Great photos convert online shoppers into buyers. The six types of product images that can help your sales:
1. Product-only images with white background for online store listings (required when selling on Amazon). Etsy images don’t have to have a white background, but studies show they improve online sales.
2. How-it’s-made images. Pictures of you making your products. Tell your story through photos.
3. Step-by-step instructional images where a person in the photo shows how to use a product, if applicable.
4. Lifestyle images showing people in real-life poses enjoying your item. If you can get them, use images of real customers (who have given permission) using your products.
5. Jury images to submit when applying to arts and crafts fairs.
6. Pictures of you to accompany your artist’s story in your promotional materials and your social media profiles.
Learning photography
If you are on a tight budget or you just want to do your own photography, the following sites offer tutorials:
* join.shawacademy.com/online-photography-course
* youtube.com/user/tutvid/playlists
* bit.ly/PHLearnVids (Photoshop tutorials)
Finding photographers
Commercial product photographers can cost hundreds of dollars. You pay for copyrights as well as photos. Though you get great pics, you may not have the funds to invest so much money starting out. Cheaper alternatives:
* At Fiverr.com I searched for “product photography” and found affordable rates. Copyright is included in the fees. Look for providers with positive reviews and many completed gigs. I only work with those who have received multiple five-star ratings.
* Another source for finding photographers is Etsy.com. Type in the search bar “product photography” for thousands of results. Most services are for product images only, not models. If your product needs a model, expect to pay more.
* Also search for “mockup” on Etsy for thousands of examples of products in lifestyle settings.
* CreativeMarket.com and DesignCuts.com offer a huge collection of mockups for simulating your product image in a lifestyle setting.
For more craft photography tips, see the resources at: handmadeology.com/big-list-of-product-photography-tips/ and the book Photographing Arts, Crafts & Collectibles by Steve Meltzer.