November 22, 2008

Making the Front Page on Etsy

I found out why the views of my watch were higher than most. Turns out I was featured on the Front Page of Etsy. I like to switch the sequence of photographs every once in a while and after doing so, this is what happened. Change can be a good thing! You see stores doing it all the time so why aren't we?

Here are some helpful tips:

1. Your first photograph that everyone sees should be a little mysterious, a little artistic to catch the eyes of the viewers. I see a lot of Front Page worthy pics when I look at some of the other photographs listed within the 5 photographs you get to use. Not only are they looking at discriptions, but they are wanting different angles of the product as well.

2. Lighting. I like to try to take my pictures in the early morning or in the evening in natural lighting. This allows for not as harsh of a shadow on the product. Now that the winter is coming to VT, I won't be doing much of this and will be moving indoors. If you are indoors, I have seen great threads in the forums about light boxes, lighting techniques, and other ways of creating great indoor shots. Just be careful that you aren't using florecent lighting! This will make the colors of you products a yellowish/brown color that nobody want to see and it isn't the best way to show off your creations.

3. Macro Setting. If you have objects that are small, you can use what is called the Macro setting on your camera. It is that little flower you see on the dial in auto mode. Now the trick to using this is making sure you haven't drank a lot of caffine, and use a tripod. Shaking while in this mode will cause blurry or out of focus pics. Using this mode allows you to get closer to the subject and get rid of those distracting backgrounds. Those of you using a digital SLR you have two choices. You can either get a close-up filter kit, or a macro lens. If you're on a tight budget the filter will do the trick. This is a small glass piece that will screw onto the end of a lens you are currently using and allows you to get closer to your subject. Great for stamps, flowers, jewelry! The other is going out and buying a macro lens for your camera. These aren't cheap, but work very well with low light conditions. If you are using a macro setting you will see a big difference in your photography!

Filter set that sold on my Etsy shop.



If you use any of these tips you might just end up on the front page yourself! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the use of your camera or other techniques.

3 comments:

  1. Great tips, thanks for sharing! Congrat on you Front Page!! ^_^

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  2. Yes, great tips. Thanks for sharing. And congrats on Front page. WOW!

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  3. When you say "switching the sequence of photographs every once in a while" do you mean to go into your listings and edit them by switching the order of your images?
    I am having a red head moment, sorry, lol. Congrats, btw on a front page slot! I would love to have one some day, but fear that no one really looks at my fantasy work as something that would be put there.

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