Selling your stuff online can be a pain and take a long time, but you won’t have either of those issues if you know what you’re doing. It doesn’t matter what you’re selling. With the right tricks, you can make quick money. Use our list of photography hacks and you’ll be selling like a pro!
Clean The Items
If you’re selling clothes, stuffed animals, purses, or watches, it doesn’t matter. The item should look good. If it doesn’t, then people may wrongly assume that the item is faulty or has issues even if it isn’t. Now, when doing this, be careful. High-end products need to be polished or cleaned carefully to avoid damaging the item. You should also clean your phone of fingerprints and dirt.
Get The Background Ready
Natural light is a great way to ensure your shot looks good. For small items, a table near a window would be a great idea. Don’t use flashes or electric lights unless you know how to make them look good. The purpose of the photo isn’t to have a bright, vibrant background. It’s about putting your product in focus.
Use Props
But not too many. Too many props draw attention away from your item. For instance, imagine you’re scouring Etsy or eBay and you see something you want. But you look at the picture, and it’s full of other stuff that makes seeing the picture harder. It’s too cluttered, and you can’t see the item you want. You wouldn’t want that, and your customers won’t either.
Don’t Do Too Much
When we take pictures for social media, we do artsy backgrounds, use filters, etc. Don’t do that here. Instead, focus on showing the object at its best angle. Fill the frame, and don’t do weird angles that might give your customer a neck cramp; just shoot it simple. Take pictures in the day if you can. Good lighting is the best.
Don’t Use Certain Modes
Smartphone cameras have a lot of effects, and you don’t really need to use them. You may think you’re being professional and you’ll be a top seller, but in reality, you’re making the process far harder than it needs to be. Don’t use portrait or HDR mode if you can avoid it. You don’t need the gimmicks.
Good Angles
Now, as we said above, don’t use weird angles. However, good angles are okay. For instance, TVs and phones sell like crazy online, but the screen reflects everything, and if you turn the phone on, the background can reflect poorly. Take the photo face up (a phone flat on a table), and angle your phone so nothing else shows. No reflection can be seen then.
Avoid Photoshop
Photoshop can make pictures look great. There’s just one tiny problem with using it. It makes your items look fake. People can tell when you use Photoshop, and once people see it, they think the item isn’t going to look as good in real life. They’ll pass on yours and choose someone else’s. On that same note, you need to avoid stock photos. People will assume the same thing. Some editing, like cropping and similar adjustments, is fine; just don’t take it too far.
Take Multiple Pictures
No photo is going to be perfect on the first try. Take multiple pictures and choose the best. You should also get shots of the sides and back. All of the important details should be photographed. These will be after the main picture. Pro tip: If you’re selling high-end items, show the tag, label, zippers, or buttons that identify the brand. Book sellers, taking a picture of the page that shows it’s a first edition, can vastly improve sales.
Don’t Overwhelm The Customers
Just like too many pictures can overwhelm someone who buys from a site, the same is true for you. Having a lot of pictures of the item so that they can see it from all angles is a good thing. But if you have 20 pictures, it’s going to overwhelm your customer. Remember, don’t do too much.
White Boards
Even with natural light, you could still find yourself having trouble getting a strong shot. If that’s the case, invest in a bounce board. They’re made of foam, and they help minimize the shadows around your item so that you can show it off better. You can also use a reflector to manipulate your light.
Zooming
Your phone isn’t going to have the best zoom, and it’s not ideal for product shots as it reduces the quality of your image. Cropping is better, and it can help keep the shot professional. Remember, you don’t want the shot to be blurry or too close because the customer won’t see it properly. You want a nice, clean shot.
Keep The Same Style
When selling multiple items, you need to be consistent with your style. Good product pages have photos that don’t look identical but have the same style. Don’t use automatic settings on your phone to do this; it makes your photos look entirely different in a bad way. Instead, try to use the same background or similar settings.
Don’t Shake
When people concentrate, they might fidget. If you can help it, hold the phone as still as possible and avoid shaking. A tripod can help with this, and you can find them fairly cheap. Remember, the less the camera moves, the better the shot. There shouldn’t be any blurriness or fuzziness.
Know What Your Phone Can Do
Smartphones can do a variety of things when it comes to pictures, and knowing what your phone is capable of is going to help when you’re taking pictures. For instance, lens quality, special tools, and pixels are all things that you should research when taking pictures. If you want to go and shoot without any information, that’s fine, but the knowledge will help.
Use Gridlines
Your camera has a tool called gridlines, and it’s meant to help your photo look better. When you use gridlines, it helps the composition in your photo and aligns it better. This can help create shots of your products that will draw customers in, which is what you want. The more people look at your shop, the more they might buy.
Take Your Time
Making sure that you’re taking the time to get the best pictures possible is going to go a long way for your shop. By using the tips on our list, you’ll be able to take pictures properly, know what to avoid, and become a professional at making sales in no time. Now that you know what to do, get clicking!
