Summer is supposed to be a slow time of the year… when people kick back and relax I suppose, but for me there is really nothing very relaxing about having five children home from school.
The older boys stay up until the wee hours of the night playing shoot em up video games. While the youngest and Mom (that’s me) struggle with trying to maintain some semblance of a normal schedule.
About the one thing you can count on to be slow in summer is internet retail sales and so I am taking some time out this summer to sort of revitalize my online store. Besides culling the inventory and moving some of it out in favor of new items… I have been trying to be a little more creative when taking pictures of my store inventory.
This is my first year selling on ETSY- it will be my one year anniversary in July since I set up shop coming from selling on eBay for three years prior. There are a lot of differences in the two venues, that I won’t go into. One thing however, is that ETSY customers tend to want to see the products they are buying in an artistic light. In plain English- ETSY folk are ARTSY FARTSY in a good way. eBay people on the other hand want pictures of the items that show every flaw no matter how little and every aspect of an item front, back, side-wise, upside, down… etc… and you get the picture, so that they can judge whether or not the item may be a good fit for their collection.
Anyway- I have been trying my hand at being a little more creative in my shop and a little less spartan with the props when displaying my vintage jewelry offerings. I admit I am sort of new at it- so I am just barely tapping the surface of creative photography BUT hopefully I will get better.
So without further ado- I give you some before and after shots and you can critique them or not… be kind I am sensitive about photography skills. 
Here are a few pictures of how I was taking pictures for my store listings.
Vintage Signed ART Bracelet Goldtone Filigree with Blue Cabs
Here’s one more on the vanilla side…
Vintage EARLY Coro Ten Commandment Charm bracelet signed CGI Inc.
And here I am trying to be artistic…
Vintage Locket Sterling Silver with Guilloche Enamel Cabbage Rose
Here is another side of the same locket.
The back of the same locket.
Here is another piece… there’s a pattern here you can see.
I thought this locket looked ghostly- thus the Halloween theme.
And yet another…
He seems like a frightful creature from the depths.
Okay so basically I am using books as props and I am little stumped right now as to what items would make great props for jewelry. I have been all over the ETSY this week, looking at other sellers pictures and hoping to get more ideas and I have come across so many wonderful new shops. I am sure inspiration will hit me shortly…
Please leave a comment and tell me what you think. If you are an ETSY seller or other online seller what props do you use to make your items stand out? Leave a link to your store so I can check out your items. I would love to hear from you.
I don’t sell anything online. However, from a viewing perspective, the photos of the jewelry on the books just doesn’t work for me. The text and background images make the whole thing too busy and the jewelry just doesn’t stand out.
Whatever the background, I think that it needs to help make the object being photographed stand out. The top three photos do that. What about using darker — even black — fabrics? Or, if you’re going to use image backgrounds, make the background image out of focus, while the jewelry is in focus. With photoshop or other photo manipulation software, you might be able to deliberately alter the focus of an image, print it out and then take use that for the background.
Be creative.
Get a sheet of paper that’s slightly transparent, something like an onion skin paper or a parchment paper–the actual name is eluding me at the moment and I use it all the time!
Anyway, you set that over top of the book, and the image will partially show through yet allow the jewelry to stand out, accomplishing both the artistic look and highlighting the actual product.
If you don’t have any available, I could send you a couple sheets. I only have them in 8.5″x11″ size, but that should work for you.
A thin fabric might work too, and you might already have that!
Oh, nice! I like the artsy ones. I think I must be an Etsy type!
Hi Mike- I know what you mean by the jewelry not standing out. I was worried about that myself, so with the jewelry listings that I took on books and such, I included pictures of the same pieces with just the plain background. As far as using darker backgrounds- you can’t do that with rhinestone jewelry. The rhinestones reflect the color of the backgrounds or even pick up the colors of the camera or a shirt I am wearing. A dark background can make a clear white rhinestone brooch look like it has cloudiness or dark issues with significantly lower the value. Thanks for your input- I do agree with you on the pictures being busy, but I do like them and need a happy medium.
Hi Dan- I would be interested in the paper- you don’t have the name or brand from the package? I hate to have you send something to me. I really think that is a good idea- especially with the book background pictures.
People on ETSY seem to like period props and I don’t have a lot of items besides jewelry from the 20s’ 20′s 30′s 40′s etc. I use the books, because they are period to some extent.
Jenny- I think it is a female thing. So far men- have been more critical (I don’t mean that in a bad way) of the “artsy” photos and women that have seen them have been very receptive of them. And maybe you are an ETSY person.
Michelle – I didn’t have access to the package last night.
I have two brands, Gilcrest and Ultra. Both call the paper “translucent printing paper.”
It’s the type of paper they used to use in the inside of old books to cover the author’s photo in the front.
Great- where do you buy this from- Office supply store or?
We buy it from the paper warehouse. That may not be an option for you. You might try an office supply store. I don’t know if they’d carry it, as it’s not a typical item.
I really liked DCR’s suggestion. The translucent printing paper would look very ‘artsy fartsy’ hopefully you can get some in different colors?
Hi Meleah- I agree – hopefully I can find it though.
Hi Michelle,
It sounds like you are going to have a very busy summer with a house full of kids. It always took us a few weeks to adjust when my kids were younger but eventually, we got into an acceptable “groove.”
As for your pictures, kudos to you for experimenting. It’s such a shame that pictures make such a difference but as in food, jewelry pictures must look “appetizing.”
I know very little about Etsy but I did sell quite a few pieces of jewelry on ebay and believe it or not, I found scanning small objects on my scanner really worked out well. When ever I needed a background, I would get decorative paper and gently lay it across the jewelry before closing the scanner cover. Again, gently. (jewelry has a tendency to sometimes scratch the glass if you’re not careful) I’ve also heard of people taking pictures of pieces using the inside of their microwaves. I don’t know much about that though.
Good Luck, your pieces are charming and have FUN!!! I am so bad at photography, I wish I had the desire to try to conquer it like you:)
Thanks for the tips Louise and sorry I did not respond sooner. I had a serious problem with my computer last week. UGH!