|
|
Post by TammyA on Mar 10, 2015 11:56:14 GMT -5
Tammy's four photos remind me of one of the most difficult things I fight with -- getting the light & color as I want it every time. I have given up on "studio" lighting but, even if I always shoot on a bright day and in the same spot, my almost white background sometimes comes out a mid gray. Bothersome. Taking a shop cleanse look at my own shop, I see some photos I will re-do the next time I have the camera setup. Nobody said it would be easy, did they.  It is horribly tricky to get the proper light and color. Things like what you are wearing can influence what color your background appears because there is light bounce. In my perfect world, I would only ever have to crop a photo. In the real world, I have to lighten, adjust midtones, shadows, etc. When you're editing more than a few photos, those steps really add up to time not spent making things for sale. |
|
|
|
Post by Deb Flaherty on Mar 10, 2015 12:17:09 GMT -5
Tammy's four photos remind me of one of the most difficult things I fight with -- getting the light & color as I want it every time. I have given up on "studio" lighting but, even if I always shoot on a bright day and in the same spot, my almost white background sometimes comes out a mid gray. Bothersome. Taking a shop cleanse look at my own shop, I see some photos I will re-do the next time I have the camera setup. Nobody said it would be easy, did they. No they didn't  Overall I've tried to use a white background for a branding theme to my photos to help the products stand out, and I do like to use fresh cut herbs at the base of the items when I can get them out of the garden. I've started using a 12" square piece of light multi colored brown tile as a base for my 2 sided "studio box" and it is helping with the all white background, and seems to give a little depth to the pictures, but I still get a either too bright or a off grey color in the background and a lot of glare off the clear label covering. I guess my next project will be trying to make a light filter to hold over the top of the products and reflect some of the direct sunlight off of them to get away from the glare. I'm wondering how cheesecloth spread over a metal frame would work ?  I'll be reshooting the pictures of the Juicy Coconut lip balm as I'm not really happy with them, but do want to get them listed In this one the lip balm color came out exactly right but the label colors faded and have that glare to them from the direct sunshine. Finding that "sweet spot" of time when the light is right is almost impossible right now due to the winter light and our overcast/rainy days. I think I'm going to work on a hard board "white" 2 sided studio box and see if NOT using a silky material on the walls helps to get rid of some of the grey coloring. I know some of the problem is the winter light, and can't wait for spring/summer light to return.  This is one of the new pictures for the Coconut Mango Lip balm on top of the 12" tile which came out pretty good and I think the grey background color and the light brown tile color is actually helping the lip balms stand out in the picture. I'm still amazed at how the light brown tile came out grey I've also used the tinfoil covered cardboard several times to help displace some of the shadows that photographing outside seem to cause, especially when trying to take pictures of my black containers. Most of the time the light makes the white label on the black containers appear a bluish color, and the tinfoil cardboard has helped with that somewhat. |
|
|
|
Post by TammyA on Mar 10, 2015 12:27:45 GMT -5
I think using herbs and other things that are in the product itself as props can work really well. For teas, beauty products, etc. It doesn't have to be in every shot, but it does add something to the listing when it's in at least one photo. I can look and know "Ah, that's coconut lip balm." Or "ooh, chocolate tea." And now, I think I need to get to a Home Depot or something to find a nice mid-gray tile to test. As for reflections and glare, some people shoot under a dome. Or from a small opening in the flap of a totally enclosed light tent. This Cloud Dome is one example. And I know of one person who found a cheaper option - a plastic light fixture from the local hardware store. www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=347666&gclid=CIHRkqSnnsQCFUY9gQod3GEAiA&Q=&is=REG&A=details |
|
|
|
Post by janeisgreen on Mar 10, 2015 12:32:59 GMT -5
Karen, one suggestion I have that would be simple is to fade the quilt background in your banner so the words pop more. It would also add to the 'old-fashioned' appeal, I think. I like your idea, Katie, but how would that work in her banner?
Dixie, I think your photos are fantastic! As far as the shell is concerned, I think I like the simple photos better, although if it's just a tiny bit of shell showing, it works fine. The two on your front page with the rings don't work for me.
I'll be back shortly for more & to ask your opinions on my shop!
|
|
|
|
Post by Deb Flaherty on Mar 10, 2015 12:49:01 GMT -5
I think using herbs and other things that are in the product itself as props can work really well. For teas, beauty products, etc. It doesn't have to be in every shot, but it does add something to the listing when it's in at least one photo. I can look and know "Ah, that's coconut lip balm." Or "ooh, chocolate tea." And now, I think I need to get to a Home Depot or something to find a nice mid-gray tile to test. As for reflections and glare, some people shoot under a dome. Or from a small opening in the flap of a totally enclosed light tent. This Cloud Dome is one example. And I know of one person who found a cheaper option - a plastic light fixture from the local hardware store. www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=347666&gclid=CIHRkqSnnsQCFUY9gQod3GEAiA&Q=&is=REG&A=detailsThanks for the plastic light fixture tip....I would have never though of it and will check for a large/cheap one on my next run to the Home Depot Last spring I actually had the hubby outside with me holding up a big piece of cardboard to shade stuff, and it worked rather well but getting him out there at the right time of day is not always possible....so Saturday and Sunday photo shoots was what we ended up doing. Sometimes during the spring and summer I can get good results by opening up the 9" umbrella that's on the bar set on the back porch but this time of year the light is not right for it. The tile I'm using is actually a left over one from my doing the kitchen floor back in 2001 and it has several shades of beige in it. I've been trying to find a off white one and a light grey one also. They have a natural finish and ARE NOT shiny at all When you go looking for tiles, ask them if they have any open boxes of broken ones. Lots of time they'll have a box with broken tiles in them and one or two that are still in one piece that they might sell you really cheap I've been visiting the back of the store and their "scratch and dent" stuff, but they won't really start having a lot of tile available until April, or so the tile guy tells me. |
|
|
|
Post by TammyA on Mar 10, 2015 12:52:54 GMT -5
The tile I'm using is actually a left over one from my doing the kitchen floor back in 2001 and it has several shades of beige in it. I've been trying to find a off white one and a light grey one also. They have a natural finish and ARE NOT shiny at all  It's been on my to-do list since last year. To go tile shopping. I need one for my polymer clay work surface too. I think the one you're using works for your product. Even though it's your "floor" tile, it could easily be a bathroom counter. Which is where I might expect to find bath and skin care products. |
|
|
|
Post by janeisgreen on Mar 10, 2015 13:18:20 GMT -5
Debbie: I love your organic, natural products! My comment would be about your banner. From what I've read, I would put all the info on it in the thing under your shop name and have a simple banner that 'says' organic & natural.
Me: I think I'm happy with my banner. My ethos with this shop is the same as my blog: Simple, Sustainable, Natural. That's what I'd like everything to say/show. That's my market, too (ages 34-50). Apparently I'm not displaying that very well as my sales have been very slow. I know I need more things in my shop, but aside from that can anybody give me some ideas? Do my photos need changing? Perhaps a faint weathered wood background (I've been thinking about that recently, but don't know how I'd manage it)? Anything else?
|
|
|
|
Post by TammyA on Mar 10, 2015 13:42:49 GMT -5
Me: I think I'm happy with my banner. My ethos with this shop is the same as my blog: Simple, Sustainable, Natural. That's what I'd like everything to say/show. That's my market, too (ages 34-50). Apparently I'm not displaying that very well as my sales have been very slow. I know I need more things in my shop, but aside from that can anybody give me some ideas? Do my photos need changing? Perhaps a faint weathered wood background (I've been thinking about that recently, but don't know how I'd manage it)? Anything else? Hard to say whether the low sales are related to your photos. I'd guess if your views are high, and your bounce rate is low, you're on the right track to drive people to and keep them in your shop. Why those views aren't converting to sales is beyond my scope of expertise. If, on the other hand, you have low views and little traffic to your shop overall, that's likely nothing to do with your photos or your banner. Might be something to tackle when KatieJoy goes over SEO and things. Or it's a social media strategy thing. |
|
|
|
Post by Ian Garrett on Mar 10, 2015 13:45:34 GMT -5
I noticed Ian, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ArtofEmaan , has the handmade forum stamp on his item pictures. Any ideas on how to do that? I get the big square not just the stamp.' I used a photo editing software called Serif Draw. It is a very similar program to Photoshop. I croped out the background and then added it to the Banner and product photos. |
|
|
|
Post by TammyA on Mar 10, 2015 13:47:40 GMT -5
Who uses the "rearrange your shop feature" to change up their front page periodically? Like the display on a store window.
Or maybe you use it to create mini collections, perhaps grouped by color or theme? Like pages in a catalog.
Do you switch up your featured images periodically? Maybe featuring colors or items for a pending holiday, a birthstone of the month, etc.
Did you know your featured images show at the bottom of your About page? Are you using them to showcase examples of what your shop is all about?
|
|
Overall I've tried to use a white background for a branding theme to my photos to help the products stand out, and I do like to use fresh cut herbs at the base of the items when I can get them out of the garden.
