The Biggest Distinction Between Shops

Fabulous photography: lighting & cropping are excellent. By tippleandsnack

There is nothing more important regarding your shop than photography. Forget worrying about the economy: If your photos are good, they will be featured endlessly in treasuries, showcased in blogs, your shop will be favorited often, you'll be added to circles daily and best yet, your items will sell. 

Clear lighting, lots of detail & clear white space cropping by beppiebags

I know, because my old photos weren't great. Things sold when I began my shop last year, but slowly. I adjusted my prices, made treasuries, joined teams, offered killer items, and still just did okay. Then I ran across tippleandsnacks shop and was blown away. I saw her items featured on the home page often. I saw her items selling. I adored her shop because of the clean contemporary appearance-it felt like a Pottery Barn catalog. 

Flawless photo: balanced cropping, strong light & visual interest. By birdie1

It took me a while to get off my tail. But I finally ordered Ott lights, set up a photography space and began rephotographing my items. Keep in mind, my photos weren't terrible on their own. But when they were paired next to bitofbutter or mascarajones items it was really noticeable. To be honest, I didn't really realize how poor my photos were until I saw them in treasuries. 

It's an ongoing process and I'm still not done. Every time an item expires I rephotograph it. All new items are of course photographed with the new system. 

Let's look at the difference between the two photos above. The first photo shows detail, has a white surround and is clear. But the lighting is off. I see lighting as the problem in many listings on Etsy. While buyers can still view the item, it won't sell them on it like clear spectrum lighting would. (Tip: Buy Ott lights today) The first photo certainly doesn't say: Magazine photo shoot! 

Great cropping, clear lighting, detailed shot by TPBVintage

The other thing that's vital is cropping. My photos were all big on detail-I was so close you couldn't help but see it!! Most of the shops in the vintage categories really suffer from too closeitis. Crop your photo for the thumbnail and leave whitespace around it. The thumbnail is critical because it the #1 view most buyers see. Much of the time I can't even tell what the item is without reading the title-which is NOT good. Customers should never have to work to see your item. If they can't see what the item is in a glance, you risk losing them. 

Well cropped, ready for it's thumbnail closeup

Poorly cropped, too close. Horrid thumbnail

That first photo is your biggest pull. If it's a good photo buyers may click through to view it. If it's not, many will pass it up. That photo should provide all the necessary info: true color and what it is. 

Look at the photos that get featured on the front page-for the most part they have white space around them. If you're not sure how big they'll be, switch your shop from gallery view to list view. This is how many people see your shop-especially if they're viewing it on a phone. 

Well cropped, natural lighting, great photo by thecreekhouse

Cropping & lighting are the single two biggest factors that influence the success of your shop. These factors are even more important that what you sell. I have seen the most average everyday run of the mill items sell fast when photographed well, and likewise have watched under priced gorgeous items languish for months due to poor photography. Don't put it off. You'll be so glad you did after you have a booming holiday season. 

Revisiting Photography 101

As I've mentioned before, I've been working hard to revamp my photography setup and redo all of the photographs of items still in the shop. Now that I'm retaking those photos, those items that have languished around for 1-2 relists are selling!

Props can be useful. Great photo by bitofbutter

In my January post, I discussed several of these points, but they are worth going over again. Photography is the single biggest controllable factor that can make or break your sale. It's even more important than price. I spend a lot of time looking at other shops all across the web and I've gotta tell you, we need to kick it up a notch in our shops. Consistently strong photos will set our shops apart, our team apart & give our sales a boost.

Ideal lighting and clean background shot by CheekyChicVintage

Your photos are your main marketing tool. And the number one free form of marketing is Etsy treasuries. If your photos aren't good enough, your item won't be featured in top ranked treasuries. Don't poo poo treasuries-it's phenomenal how many eyeballs view them and how many actions are a direct result of being featured.

Excellent sharp details. Great close up by HamiltonBay

1. Back up. While it's great to provide detail shots, that should NOT be your first shot. (There are exceptions to this rule, but generally it holds true) Your first shot needs to be one of the object with space around it. Items that are zoomed close don't look good when viewed next to lots of other items. Think of it this way: put space around your item so it will play well with the other vintage photos. Your items photograph should compliment the other photos: be they on the search page, browse page or a treasury. When they do, buyers can see your item clearly, and their eye will come to rest on your photograph.

Great how the item is coming in from the side for visual interest by nickhaus

2. Use a neutral background. I used to think it was clever to have a differently colored background so that I'd stand out from other sellers. That worked well, when I was selling on eBay. It doesn't seem to mesh well on Etsy, for many of the reasons listed above. They don't work as well in Treasuries and strongly colored backgrounds tend to distort how the eye perceives the color of the item being sold.

Neutral color, great textural contrast photo by Niftic

3. Try OttLites or natural lighting. Since I've switched to Ottlites, my lighting woes are over. Pure spectrum light. Now I can get the pure colors from those items that drove me crazy before, and more importantly, I can take photos any time day or night!! No more set times in the morning.

This is a perfect thumbnail example by Vanityfare

4. Almost never use a flash. If you have good lighting, a flash almost isn't necessary. Flash glare does a great job of distorting the true color of items and can give the photos an unprofessional look.

Textural, contrast, lighting & staging all spot on by birdie1

5. Use a fantastic photo editor. I use Google's Picasa. For me it's hands down the best editor I've ever used. I love the sharpen option, the neutral color button & the brighten.

Shows off a great angle of the item & great lighting shot by TheVintageHatShop

6. Crop for thumbnails. It's so important your item look great in Etsy thumbnails.  Leave space around your item and crop it to a perfect square. It took me around 3 tries before I got it. Picasa makes this easy, so you'll have to play around if you use a different editor.

Fantastic detail & well cropped for thumbnail by calloohcallay

7. Don't use blurry photos. I run into this daily while browsing. Your camera should have a macro mode for closeups. A tripod will help with regular shots. That combined with strong clear lighting should eliminate that problem. I don't like tripods so I stand with my legs far apart while photographing; I become a human tripod. Works like a charm.

Great lighting, detail & shadow drama by mascarajones

Well, I'm sure there are more tips to cover, but these are the ones that have made the biggest difference for me. I am still working on rephotographing my old items, but hope to be caught up in the next month. As the weather improves it'll be hard to convince me to stay indoors, so I need to focus and get snapping now!

Humor: Feels Good, Draws Attention & Helps Sell!

I've noticed something about my shopping experience lately. I'll be browsing Etsy and realize I'm giggling out loud. I do this when I happen upon a clever photo taken with a bit of humor and whimsy in mind. Sharp wit is always a way to get attention and if you have a clever thumbnail photo, those browsers will turn into shoppers quickly.

Take this great photograph by TippleandSnack. When I spotted it, it was in the middle of the page. It caught my eye immediately because of the color contrast. Then I cracked up when I saw those little chicks peeping out of an egg cup. What a great way to sell egg cups! It not only draws the potential customer in, but it also shows them that egg cups can be display objects in their own right.

Vintage Egg Cups by TippleandSnack

There are lots of vintage clothing sellers on Etsy with fashion must haves. I know many people use their daughters as models, which is practical. The key to a successful live model is their facial expression. I find a lot of models have the "I'd never be caught dead in this" look on their face, which is odd. Have the model ham it up. Show them having fun in it. Sell it! This photo by Unionmadebride illustrates my point perfectly:

1960's Full Length Slip by Unionmadebride

The item itself doesn't have to be funny. Humor can be added by the angle you take the photo from, the way you position your item, or the lighting. This photo by TheFancyLamb shows this point. Most of us take a shot of a doll sitting down-at least I do. This shot taken up close really captures the dolls whimsical expression and draws my eye to it.

Vintage Poland Heidi Doll by TheFancyLamb

Props can really help bring a whimsical element to your otherwise rather practical item. As long as you're clear that the prop isn't for sale, use them to your advantage. People tend to be rather opinionated about them, so I don't recommend them for every item, just those that could benefit from a substantial visual boost. Take this shot from Calloohcallay for example. Without the horse, the cup would be rather lost. It adds just enough whimsy to make a viewer ask "what is horse doing next to a coffee cup?"

Vintage Fire King Cup by calloohcallay

Sometimes, the front isn't always the best angle. The playful motion used in this dress photo by Alexsandras is really eye catching! It doesn't just grab attention though. It also tells me about the fabric and how it hangs. Perfect way to convey elements of the item without using words. In addition, it shows the model having fun and that makes the viewer smile!

Vintage 1960's Tennis Dress by alexsandras

The more we think out of the box with our photos, the more we will stand out from other sellers. When a sea of small thumbnails is staring a shopper in the face, you want your photo to pop. Once they click on the next page, it's too late. So grab their attention. Humor, whimsy and just plain fun are a great way to do it!