Our TAFA Group on Flickr: A Great Place to Visit!

One of the things I encourage TAFA members to do is to have a presence of Flickr.  Have you ever gone there to look for inspiration, new ideas, images to support a blog post?  Well, it is one of the best places to find great photos and to meet new people who may share some of your interests.

A key thing to do when you set up your images on Flickr is to use good tags so that people will find your images.  Those tags will show up on searches and they can be organized in themed slide shows.  Once you have an account, you can also join groups that have those themes that interest you.  Our TAFA group now has 87 members submitting images to our pool, totaling 859 items!  Who knows how many we will have in a year?  The slide show above pulls in images that have been tagged with "Etsy".  But, you could also use shibori, quilt, felt, etc as key words and come up with different sets of images each time.

These slide shows can be posted anywhere where html is accepted, blogs or websites.  And, many of the social media sites have apps where flickr images can also be shown.  You can save images that you like as favorites, make people that you like your contacts, and use the slide shows and apps in creative ways.  If you ever use someone else's image in a blog post, make sure that you ask them for permission first.  It's a big no-no and a copyright violation to use these photos without crediting the owner and without their knowledge. 

Come visit our TAFA Group on Flickr!  Network with our members and get to know them.  You will certainly enjoy their talent and absolutely wonderful explorations in the world of textiles and fiber art!

Are your photos where it's at?

You can get with this, or you can get with that.
Are your photos where it's at?

Posted by Barbara Harms/Asian Art And Quilts

I loved saying that. ...like the car ad with the cool mice.
But, let's talk seriously for a minute about the photos you are taking for showcasing your work.

My own early photos will, at the very least give you a good laugh, and at best demonstrate an important lesson for many new sellers. Most importantly, you must believe, and learn; the photos you take for your listings make the difference between a sale or not even getting a passing look.

Your customers (and sales) are dependent on the quality of your photos, so here goes, you be the judge.

Which product would you choose?
 

You can go with this, 

or you can go with that.

[a slight disclaimer, none of these have not been sized for the proper dimensions ]

Scarf Image #1

Scarf Image #2

#1?- A hanger and a hand showing [with dye on the hand even]
Or #2?

Model #1

Model #2

Which model would you choose?    #1 or #2?

I should get a few points for thinking outside the box with the bear.
But what does that photo say about my professionalism?

So what do you think?

Remember, the photos used in your listings make all the difference!
So tell me, what is wrong with these photos?  What would you do to improve them?
By sharing our thoughts and examples we WILL improve!

And, I think we all could benefit from help to take better photos, yes?

Etsy Tips on Photographing Your Product

Etsy links on photography tips.

Those of us who sell online depend on our photos to showcase our products to potential customers.  The importance of having good, if not great, photos cannot be emphasized enough.  A photo should be so good that you can imagine touching it, wearing it, displaying it, and owning it.

Danielle, who often puts together great tips for Etsy sellers, brings together a list of great resources on photography in this guide.   There are tips on what camera to buy, how to prop your product, lighting, and so on.  The links take you to Etsy forum tips and outside sites.  Even veteran photographers can use a refresher and see if there are any fresh ideas that can be explored.

One of Etsy's strengths is its dedication in providing tools for its shop owners to succeed.  They have consistently offered tips, tutorials and advice on a myriad of topics related to owning a shop.  Even if you do not have a shop, you can take advantage of these photo tips for your own projects: blogging, family photos, etc.

Do you have any photo tips to share?  

What tricks do you use to have great results?

Are you frustrated with your photos?  

What is the hardest part for you?  

Perhaps we can do a little problem solving and tip sharing of our own right here!  Leave a comment and make sure to sign up for email responses to this post if you would like to follow a discussion on photography.

Photography Tip for Online Sellers

So many of us are using Etsy or similar sites to sell our goods. If you read any advice on marketing your goods, the very first and most critical thing is to take good photos. You can learn a lot by just looking at sites that have appealing ways of photographing and displaying their goods. 

I've learned a lot by reading the blog by Tim Adam called Handmadeology. Tim is devoted to finding and sharing great advice on how to use Etsy effectively to market your goods. Tim posted a fantastic free app called FotoFuze .

Okay, so now there's really no excuse not to have great photos! I'm going to rework a bunch of mine. It looks like it will work mainly for those photographing smaller objects both 2D and 3D. There is a neat way to take 360 degree photos using a lazy susan - very cool.
I recommend his blog and check out his archives for everything Etsy.

Valerie Hearder - African Threads

A Pageful of Craftgawker Submissions

Maybe I have a future in product photography! I now have a full page of photos in Craftgawker. Here is the link to my photo gallery Dharmakarmaarts Gallery. As you know, Craftgawker is a highly curated craft photography site and it is a challenge to take photos that are CG worthy. I take a lot of photos of my art ad craft items and whenever I find something that looks good I submit to Craftgawker. It is always a thrill when my photos get accepted. As of yesterday, I have a full page of accepted submisisons. Hopefully, the streak will continue.

Something not selling on Etsy? Maybe it's the photo...

"Happy Bag" by Rayela Art

I made several variations of the bag above a couple of years ago.  Most of them sold over time, but this one has been stuck in my Etsy shop.  Why?  Well, the photo I had there was pretty crappy:

 The same "Happy Bag" by Rayela Art

The other bags in the same series were photographed in the same way, so forgiving buyers must be thanked!  Almost everything sells in my Etsy shop, over time, but I have quite a few things that have been stuck there for at least two years.  In looking at them, I admit that all of the photos need improvement.  So, I started to work on it, and although the new photos are not perfect, they certainly beat the old ones!  Here is another before and after shot:

"Alien Bag" by Rayela Art

I've seen worse photos, but had also saved it in a rectangular size so that Etsy cropped it and it looked weird.  I just never bothered to fix it.  The new photo was saved as a square and has more dimension:

 

 

 

Again, not a fantastic photo, but definitely an improvement over the other one.  Can you see a difference in quality?  That comes from having a new camera.  I now use a 35 mm digital Pentax K110.  I bought it used on eBay and am still learning to use the functions.  I haven't found my comfort zone with it yet and am not in love with it, but it was the best camera I could get within my budget.  The seller got rid of it because it was too much camera for her.  The functions are a bit confusing, but I am definitely pleased with the improvement.  So, getting a decent camera is a definite consideration if you do a lot of product shots.

 

Another consideration is adding a prop.  I have a hat that has been sitting in my shop forever.  It's a simple, but attractive reversible cotton hat:

 

 

I actually did use a prop with that listing:

 

 

 

Both of those shots are with the old camera.  Here is the new image:

 

 

 

A big improvement, wouldn't you say?  Busy backgrounds do not help at all!

 

One last example:  This is a cuff I made last Fall.  

 

 Rayela Art Cuff

The photo in itself is not bad.  Nice, clear image, but it doesn't really give the viewer an idea of what it looks like when it is worn.  So, I used a prop and added it to the listing:

 

 

The prop is a plaster cast of my hand that I used to use at henna events.  I don't think the photo of the cuff is any better than the top one, in fact, it is worse.  The top one shows the details much more clearly.  But, because the hand and the rust background are so eye catching, I know the photo will end up in all kinds of treasuries and get much more attention than the first photo.  And, that should lead to a sale.  (!!!)  

 

However, ugly props can turn off a buyer just as quickly, so make sure that your prop really enhances your item.  One of my most hated props is this foam head that so many sellers use in their listings.  I just think it is the ugliest thing and automatically makes whatever is on it look cheap.  If that's what you use, cover it with paper machie and give it a face lift.

 

Etsy gives us five photos to sell our stuff.  The first one should invite the buyer in to learn more about the piece.  Whether it is a straightforward product shot or an artsy one, it should be beautiful.  

 

Photo Tips:

• Invest in a decent camera
• Get rid of busy backgrounds
• Save images as squares
• Use interesting props

What works for you?  What camera do you use and are you happy with it?  Are you having photo dilemmas?  I am not an expert, but we have several members on our Etsy Team who do a beautiful job with their images.  Perhaps I can get them to chime in on problem solving, too.  

 

Shooting and editing product photos takes patience and perseverance to master.  I have shot thousands of photos and spend a lot of time editing them and I am still learning.  I cannot emphasize how important it is to have good photos in order to do well with online selling.  So, if you are a seller, and especially if you are a member of our TAFA Team, stick with it.  I would love to see all of our shops be the best they can be!

Choosing Backgrounds for Your Etsy Photos

Tribal Jewelry from Central Asia on Afghan Tribal Arts

Great photos are key to successful online sales.  And, that is one of the things that makes shopping on Etsy fun.  The majority of the sellers there take this challenge seriously and really work at displaying their goods beautifully.  Many other competing online markets fail dismally at this as products are displayed with boring, dull, dark, blurry and downright awful photos.  There have even been jokes about photos on eBay where embarrassing reflections are caught by the camera and not noticed by the seller.  The one that sticks in my mind is of a shiny, silver teapot reflecting the image of a fat white man with no shirt on looking through a camera.  Bleah!

Of course there are awful photos on Etsy, too.  Learning how to use lighting well and then edit photos is a time consuming process.  Indira of dharmakarmaarts, one of our TAFA Team members, mentioned that she shoots dozens of shots for every item that she lists in her shop.  Etsy only allows us to show five.  I don't have Indira's patience, so I try for five to seven per item and go with the best.  Over the years, I've photographed thousands of products.  You would think that by now I would be an expert.  I think I am about average.  Good, but not exceptional.  My goal is to give clear images of the product so that the potential buyer can see and "feel" what they are looking at.  Sometimes I think photos on Etsy can go too far to the creative side, so that the product is actually diminished by the photo effects.

In the last couple of days, I have been working on getting photos ready for new listings on one of the shops I manage on Etsy, Afghan Tribal Arts.  My friend, Abdul, imports from Afghanistan and we have textiles, beads and jewelry on his Etsy shop.  I had started working on these photos a couple of months ago and then got sidetracked by other things.  I normally shoot outside on overcast days and when I was setting up yesterday, my eye caught a rusty iron table that I have in my yard.  I normally have plants on it.  The surface has aged into some pretty cool looking textures, so I thought I would try re-shooting some things on it.  Here is an example:

Before:

After:

The same pendant looks completely different on the white and rust background.  The metals pick up reflections of the surface it is on.  What do you think?  Which do you like better?  I love the rusty texture, but wonder if it makes the overall image too dark, especially when it is a small thumbnail.  Here are some other examples:

I was also playing with placing the objects a bit off center...

I often get rid of the background completely which is more time consuming.  Here is a textile that I will list later today:

 Turkman Child's Ceremonial Vest

www.afghantribalarts.etsy.com

I think a white background is especially important for pieces that already have a lot of pattern or texture in them.  But, one could as easily choose a solid color instead of white as the background.  Part of the challenge is to try to create a signature with the photos so that when they show up in image searches, people start recognizing immediately what belongs to your shop.  I hesitate to do that because it might brand an object, limiting it to a certain type of decor or group of people.  This is always a challenge when photographing clothing.  Some shoppers prefer to see clothing on someone while others prefer a mannequin or hanger.

If you are a shopper, what turns you on or off to a photo?  What kinds of backgrounds do you prefer?

If you are a seller, what have you experimented with and what are your insights?

TUESDAY TEXTURE SHOT

Can you guess what this is? Check out the hills and valleys, the striations, the little pricklies in the smooth dark green. I don't think I would know either. Anyway, it's the stem to one of the blue hubbard squash in my garden. I love squash stems for their texture. So woody, but those smooth striations of green give it so much character. What textures do you love?

"There is something magical in seeing what you can do, what TEXTURE and tone and colour you can produce merely with a pen point and a bottle of ink."
                                                                                  Ida Rentoul Outhwaite