Your Photos

When selling on line it is important to have good photographs which starts with a good camera. It helps to have a macro function on the camera which allows for good in focus close-up shots.

It is recommended that you have your merchandise professionally photographed but realistically, when you are starting out, this can be costly. Here are some tips to follow:

• Read your camera manual and once you have used it for a while, read it again. It might offer good suggestions for photographing or have a feature you were wishing you had.

• Use a neutral background. Not too neutral as it can be quite boring and repetitive.

• Make sure your pictures are in focus and if they are not, take them again. No prospective customer will take you seriously if you are posting fuzzy pictures. You aren't taking yourself seriously. Use a tripod if necessary. There are lots of inexpensive useful little ones designed for the digital cameras.

• Frame your shot and crop it if necessary to make sure it is well centered. The ones above are off center, especially the one on the right.

• Make sure the picture fits with what cropping the website does. I have items posted on one site that are just not getting any views so much has been cropped.

• Follow the guidelines for the site as to size. If the pictures are too big it will be difficult to upload them. If it takes a long time for you to upload them your potential customers can have as much trouble loading them to their computers. They could potentially hit the back key and move on to something else rather than wait.

• You don't need an expensive program to adjust your photos. I have found Picture Manager - part of the Microsoft Office package does a good enough job. Practice with the different editing options until you are satisfied. Remember, always save your edits under a new file name in case you don't like the results once the picture is posted.

The two photos above were taken at different times of the day under natural light. Each has it's own merits but I am not satisfied with either. If I can't get a better shot (I will try a few more) I will ultimately use the one with the stand as it is not as stark a picture.

Photographing your merchandise for posting on the web takes practice, time and a lot of repetition - but you know what they say - practice makes perfect.

Share your suggestions here for good photographs including reviews of cameras and background and lighting tips.

Happy photographing...
CraftyLadyLiz