Photos

Yesterday I set the day aside to take photos of my newest items to list in my Etsy shop - and boy am I glad I had several hours to dedicate to this venture!! One thing that has been particularly interesting to me during the initial stages of setting up Andrea Lynn Handmade is discovering how much time I'll actually spend on things that I thought would only take a minimal amount of time. I mean, it's just taking picture, right? How hard can that be? Boy was I wrong!

I started planning for different photo ideas earlier in the week by scouting Esty for examples of photos of items that I thought were good examples. I was drawn to photos that were simple and had lighter colored backgrounds as that seemed to truly highlight the product. I was also impressed with some alternate views of items that were extremely upclose. These photos conveyed the true textures of the fabrics and excellent craftmanship of the piece.

It took some time to find the right light, but the area on my patio was great for taking advantage of indirect sunlight. I also used my living room curtains as the backdrop for my items. Their subtle geometric pattern supplied some interest and their white color made my handbags really stand out in the photos.

I took about 20 photos of each item and selected about 5 final photos to place in the Etsy listing. I tried to think about what angles and points of interest I would be looking for if I was a potential buyer. I focused on the overall front view of the product, some detailing of the stitching and fabric texture, as well as the inside material and pockets. For example, here's the photos I listed for a small brown handbag I made:
The first picture shows the overall view of the bag:

The second picture demonstrates that the handle has some support of its own and further shows its length

The third picture allows the viewer to see the detail of the flowers and the fabrics

The fourth picture shows the detailed embroidery on the interior pockets

The last picture shows the overall interior of the bag to, hopefully, convey how much space is available in the bag.

When browsing online listings I'm very mindful now of ways that people present their products in the hope of incorporating different techniques into my listings :)