Sunday, September 26, 2010

Taking Photos for Etsy - Useful Links

Yesterday I had a great time running a session for some of the BrisStyle members on taking and editing photos for Etsy.  It's funny though, I felt like I needed to start with a disclaimer - I did my photography degree pre-digital days and product photography was not one of my best subjects.  

While I don't think I came up with anything that isn't already out there in the internet world, I hope that putting lots of information together at one time might have helped.


Along the way of putting the session together I came across some very useful links on Etsy on the subject that I thought I'd share;


Photographing 2D artwork.  Some really simple ideas for people that sell prints of their work.  During the session I also got talking about photographing fabric.  A seller who I think does an excellent job of giving life to this flat medium is Karaku


Brightening your photos using Picnik.  Personally, I'm a photoshop gal, but for this session I realised that the software is quite an investment and not really worth it for those who want to use a few simple photo editing functions.  I had a play with Picnik and was really impressed by how simple it is to use and how effective it is.


A basic how-to video on Photoshop.  This video (from youtube) is a 50 minute investment but from the parts I've watched, it seems to do a good job of covering the basics.


Photo tips including lighting.  In this tutorial she also talks about knowing your camera, colour and reflection and translucence.


Taking (and editing for) sharp photos.  This lesson goes over a number of things that will affect how crisp your resulting image will be.


Styling your photos and including props.  Photo styling is really not my forte' (hence why I didn't do so well in my product photography classes) so I found this article really quite interesting.  It goes into the thought behind what props help create the story of your product.  Make sure to scroll down to see some of the example images at the end, I just love the choker in the frame image.


Before and After photos.  Oh how I love a makeover.  I have (not so secret anymore) secret addiction to before and after shows.  Looking at the examples in this article does make you think about what it is about your own images that you could change.  In a similar vein is the Etsy Shop Makeovers group on Flickr which I believe that anyone can join.


Photographing for Etsy - a video by Etsy.  This is both a fun and interesting video to watch and shows some examples from a few different Etsy shops.  One thing from this that I found really interesting was what they said about having a person model clothing as opposed to it being on a mannequin - that items that were modelled sold so much more quickly than those not.  This statement was backed up by a few people in yesterday's session as well.


Photographing Jewellery.  A good little tutorial focused on the specific challenges of photographing jewellery.  I really like how some of the examples they have used in this also show the additional four shots used for the listing, it's good to see how the different angles work together.  There is also a link in here for making your own light box.


Collaborating with Photographers. This one is a little different - focussed on clothing designers who don't feel like the photos they take themselves gives justice to their work.  It looks at collaborating with photographers as well as an interesting take on getting your pieces on musicians and celebrities. 

12 comments:

Aurora Sisneros said...

This is fantastic! Thanks so much for putting this together. Your light box is brilliant! I just read the entry on Molly, and you have her posing in a much bigger background. How did you do the lighting on that large of a scale? Clearly, she doesn't fit in your light box! :) Thanks for sharing!

Mrs Button said...

Thanks for the links, Mel. It's great to be able to consider the data and then follow up with a read. My Molly is a bit more personable than yours! Lisa x

Mrs Button said...

Ha! My comment is there! Yay!

Sandrine said...

Oh lala Mel you are a gem!!!Not only it was a fabulous workshop and I feel so much confident in trying new things but now you have put all this so valuable info together for us all!!
Thanks soooooo much!!
Happy sunny MOnday x

edward and lilly said...

Thanks so much for the session on Saturday Mel, it was fantastic, I came away with so many tips and links. Very impressed!

shelleyberelli said...

Thanks Mel - it was such a useful session and this is a great summary. Love the photo you used to illustrate your post too : )

Cath @ chunkychooky said...

I am a big fan of piknik but the most important tip I have been told by a photographer is take pics outside in the shade.
no shadows..

BettsyKingston said...

Fantastic, truly appreciated from a photo novice such as myself.

Christine @ Origami Mommy said...

Thanks! This is my first visit to your blog and I can see there is going to be a lot for me to pore over. I'm excited!

origa-me said...

Thanks heaps for the tips, They will come in handy when I get the courage to put something in my Etsy Shop.
Carole.

midge said...

i adore the fabulous photos that people post out there. i crave the time to explore the art of photography but it does overwhelm me a teensy bit. thanks for this lovely list of useful links. im sure that even a little tip here and there must help

Trish Goodfield said...

Thank you, thank you Mel. I really looking forward to playing around with all your tips and visiting the suggested sites. I am 'a do it now' sort of photographer which resluts in raelly crappy images. Will have to try and be a little more planned.

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