get tied up by them. That could cause the loss of passion that should be behind every attempt to capture an image.

EIGHT: Ask for Input: Find someone trustworthy with a sound footing on photography and ask them to go through a collection of your work representative of what you like to do. Ask them to tell you what's good and what's bad about each photo. See how your “vision” is, or is not, reflected in each comment.

Ferina Santos is part of the team behind Open Colleges, an Australian provider of photography courses. A feisty nerd at heart with an obsession for media and vanity, she captures all her random musings with daily photographs in her blog, A Pink Banana.

Let's Photo-Nerd! Some of my favorite photos were taken with simple, antiquated cameras. You won't develop a good eye simply by purchasing fancy equipment, it takes time and effort. Got tips? What attracts you to certain photos?

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Photography Tips: 5 Quick and Easy Steps to Improve Your Photos

Photos are paramount in blogging and online reselling. Creative photography gets eyes where you want them, and you don't even need an expensive SLR camera or equipment! When you have the foundations down, an inexpensive point and shoot camera or even a camera phone is sufficient.

Make the effort to improve your photos and your customer and reader response will be noticeable! Here are 5 Quick and Easy Tips for Taking Better Photos:

1.) Use Bright, Natural Light Whenever Possible.

Natural light is magical, especially for showing all the details of your product. Schedule photoshoots early and take advantage of the daylight.

2.) Use a Tripod. Always. Forever.

Camera movement is what makes your photos blurry. It's especially noticeable in low lighting situations; indoors and at night. Using a tripod keeps your camera stationary, producing bright, clear photos.

Tip:  Use a wall, pal's shoulder, railing, or anything stationary as your tripod in a pinch.

3.) Be Mindful of Your Background.

It only takes a couple more minutes of prep to make a big difference in your photos. In the example below I used a vintage mirror and a lace cloth to make the product pop. Always seek to eliminate distracting details in your photos.

4.) Try a Different Angle. Go High, Go Low!

Change your perspective. Lie underneath your subject, stand on a chair above it, get in close for an extreme close-up. Take risks and try new angles to yield creative shots that can really put the viewer right there with you.

5.) Be an Unabashed Nutcase. It's Fun!

I get perplexed glances and random comments from my constant photo antics. I never let it stop me from having a blast taking my pictures. Don’t let shyness get in the way of getting the perfect shot. Ask strangers for permission to take their picture, jump fences to get to that perfect clandestine spot for taking photos. (Shh you didn't hear this from me.)

 I've sold a lot of prints of this photo. It's from my Toys Behaving Badly series. Indecent! Hide yo kids, hide yo wife!

Experiment, Practice, and Experiment! Use a rubber band to affix colored saran wrap to your lens or walk around your neighborhood during twilight and snap photos. I encourage you to constantly take pictures and try new things.

Have Fun: I never leave the house without my bulky SLR. Innovate and have fun! Go forth, photo adventures await you!

Need a Camera? If you're looking to upgrade to an SLR I use an recommend a Canon Rebel, it's everything a beginner needs and it's less expensive than a more advanced DSLR. I use a Canon Rebel T1i and use my 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens most frequently.

Got any other Photography-Related Tips or Questions? Let's discuss in the comments.

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Photo Outakes + Getting Used to Self Portraits...

I love photos.I love photographing food, nature, art, interiors, people, critters; pretty things of all kinds. I never leave home with my SLR. But I've never liked taking self portraits. Some people practice photography with themselves as a subject but I never did, so I feel very uncomfortable in front of the camera. And it shows.

Yet, I feel that self portraits are important for more than just blogging. It can help you improve your posture and evaluate how you present yourself to the world. And so I'm going to practice taking self portraits this year.

I discovered you should think of things that make you happy to get that light in your eyes that only comes with genuine mirth. I wanted a genuine smile for my new blog photo, so I listened to my favorite comedian John Witherspoon (check my my favorite Witherspoon skit, ever!) , played with toys, and took a few quick shots. Toys make everything better.

Any self portrait tips to share? Do you feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, too?

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