Product Photography Tips For Crafters

Happy Wednesday crafters! Stephanie, of the Creative Team, is sharing some awesome Product Photography tips for Crafters and Handmade shops. This is a must read for handmade business owners. Enjoy! – Linda

Product Photography Tips

If you sell handmade items online, having photos of them is a must. If you take product photos for a blog, your readers want to see photos that are appealing.

With so many other shops in competition for a customer, having great photos can set you apart and convince someone your item is higher quality and worth the price.

product photography tips

No matter what kind of camera or photography skills you have, there are a few key things you can ask yourself before posting a picture of your item online. Since most shops allow about 5 pictures to “wow” someone, make them count! Read over your camera’s user manual and familiarize yourself with some of the functions.

product photography

1. What are you selling and who are you marketing to?

Every customer wants to see: Details, Quality and Function

Selling prints? Show them framed on a wall

Selling a scarf? Show how it can be worn by using a manikin or model.

Selling an iPad cover? Show how an iPad fits inside.

Think of yourself as a potential customer, and photograph what you would want to see if you were buying that item.

photography tips for crafters

2. Show the details-any special handiwork that sets your item apart…show it!

Your seams may be awesome…your cardstock may be thicker…don’t leave out these details in your photos. These are the things you will mention in the description of your item that will impress the customer.

etsy shop photography

3.Get your lighting accurate- avoid using flash if you can. 

Try to avoid harsh light that alters the appearance of your items. Clean and uncluttered photos with good lighting is a real benefit, and many people find using a light box to be very helpful. There are tutorials online for homemade light boxes if you would like to consider that option.

photography tips

4. Perspective- show various angles, front and back, up close and further away.

Move around. Show things open and closed, front and back. Don’t leave a customer wondering, because that leaves them room to find an alternative from another shop.

tips for product photography

5. Think about the background.

Your item should not have to compete with the background.

Leave the flowery busy fabric in your fabric bin, and stick to neutral backgrounds. These are good if you want consistency for a variety of items for your online shop because any item will accompany the setting without having to compete with it.

When someone clicks onto your shop link and all of the photos of items appear, it should be an attractive, cohesive collection that shows your items are high quality and intentional.

White foam board/trifold boards are cheap and very handy for this.

photography tips for products

product photography tips

I hope these product photography tips are things you can remember when taking photos of your products for sale or for your blog.

Do you take your own product photography for a shop or blog?

Happy crafting,

Stephanie

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Stephanie
I am a mom who loves photography, crafting and anything handmade! I blog about crafting with family in mind, throughout the home and kitchen. I enjoy spending time with family and getting creative.
Stephanie

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Comments

  1. 1

    Great tips! Thanx!

  2. 2

    Love these suggestions! I’m not really selling products on my blog, but I’m kind of selling ideas, right? If people like my pictures enough, they may try to recreate the project themselves! I know I could do better at setting up my photos as they’d be used :)

  3. 3
    Heidi Fantz

    Just started to play with and post photos.Info is good.Thanks.

  4. 4
    julie

    those are some great tips thanks for sharing.

  5. 6

    Thanks for the helpful tips. I like that you have a photo as an example of each point.

  6. 8

    I generally take pictures of products for my blog when I review them. I know some pictures stink and some are okay. And there are some I am pretty proud of. I did study photography for a while but gave it up since my Pentax K1000 stopped working and I didn’t have a DSLR. I still don’t have a DSLR but I am starting to learn how to work my digital point-and-shoot to my advantage. Thanks for the great tips!

  7. 9

    Brilliant – found that very motivating – heading out to my mums garden tomorrow to get arty! Thank you!

  8. 10

    Your photos are always just beautiful here! Thanks for your tips and I’ve got this linked to my post on blogging and photography today!

    1. 10.1
      Stephanie

      yay!

  9. 11

    Thanks for sharing, these are some really awesome tips!

  10. 13

    Great tips, thank you sharing with us!

  11. 14

    Need to be conscious about the background is very important and I can say that from my own experience.

  12. 15

    Thanks for this, I really enjoyed reading it :)

  13. 16

    These are great suggestions. I agree that it is so important to create a miniature scene, per se to let your buyers see the product it in its element. I didn’t even have to see your comment on the pinwheel cake toppers to think, “Oh no!! Get those off the ground!” :/ :) Thanks for clearly explaining how to take better pictures for selling products. Pinning this to my blogging board.

  14. 17
    Lisa

    I could barely read the article or see the photos because there were so many ads! What I could read sounded helpful though.

  15. 18

    Thanks for sharing these great tips, Stephanie. I’m rethinking the photos I have on my online shop and am looking forward to improving them!

  16. 19

    Thanks for the great tips, I purchased a new camera this week, eager to start.

  17. 20

    I love these tips. Very helpful indeed, as I’m working on my photography skills.