Camp Etsy: 5 Simple Tips for Great Etsy Photos

Welcome Campers.

As a child / teen, in addition to several different orchestra (played the viola) camps, I attended chemistry, biology, photography, pottery, fine arts, string, and French camp, to name a few.

Unlike those, this camp will be void of late night treks through the woods to potty, cold showers, misquotes, and the sticky smell of maple syrup in the dining hall.

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However, I do hope that my Newbie Etsy Camp teaches you a couple things you didn't already know about what it takes to start and promote your own Etsy shop.

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Let me explain why you need to read this -

it was written by a newbie, not a seasoned professional with thousands of sales.

Most of the things I plan to share with you are things I discovered on my own through trial and error...and I understand how overwhelming starting an Etsy shop can be.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be sharing my experience with you about the importance of great pictures (and how to get them), pricing strategy, how to promote your product for free, writing your product description, and much more.

Let's get started...

After you determine what you plan on selling on Etsy, 

the #1 MOST important factor is getting people to look at your stuff.

Great pictures are a must.

haven vintage

Think about it - when you're browsing through blogs, what typically makes you stop and look, follow, and come back repeatedly....pretty pictures.

AMradio

Aren't these pictures beautiful?  Even if they weren't being used to promote a product, they'd be inspiring design photos.

Knob Creek Metal Arts

Etsy is not Ebay or Craigslist, where you can post a picture of a piece of furniture stacked sideways in your garage, and expect to sell it.

I'm not saying that my pictures even compare to the pictures of the amazing sellers I've shown above, but I wanted to use my own photos (so as not to offend anyone)

Would you be more likely to click on this picture?

Or this one?

What about this one?

Or this one?

Just a little cropping and photo editing completely changes the look of these pictures. (I use Picassa because it's very easy to use and doesn't require a degree in graphic design)

So, what makes a great Etsy photo?

1. Simple, consistent background.

Crafts by Nesli

Even if, like me, you are an inexperienced photographer with a $50 point and shoot camera - this is something you can do to easily make your product stand out and your picture look more professional.

White (and variations of it) seems to be the most popular backdrop that I see on Etsy.  

You can use a bedsheet, or a white table against a white wall, or even white paper.

What better way to highlight your product than to remove the backdrop?

Using white also makes it easier to give your overall shop a consistent, uncluttered appearance.

haven

The overall appearance of my shop was something I failed to consider when I first started it.

 

As a result, it's overall appearance is less cohesive than the shop pictured above.  I've been working on updating my listings with new pictures, but it's a time consuming process...it would have been much easier to do it from the beginning.

2. Natural Light (the kind that comes from the sun, not in a 12-pack)

When I started my blog last August, I had no idea how important good pictures were (or how to take them). 

I happened to take some pictures of a few furniture pieces outside because I didn't want to include our lovely blue carpet in the picture.

After uploading the pictures to my computer, I realized how much better the color and quality of the photos taken outside were compared to pictures I'd taken inside.

An added bonus is that it cuts your editting time significantly because you don't have to manipulate the color and light balance as much.

This picture was taken outside.

This one was taken inside next to a big window.

Big difference.

Try it, you'll be happy you did!

3.  Take LOTS of pictures...and then take a couple more.

I probably take 5-10 pictures for every 1 that I use for my Etsy listings.  It may seem to take a lot of time, but getting the right picture means more sales...and you save time from having to re-shoot later.

Here's an example of some of the many pictures I take to get a couple strong images for a single Etsy listing.

Take pictures from different angles and distances - you'll be surprised by the result.

Experiment with different locations and backdrops.

Add and remove props and design elements.  Always make sure to take some of the item on its own.

4. Crop and Edit

I touched on this in #1, but to elaborate - I wanted to suggest that you play around and try different things when editing your photos.  

When cropping, don't just outline the item, use it to create close-ups and highlight features of the item.

Different perspectives give your pictures some interest - hopefully enough to make a buyer want to see more and click on it.

5. Show your Product in "Action"

When browsing through shops (online or in person), do you ever lose focus, especially if you're not looking for anything specific?  You'll see things you really like, but have no idea how to use them or incorporate it into your home.

For example, imagine if this seller had just posted pictures of empty lab bottles in a cardboard box....

AMradio

...you probably wouldn't even notice them.  But shown like this, as storage for small office, crafting, and hardware supplies, the picture gives you an idea of how to use the product that's not only practical, but interesting as well.

Or, check out this beautiful baby headband...

Miss Ruby Sue

It's a great picture of a unique item, but check it out when it's put to use by an adorable baby...

Miss Ruby Sue

Now, I want to buy the headband, the ruffly romper...and perhaps have another baby (lol - this feeling quickly subsides as my 1 year old dumps my 2 year old's training potty contents on my favorite rug!)

Showing potential buyers ideas of how to use your product will make it stand out and could potentially inspire the buyer to purchase several items.

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I know that I've only skimmed the surface of a very extensive topic, but that's my intention.  When starting a new Etsy shop, you have so many details to consider, my goal here is to give you a couple concise tips on things I wish I would have thought about when I started my shop.

Please stop back over the next several weeks to check out my other Camp Etsy posts for Newbies - don't make the same mistakes that I've made!

If you have a shop and have any additional advice on this topic, please, please, please do leave a comment sharing your experience.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great day!

take care -
 

Renovation Reality

My husband and I met when he bought his house. I was his real estate agent. Crazy, huh? He bought the house in May 2007, and planned to renovate and sell by September 2007. He chose a local contractor who came highly recommended by my husband's mortgage broker.

Here's a peek at the house (built in 1908) – pre $150,000 renovation lawsuit-blood-sweat-many tears:

The front, obviously. Do you like the wire hanging from the ceiling where a light fixture should be? When it rained, water would pour through the hole, and when it was cold, we would get a lovely icicle.

 

And the back…notice the black tarp on the left? The man who owned the house before us had dug out a bunker under where a porch use to be…by hand, with buckets. Odd.

Don't worry, I have more pictures. To make a long, heartbreaking story short, when we were about $80,000 into the reno, we realized that of the 26 items on the original estimate, only 14 had been started, and not one had been completed. NOT.ONE. We weren't living in the house at the time, so when we would come out to check on the progress, the contractor would make promises and give explanations…we were so deep, we thought the easiest way to proceed would be to move into the house (with no hot water, finished kitchen, or bathroom doors) and keep a closer eye on things. We quickly realized that we had made a terrible mistake by trusting this contractor.

We were left with a house that was maybe 25% finished, and we only had about $10,000 left to finish the project (which we quickly realized was not nearly enough) So begins the blood, sweat, and tears part of the story. The hardest I've ever worked – and we planned a wedding and had a baby during it too. Instead of 3 months, it took 3 years. Here are a couple more pictures – showing before and after. Sorry some of the pictures aren't so great, unbelievably, we didn't really take "after" pictures.

                        

FOYER – There use to be a low ceiling in the foyer. We had it removed and the correlating wall, but the contractors couldn't figure out how to finish the railing to match the existing lower portion of steps.  The wall and closet on the left were removed, the picture on the right shows what was left.

This is how the contractors left the newly created laundry room...knowing we were moving in that day. (Before they started working there, these floors had been in perfect condition.)  Oh, and they never hooked up the plumbing, so the 1st time I did laundry...water was pouring into our basement, which as you'll see below, had dirt floors.

Basement...or something.  The  rectangular mound on the left was once a 10 foot deep abyss.

                                                                 

BEFORE- On left, original master bath - and only bathroom in the house.  On right, once they tore down kitchen ceiling below the bathroom, they found serious water damage, so the whole bathroom floor came out.

 

 

 

Originally, a parlor  for the master bedroom, but we added a hallway to make it a small 3rd bedroom.

Original kitchen.  These were all of the cabinets, the opposite wall just had a stove on it.      

Thankfully, we survived, so there are "after" pictures to share.   This post has reminded me to take lots of pictures of our next house, I can't believe how few I have of the last house!

Thanks,

e

New House Introduction

After being in contract on 4 other houses in the past year, and not closing on 3 of them...I believe (still holding breath, crossing  fingers, etc) that we've found "the one."  Just to recap the year in houses: 

 House #1 - Small cape cod - everything, including carpet, walls, and exterior was a lovely light pea green.  Sellers wouldn't make several crucial repairs (like make the water run) so we canceled the contract.

 House #2 - Small cape cod - needed total rehab.  Were doing a (ridiculous) full 203K FHA loan...and costs got out of hand...by closing, we were paying more for the house than it was worth.  Strangely enough, FHA allows that to happen?  Yeah, I know.  Lender surprised us with $3000 in additional closing costs the night before closing, with no explanation other than that he "thought" it "may" have been an error with a credit that the seller was giving us.  Since we decided to cancel the contract, HUD didn't want to give us our $1000 in earnest money back, but after I wrote a letter explaining the horrible experience we had with our lender....they gave it back, which they NEVER do. (supposedly)

House #3 - Small brick ranch without an oven. Water view and .75 acres...but the house was really small - 1426 sq ft (we are big people) and we realized that we would probably grow out of it.  We decided were paying too much for a house that needed updating....we'd never be able to sell the house for what we'd need to put into it.  The final straw was trying to negotiate the repairs with the seller - we only asked for a couple of things that were required by the lender (treating termites) or maintenance items that should have been completed on a full-price house (not a distressed sale) before it was listed.

AND....Finally...House #4 - The morning we cancelled our offer on #3, I was lying in bed that morning and thought to myself, I wonder if they'd take "X" amount for house #4 - if they did, I'd want it, even though needs lots of updates and has no water view.  I went downstairs and B was looking at #4 online - he said, they lowered the price on #4 to "X-$1000" (numbers changed to protect the innocent).  I ignored him because he enjoys "pulling my leg" all  the time.  Once he finally convinced me, I realized that it was a sign we were looking for.  We made an appointment with our Realtor to see it again.  We canceled offer on #3 because the seller wouldn't make repairs, and made a new offer on #4 which was accepted by the sellers.

So, here are the "before" pictures of the house that should be ours as of 8/31/11 (if everything goes as planned):

One of the things we love about the house is that we can live there and fix it up over time.

One side of our double-sided fireplace.

Other side of the fire place, dining room, and our colorful kitchen.

Sunroom...my favorite room...I have many plans for this one!

Max's Bedroom

Guest Bath 

"Master" Bath

Back of the house

Shed (aka - future Mother-In-Law Suite...I kid!)

LOTS of work to do, but not NEARLY as much as our last house.

take care

erin