Affordable Wonders

How many of my readers have sold something? I'm willing to bet that it's everyone. 

Product photography plays such an important role in selling your item let alone get the price that you'd like. Now these tips are for everyone that sells whether you are selling something used on Craiglist or whether you have a shop online. The photo is usually the 1st thing that a potential customer/ buyer sees right after the title (we'll discuss the title in a different blog)

Now you don't have to buy any expensive equipment but you do have to have good lighting. If it is a clear day take your item outside and shoot your pictures in natural light. If it isn't set up near a lamp or under a light (I do my photos under my dining room chandalier) I have 100w light bulbs that claim to be bright white (not soft white) I use these only for the purpose of photos. 

Get familiar with your camera and try taking a photo of the same object in different settings. I use different cameras all depends on which one is closer. My camera phone, my little point and shoot and my DSLR and honestly I believe that all my photos turn out equally in quality. 

Backdrops are another important part of getting a great picture. I do have the big professional photo set up as I am a freelance photographer but I don't bring it out everytime I want to shoot a picture to much work! lol What I do do is keep different blankets readily available next to where I normally shoot. I prop up a portion of the blanket just high enough to clear the height of the item I am shooting. and open it wide enough to cover the ground. Now the trick to picking the right backdrop is if you are taking a photo of something that has bright live colors you would want to pick a dark backdrop it will just make those colors POP! And visaversa if you are taking a photo of a darker item you would want to pick a lighter backdrop.

Props can be used to add interest to the item. Especially if it is an item that can leave a question as to how a person can use it. For example lets say you are selling a buffet hutch. The normal way to use this is in a dining room but it can be repurposed as a dresser or a nightstand or a toy cabinet or a TV stand so you can reach a wider audience by showing them the mulitiude of uses of one item. I sell hand crocheted baby clothes so my props are usually babies! I usually post a free ad on Craigslist offering a free photo session in exchange for permission to use the photos. (if shooting newborns you should stick to infants less than 10 days old to get the best shots)

How close should you shoot? Well with each item it's different. Standing to close to a smaller item doesn't always get you a better photo. Mainly because unless you know how to fiddle with your flash and turn it off and have sufficient light to compensate the flash may washout the photo that you are trying to take. It would be better to take the photo at a distant and then crop it down. 

I have been guilty of taking a quick pic just to get my product listed I didn't do any composition and I believe that as a result of that I haven't made the sales. I am now in the process of retaking photos of all my products. The products that I have relisted with the new photos have sold almost immediately so I now strongly agree that photography is one of the most important part of listing an item for sale. 

I hope that this information helped someone out. If you have any questions feel free to ask I will do my best to answer them.