Christmas is over and it's time to retool, rework and generally give some love to my etsy shop. I've been wanting to streamline my listings for a little while now and I finally had the time to devote to doing just that. Check out the new pics and feel free to stop by the shop and take a look around.
I've touched on the importance of your brand as an artist in my previous post. But now I want to dedicate this article to pictures. To be specific. Product pictures for my Etsy shop.
SeasonColours is 18 days old now and I've already accumulated 100's of photos in connection with my store. I use a 2 year old canon powershot sd1200 IS. It's not a professional camera, but we use what we have right? So we make it work. We focus on what we do have. Which is an eye for what feels right and we go with that.
If you're thinking of opening a shop you might find yourself doing the same things. Taking picture after picture of your product from different angles, different lighting all in the name of producing the most enticing and easily read image you can then place on your shop. The idea is pretty basic. Make it look good. When I take my product pictures I try to think about what I want to convey. If I'm shooting a print. I want to show a couple things. One is how it might look on your wall. A close up of the detail in the print and how it'll be shipped to you, (Still working on that.) I also think about the Etsy brand. Bright white seems to be the common link between Etsy and shop owner. So using natural soft light from a window in your home might be the best place to take pictures. You'll want to take MANY photos. Many.
I think if you're like me and you've never done this before, you'll just have to learn through trial and error. Thus taking hundreds of photos just to capture that perfect look you need for your own brand of product.
I've found the most challenging thing about doing product photography is that there is only about 2-3 hours of sunlight a day in Montreal right now. And with a busy schedule it's hard to find the time to get everything done. So I don't. I know that my photography is a work in progress. When I get a chance to improve or try something new, I take it and only do as much as I can. Currently this means I have a variety of product photos on my shop that don't really coalesce with each other. But Other than wait to get everything just perfect, I find it's important to show the best you have and keep working to eventually get everything the way you envision it.
It's your shop and you get to choose. I love being a shop owner because I love being able to make decisions. SeasonColours is really the best job I've ever had.
Here are some examples of my photos from multiple shoots (the ones that didn't make it) as I try and find my way through the fog to creating a brand that represents me.
Drop me a comment with your thoughts! I'm all for hearing your stories of photo madness
Thanks for reading and feel free to subscribe as I'll be posting a new article everyday!
We're adding listings today for gift certificates for Seasoncolours.etsy.com
With only 8 days left to get your Christmas shopping done, we've got the best gift money can buy! This is perfect for last minute shopping and you will receive the gift certificate same day via a .pdf file which you can print or e-mail to your recipient.
Besides the plugging SeasonColours gift certificates, I also wanted to give a brief synopsis about my experience on Etsy so far. I have to say it's been an amazingly rewarding time. Etsy is easy to use and set up and it works! We've completed 5 transactions since our grand opening and we've learned so much along the way already. We've discovered the importance of Etsy as a brand and that has helped us to shape our own. I could honestly read and watch videos all day on how to be a successful Etsy seller. It's so motivational! The most rewarding part of opening an Etsy store has been the direct link between sales and how much effort we put into the shop. Pictures tell a thousand words is the saying and it's true. The idea that you want to take clear photos that show your product in the best possible light is probably the most important aspect of being an Etsy seller. (We're still working on that and I think it'll probably be something we're always working on.)
Value your product!
When we set up the shop we couldn't decide on prices. It's one of the hardest decisions to make on Etsy. But through research and testing we've come up with the best answer for us. We price our product for it's perceived value. It's important to know this. There is a fine line between what you think people should pay and what the people buying think they should pay. Somewhere in the middle of that is your perceived value. Don't underestimate the power of your product.
You can click on this gift certificate to see the different gift amounts we offer!
And if you like free money, (who doesn't?) we're having an amazing offer through our facebook page where you can enter to win a $100 gift certificate for SeasonColours prints, cards and custom watercolour paintings!!! Find out how to win by visiting our facebook page here
And that's all the time I have for today. I simply must paint! Thanks for reading!
