What is one picture-taking tip for someone taking pictures for Etsy?
To help you take the best pictures for Etsy, we asked photography enthusiasts and marketing professionals this question for their best ideas. From looking through competitor’s photos to shooting different angles and backgrounds, there are several photo-taking tips that may make pictures of your products stand out on Etsy.
Here are seven Etsy picture-taking tips:
- Look Through Competitors’ Photos
- Use The Rule of Thirds from Your Camera App Settings
- Crop and Add Finishing Touches Using Editing Apps
- Take Pin Sharp Photos Using a Tripod
- Apply The Right Ratio
- Shoot With Natural Light To Create Authentic Cohesive Look
- Produce Professional Photos With White or Black Backgrounds
- Shoot Different Angles and Backgrounds
Look Through Competitors’ Photos
Do a quick Etsy search for the product you’re photographing to gauge what kinds of images draw your eyes. If the market for the product is saturated, looking at other example photos can give you a good idea of what most people are doing. If you notice that most people are staging them a certain way, you can choose to avoid that method in order to ensure your product photos stand out against the crowd.
Adam Shlomi, SoFlo Tutors
Use The Rule of Thirds from Your Camera App Settings
One picture-taking best practice for any platform, Etsy included, is to follow the rule of thirds in photography. iPhone offers a grid setting on the camera app that allows you to compose a more compelling shot in realtime. By taking more aesthetically pleasing pictures by following good photography etiquette, you can attract more potential customers to your page.
Carly Hill, VirtualHolidayParty.com
Crop and Add Finishing Touches Using Editing Apps
Not everyone has a clear background or good lighting for their desired picture. What then? Snapseed. It’s a high-demand app due to its wide range of excellent tools, and the fact that it’s free. What are the features you may need for Etsy pictures? If you have a smudge or an element in the background you’d like to get rid of, use their smart healing tool. It will look like it was never there. Select the brightness tool to brighten up the picture if you lack natural light or proper lighting. Next, if you took the photos with a lower-quality camera, you can use the sharpening tool to make the picture pop. There are other features like saturation that you can try out with caution to make the colors stand out without distorting the look of the actual product. Check out the crop function to ensure your picture fits the Etsy ratio of 4:3. Photo editing apps are the perfect last step for adding the necessary finishing touches before uploading the final product on Etsy.
Nicole Ostrowska, Zety
Take Pin Sharp Photos Using a Tripod
Clear photos give shoppers more confidence in their purchasing decisions. In order to take pin-sharp pictures of products, the camera must stand still. If you hold the camera in your hands, you will likely move it slightly while shooting, making the photos blurry. One way to stabilize the camera is to place it on a hard surface such as a stack of books, for example, or more professionally, on a tripod. Although any hard surface provides stability, a tripod offers a wider range of adjusting the camera’s angle option. Get a tripod, get shoppers.
Agata Szczepanek, MyPerfectResume
Apply The Right Ratio
Grab attention by nailing the correct ratio. For Etsy, product shots should be wider than other pictures, translating to a 5:4 ratio or else you run the risk of cutting off parts of your images. Additionally, customers usually won’t engage with your listings if there’s unnecessary space surrounding your merchandise. Let your products fill the photos entirely and shine as the stars of Etsy’s showcase!
Erin Banta, Pepper
Shoot With Natural Light To Create Authentic Cohesive Look
Natural lighting is key. If you want to create a cohesive look and let your product shine, naturally, use natural light. There is really no way to recreate natural light and our eyes can see it. It’s unique, it’s bright and it doesn’t hide anything. When you shoot with natural light you’re making a bold statement and creating a naturally cohesive look that your audience will be drawn to.
Karim Hachem, Sunshine79
Produce Professional Photos With White or Black Backgrounds
We learned how to take great product photos through research, and trial and error. The most important factors are the background, and the lighting. Creating a plain white, or plain black background and renting or purchasing a photography light are the fastest, and easiest ways to achieve professional quality photos for an Etsy store owner.
Robert Burns, Nuleev
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