# Picture quality for Etsy



## Az Turnings (Apr 27, 2017)

so I was wanting to post some of my items for sale on Etsy and wanted to get some opinions on camera angles and such. This is what I have so far. The only camera I have is the one on my I phone 6s so go easy on me lol. All comments welcome!

Reactions: Like 2


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## West River WoodWorks (Apr 27, 2017)

I think your pen shots a great, good detail and color.
I struggle myself with photographing my bowls, hollow forms and platters.
Try to get a profile shot to show off the exterior shape. I use a photo light box which diffuses the light for a softer appearance with few shiny spots or shadows. I like to use a white back ground to make the piece pop off the background.
I also use picturemonkey.com to edit my photos, its free photo editing software.
Good luck
Tom

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## The100road (Apr 27, 2017)

@rocky1 has given some great picture taking advice.

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 2


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## ripjack13 (Apr 28, 2017)

I think, you should center the items in the picture. Less back ground showing the better.
and for the pens, maybe shoot em like this...




 

Or the opposite angle....

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 2


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## ripjack13 (Apr 28, 2017)

a nice sunny day outside in some shade works good for me. even an overcast day, then there's no glare. And those were taken with my phone too...

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Mike Hill (Apr 28, 2017)

With Marc on the advice on the pens. Would also keep the background as simple as possible. One of the objects is to keep all of the item in focus or very close to focus. You are taking these in somewhat macro mode and that limits the depth of field. Essentially, you should strive to keep all parts of the item equal distant from the lens (on the same plane). Your 4th pen picture is dramatic because of the perspective, but out of focus in many areas. The other 3 are good, but my eyes sees too much background. Bowls ain't easy. There is not one shot alone that gives me the information I want about a bow = so at least 3 views. I like to see the bottom of the bowl, bottom of the inside, and the side profile of the exterior. I also prefer dark neutral backgrounds either gradated or not. That can lead to some tricky lighting if you have a dark piece. So darker piece = lighter background. Again simple backgrounds. The more textures, materials, shapes in a background the more the background distracts the eye.

Reactions: Like 3 | Informative 1


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## Nubsnstubs (Apr 28, 2017)

Nice looking stuff there, Blake. I'll bet you kept your speed down some while cleaning up that bowl bottom. 

I am amazed at the quality of the phone camera. I didn't think it would be possible to get that clarity from something as small as that. The others commenting before me have given you good pointers. Follow their advice and your pictures will greatly improve. 

One thing I've noticed from looking at other peoples picture taking is they don't seem to be concerned about whether there might be some type of distraction in the picture, like all those brick joints. For the bowl, it's unavoidable, but the pens could have been centered in a brick, and the picture taken with just a flat surface of the brick showing with the pens lying on it. But, for a young kid, I think you will get pretty darn good as you get older, and will be giving us old farts some reminders from what you are now learning from us. ........... Jerry (in Tucson)

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1


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## rocky1 (Apr 29, 2017)

-- First thing.... I wouldn't use the sidewalk for taking pictures of my pens to sell on Etsy Blake. While it is a nice neutral color in natural light background, it's waaaay too easy to scratch finishes there! Pick up a bit of grit in a pen mechanism. Whatever...

This is not to mention the potential Etsy customers that are gonna say, "Ewwwww, it's been on the sidewalk! God knows how much doggy poo has been tracked over that!! The Germs, the Germs!!! OMG... It is absolutely beautiful, but I am NOT buying that pen."

Since you're out there in the middle of the desert and don't have grass in your yard like normal folks, you might try something simple like a classy looking binder for a backdrop, suede jacket, inside of a book cover.

-- As others have stated, avoid situations such as the joints in the sidewalk, they make your pictures too busy. The joints draw one's eye away from the object of the picture... your pen.

-- The closer you can get to the object and remain in focus, the more detail you'll get in your picture, and the more accurate your lighting will be. That being said, shooting your pen diagonally from corner to corner allows you get much closer to the pen, in turn allowing more detail to show in your picture. While Macro can be a bit fussy, you should have a tolerance of +/- an inch or two in depth of field (_range of focus_). You'll simply have to play with the camera to see where that's at; see how much you can get away with turning your pens in the pictures up close.

-- The last thing that will bite you with picture taking of any nature is camera movement; get up close and personal, shooting macro shots, and any movement is magnified drastically. Try to stabilize your camera by anchoring a hand on the table, bench, sidewalk, appropriately situated body part, tree, post, whatever... Just make sure it isn't shaking or wobbling when the shutter clicks.

Your pictures do look good, don't get me wrong. Just pointing out things you might want to consider for future reference.


If you're going to rely on cell phone pictures, and not buy a camera, you might make camera quality a primary consideration in phone selection the next time you upgrade. I just recently upgraded mine to the Kyocera 6810, has a 13 mp camera, takes awesome pictures, but they all look reddish to me. Easy enough to fix, either on the phone with it's photo editing software, or on the computer with photo editing software.

Personally, I use Photoshop Elements for photo editing, runs about $85, it has way more ability than anyone really needs. Ease of use for the average editing job is a matter of a few clicks. Then "Save for Web" to reduce image and file size.

Reactions: Great Post 1 | Informative 4


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## ripjack13 (Apr 29, 2017)

This is where I get pix of my pens n stuff....









I put a piece of bark under one side to raise it up off the crete.
I rest my phone against the high side and zoom in...

I used to get good pix on my deck railing, but since I stained it red, they don't look good there now...


Don't mind the crappy looking pen. Its been my edc since day one of it's birth...lol

Reactions: Informative 1


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## ripjack13 (Apr 29, 2017)

Can you get some corian? A 1ft square would be perfect for pens.


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## Az Turnings (Apr 29, 2017)

How's this for background? Still too busy?


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## ripjack13 (Apr 29, 2017)

Take the pic horizontally. Make the writting straight across. Pen at an angle, top corner to bottom corner...
Then post it up....

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## JR Custom Calls (Apr 29, 2017)

I think more important than having the nicest pictures is being able to use the correct keywords so that people actually find your stuff. Etsy is great, but you have to know how to play the game. I spend $3-400 a month in advertising fees on etsy... But it's well worth it. I didn't sell a thing until I learned what tags to use, titles, etc.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 2


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## Az Turnings (Apr 29, 2017)

JR Custom Calls said:


> I think more important than having the nicest pictures is being able to use the correct keywords so that people actually find your stuff. Etsy is great, but you have to know how to play the game. I spend $3-400 a month in advertising fees on etsy... But it's well worth it. I didn't sell a thing until I learned what tags to use, titles, etc.


Would you be willing to share a few secrets

Reactions: Like 2


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## rocky1 (Apr 29, 2017)

Az Turnings said:


> How's this for background? Still too busy?
> 
> View attachment 127072



3 problems there...

1.) Background is predominantly white and your camera is going to adjust white balance and try to neutralize that to some extent. In doing so it may cause your pictures to be a tad dark.

2.) Yeah, it's still kind of busy. Find yourself a scrap of medium brown or medium gray carpet, short pile so the pen doesn't sink in it. As stated earlier, maybe a suede leather jacket. Go by Wally World see if they have any elegant towels, pick up a hand towel in a dark color, and one in medium color. Might cost you $5 apiece to play with them. Local carpet store would probably give you all the carpet scraps you want.

3.) Busy is isn't all bad, but if you're gonna be busy, turn the writing horizontal-ways so everyone doesn't have to tip their heads to the side to try and read what it says.

Reactions: Like 2


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## JR Custom Calls (Apr 30, 2017)

Az Turnings said:


> Would you be willing to share a few secrets




Sure... But what I sell and what you make are in a totally different category, so the tags that I use would be worthless for you. What I would suggest you do is find some etsy sellers that have lots of sales... and I'm not suggesting to copy them, as I don't like that. What I'm suggesting is to read through their listings. See how they list things. Key words they use. Don't necessarily use the same keywords, but look at how they 'spin' things to get the most sales. 

I'd consider promoting your listings if you want to make quick sales. You can set daily spending limits.


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## The100road (Jul 19, 2017)

@Az Turnings I have been thinking about the same thing. Did you ever move forward with Etsy? 

If so, how has it been working out?


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## Tony (Jul 19, 2017)

The100road said:


> @Az Turnings I have been thinking about the same thing. Did you ever move forward with Etsy?
> 
> If so, how has it been working out?

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Az Turnings (Aug 6, 2017)

So I tried some new things with pics on pens. Not sure if it's better or worse. Let me know! @rocky1 @ripjack13

Reactions: EyeCandy! 3


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## Az Turnings (Aug 6, 2017)

2 more

Reactions: EyeCandy! 2


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## Tony (Aug 6, 2017)

Those look good to me! Tony

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## The100road (Aug 6, 2017)

How has Etsy been working out for you Blake? Is it worth looking into?


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## rocky1 (Aug 6, 2017)

Look good to me!


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## Az Turnings (Aug 6, 2017)

The100road said:


> How has Etsy been working out for you Blake? Is it worth looking into?


I have had a few sales I haven't had time to mess with it lately. I've put in as little effort as possible and have sold about $100 worth of things.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## duncsuss (Aug 7, 2017)

For me (and everyone else's mileage probably varies), if I can't see the whole picture on the screen *without* scrolling, it doesn't work.

So -- again, for me -- it's always a landscape photo, pen "lying down" across the screen or diagonal.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## rocky1 (Aug 7, 2017)

Excellent point Duncan. Not every site is as user friendly as Wood Barter and resizes images for you.

Most any graphics program will allow you to resize images, good programs will allow you to reduce colors in the image without losing quality, and save in different formats to reduce file size. Not everyone in the world has high speed internet, and the faster a picture loads the less apt you are to lose a customer.


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## duncsuss (Aug 7, 2017)

Which reminds me ... the easiest (by a wide margin) way to resize images that I've found is this FREEWARE program:

Batch Picture Resizer

Put the executable file on the desktop and change its name to: PhotoResizeF800x600.exe

Drag and drop any number of jpeg files onto the icon, it will resize them all so their width is 800 or less and their height is 600 or less while maintaining H x V proportions. (Other options exist, the documentation gives many examples -- and you can have many copies of the same executable on your desktop, each with a different name to generate different resized images.) The resized images don't overwrite the originals, new files are created with the new size appended to the filename.

It is dead easy, it works, and it is free.

(Did I mention it's free? And it works? And it's easy?)

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Aug 7, 2017)

My personal favorite is Photoshop Elements, had more ability than one will ever need. Allows you to adjust brightness, contrast, sharpness, colors, remove blemishes like specs of dust you didn't see, add text, later images.

Save to web reduces colors without a noticeable loss of picture quality down to about 50 -60%, reduce size by specific dimension or percentage of dimension proportionately, save as PNG, GIF, or JPEG to find smallest file size available. Runs about $90 online or at your local office supply store.


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## duncsuss (Aug 7, 2017)

Trust me ... download the batch picture resizer and try it.

I've used Photoshop, Photoshop Elements (since version 2), Lightroom, Picasa, RawTherapee, Corel Draw, Paint, and Preview -- they are all good (in varying degrees) for manipulation, color balance, retouching, and that good stuff. I use those and save a full-size high-quality JPEG -- then use the batch resizer to make down-sized copies as and when needed. (And since it embeds the dimensions into the filename it creates, it automatically documents the files )

Reactions: Like 1


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## CDR (Sep 3, 2017)

Az Turnings said:


> so I was wanting to post some of my items for sale on Etsy and wanted to get some opinions on camera angles and such. This is what I have so far. The only camera I have is the one on my I phone 6s so go easy on me lol. All comments welcome!
> 
> View attachment 126997
> 
> ...


So IMHO, go by Michaels or Hobby Lobby and get some of the large pieces of neutral grey craft foam. Pieces are about 9x11 or larger nad about 1/8" thick, to use as background. Use the crop/edit on iphone. Enjoy

Reactions: Like 2


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## justallan (Nov 2, 2017)

Old post, but the one thing I'm having a problem with is how big the pictures come up on my computer. On bunches of them I can't see the entire pen without scrolling down.
Just my opinion, but I feel that before I put effort into resizing something to look at it my attention is already elsewhere.
Great looking pens and bowl though.


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## sprucegum (Nov 15, 2017)

rocky1 said:


> --
> 
> This is not to mention the potential Etsy customers that are gonna say, "Ewwwww, it's been on the sidewalk! God knows how much doggy poo has been tracked over that!! The Germs, the Germs!!! OMG... It is absolutely beautiful, but I am NOT buying that pen
> 
> ...


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