Be Remembered For Your Beautiful Work, Not Your Horrible Picture!

It’s been said over and over again that photos are SO important in online sales. Hundreds, perhaps THOUSANDS of pieces have been written telling you how to take decent photos, yet the problem persists, and people still wonder why their beautiful work goes unsold.

Rather than write on lighting and F-stops, I’ve compiled an array of unsold items, all from eBay or Etsy, which  I found after searching for simply handmade. Laugh hysterically if you like, or simply shake your head.  But in the end, learn from these mistakes!

Item 1 (Ebay)

What is this, besides way too dark?  In fact, it is a hand crocheted baby hat and diaper cover set.  Nothing about the diaper cover component of this set was even mentioned in the title – only the hat was mentioned. It wasn’t until you got well into the description was the diaper cover event mentioned. You never knew about it unless you were enticed by this bad photo to click the link and read the description.

Item 2 (Ebay)

Not only is the lighting atrocious, the photo is sideways!  Please take the time to rotate photos right-side-up.  Too bad on this one, as the outfit might be pretty cute – if we could actually see it!

Item 3 (Etsy)

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… There are a number of things that could be offered for sale here…  but what it is is a cord necklace with an Oreo pendant.  I think that’s enough said on this one….

Item 4 (Etsy)

You know, I read the description on this one, and I still don’t know what is for sale…  whatever it is, the seller wants $150.00 for it!

Lessons Learned:

1. Make certain that your item is the star of the photo – that what is for sale is immediately apparent in the photo!

2. Retake your photos until the lighting is right!  Try shooting outside in the sun or the shade.  Get a spotlight lamp with a daylight bulb in it.  Shoot on a light background to reflect/absorb the light.

3. Make sure your items are right side up!  I can’t think of any photo software that doesn’t have a rotate feature.  You really need to learn how to use it!

4. Pretend you DON’T know what the photo features.  Could you tell immediately from what you’re looking at in your photo?  If the answer is “no,” your buyers are going to have no clue as well!

Tags: business, Handmade, photographs, sell handmade, sell online, selling handmade online, selling tips

Posted in Handmade, Information, Promote Handmade, Selling Tips