STANDARDIZING PHOTOS

I'm fairly certain there are entire university degrees dedicated to selling stuff using only great photography, but since I didn't take those classes I was forced to learn about it by perusing through various web articles.  And let me tell you, if I only learned one thing from all that perusing, it's that you can sell anything as long as it's got a great picture.

If I only learned two things, it's that all the photos you post in one place should look the same.

If I only learned three things . . . well, I let you know when that happens.



Now that my shop is open on Etsy I have to put those learnings into practice and make sure every listing is gorgeously standardized so they get maximum ooohs and aaahs.  Enter the photobox: instant standardization for background and lighting.  Many places sell them, many people have made them with fancy materials, but in the end I followed in the footsteps of my friend Jeff and just made one out of a cardboard box, tissue paper, tape, poster board, and a couple of desk lamps.

And here's why standardized photos are important:

The slap-dash background is distracting and the color is washed out with poor lighting.  

Who would look at the monkies when they'd be distracted by unflattering background and texture? 

But these boxes look super cute and intriguing!  I wonder what's inside?

GASP!  Trinket boxes with monkies?!  SOLD!

I see I need to tweak the lighting a bit and retake these, but overall the difference between the top two photos and the lower two is extreme.  And while the last two photos may not be great, they're still more likely to focus a shopper's interest and lead to a sale than the first two, which is the entire point of standardizing photos.