Taking Pictures for Retail
Photography is a wonderful artistic medium. But when the objective is to showcase an item for sale, clean and simple will seal the deal. One can still be artistic with just one or two objects in a shot.
Below are three pictures of the same bracelet -- one with no props at all, one shot using the dust jacket of a book, and one shot using just one prop.
Below are three pictures of the same bracelet -- one with no props at all, one shot using the dust jacket of a book, and one shot using just one prop.
The first picture is of the bracelet on a blank (white) background. The second picture is confusing -- it's hard to distinguish the bracelet (which is not an Art Deco piece) from the aqua gem that is actually part of the dust jacket -- the bracelet looks like part of the jacket too. It is lost in a busy background. And a potential buyer can be lost as well. In the third picture one prop (a Tiffany blue box!) is used, but it's clear the box is being used to drape the bracelet.
Props can be great and if used in a creative, sparing manner can really show off a piece of jewelry. Just make sure the first picture of every listing is a clean, uncluttered shot. That is the first impression a potential buyer has. It is also the shot that will end up in a treasury or loaded onto a social media site. This probably applies more to jewelry than clothing. With clothes it seems accessories like shoes, jewelry and such help frame how a dress or skirt would look as a finished outfit -- but it is clear that the dress is the piece for sale!
The old saying about keeping it simple applies to retail photography. Pictures taken on a busy fabric, magazine pages, or even outside in a beautiful setting may have an artistic flair -- but it can be very hard to see what is actually for sale. It is still possible to be very artistic in the layout of a piece; use of shadows and light can make for visually appealing images. But keep it simple and clean.
Props can be great and if used in a creative, sparing manner can really show off a piece of jewelry. Just make sure the first picture of every listing is a clean, uncluttered shot. That is the first impression a potential buyer has. It is also the shot that will end up in a treasury or loaded onto a social media site. This probably applies more to jewelry than clothing. With clothes it seems accessories like shoes, jewelry and such help frame how a dress or skirt would look as a finished outfit -- but it is clear that the dress is the piece for sale!
 |
| Deanne's Vintage |
The old saying about keeping it simple applies to retail photography. Pictures taken on a busy fabric, magazine pages, or even outside in a beautiful setting may have an artistic flair -- but it can be very hard to see what is actually for sale. It is still possible to be very artistic in the layout of a piece; use of shadows and light can make for visually appealing images. But keep it simple and clean.
Lenses and Smart Phone Camera Apps
If you use Apple products like the IPhone, IPad or even an Air Mac to take your pictures, there is a remarkable clip on lens called the Olloclip. It slides over the phone's camera lens and allows for incredible close ups and sharp focus. There is also an Olloclip for the Samsung Galaxy series of phones. |
| Olloclip 4-in-1 for IPhone 5 Series Olloclip.com |
The lens pictured is a four-in-one lens for the IPhone 5 series. The middle section is the mount to slip over the phone (or IPad). The lenses screw off -- so you can use whichever one is best for what you are shooting. The macro lens with 10x magnification is best for shooting jewelry. It also comes with a wide angle lens and a fish eye lens for shooting outdoor scenes. There are other lenses on the market, but the Olloclip has the highest ratings. This lens shown is priced at $69.99. Another less expensive lens is the Photo Jojo. It will work with any smart phone camera.
There are so many camera apps available for smart phones it is hard to choose! Apps that allow you to adjust the lighting, the focus, or zoom in or are easy to find. With a good camera app and a clip on lens smart phone photography can easily be professional grade. A very good app for IPhones is Camera + from LightPro. UltrakamPRO is another. Find one you are comfortable with.
Tripods
Who hasn't been frustrated with blurry pictures, no matter how still you try to keep your camera (or phone) while clicking? The answer to that subtle blur is a tripod. Yes, there are tripods and tripod adapters for IPhones and other smart phones. If you already own a very good tripod for a regular camera these adapters will allow a phone to be mounted. The stability gained for taking pictures of larger objects like clothing on a dress form is very helpful. |
| Quad Lock Mount for Normal Tripod |
 |
| ATC Universal Tripod |
Clean Backgrounds
There are low tech fixes to help achieve super white backgrounds if this is what you desire. For jewelry, one of the easiest ways is to place the piece on white stock paper with a matte finish. The pictures may still need to be edited in Photoshop, pixlr.com/editor/ or any photography editing software that you are comfortable with. But they are so clean that editing is a snap! Sadly, those of you who sell clothes can't reduce a gorgeous dress to the size of stock paper! But shooting against a white background of some sort would be the same. Pictures with clean white backgrounds also work the best when uploaded on to the various forms of social media now used to promote our shops. They are the ones chosen for treasuries, the ones other people clip to use on Polyvore, Wanelo, Tumblr and other such sites.Hopefully most of you are already familiar with best photography practices and the equipment shown in this article, If not, then please check out some of these inexpensive but amazing helpers!!
May we all have gorgeous pictures that attract tons of eager customers.
No comments :
Post a Comment