the photo jackpot

I've been going to the online critiques that the etsy lab has every Friday. They pick two shops and go through what's working and how to make them better. I've learned something every time I've sat in on one and thought I'd share some of the photo tips with you.

example:


Last year's photo of my snowmen pendants, background is way too busy and I used lamps for the lighting.



In natural light, but need to have the photo lighter and the background was too washed out. One of the problems of this photo is the light is coming from the back.



So what's my secret now? 1. Natural light, I set up right next to the window sill and 2. Contrasting background for extra pop! I've been photographing most of my items on white paper, but found my camera's color balance works better if I use a background with some color.


I've been using books, which is the green background here.


scrapbook paper in a dark grey


and a rusted sheet of metal.

Another thing to consider when choosing your backgrounds and props is what kind of theme works best for your product. I felt like things that looked ancient, like items from an old library, worked very well with the natural colors and textures of my clay.

Here are two videos on taking better photos.
Photographing Your Items from the Etsy Labs
Photo Tips from Gemmafactrix

Natural light is the key! I will never take pictures with a lamp again, there is just no comparison for me. I also spend much less time fixing up the light and colors in Photogshop. Since I've been using natural lighting for my photos my work has been featured on the front page of Etsy twice, so I must be doing something right!