by MaryAnn Carroll
Although I still struggle with trying to get just the right picture, I think that you will see some progression from the first picture below to the last. What I have found is that using the highest quality option on my camera is well worth the space that each picture takes up on a card. After all, you can delete them once you save them to your computer. There is nothing that drives me more crazy that seeing items for sale that are blurry, have busy backgrounds, etc.. Well....that's an exageration....there are some things in life that drive me crazier.....
However, when it comes to online shopping, I would rather see fewer pictures displayed rather than filling up space (5 on Etsy) as opposed to those that are poorly done. Let's talk picture taking and presentation.....
What's important to you whether you are a seller or a buyer.......or both?
The top three picture below are from my earlier days..... done with just the standard quality and the last three are using the highest quality....and the macro option, of course. I have an okay camera.... nothing spectacular...but it does the trick using the high quality option.
What are your frustrations when you are shopping online?
Not enough pictures, too blurry, too busy in the background?
Let's help each other by sharing our own pet peeves along with offering some useful suggestions.
10 comments:
I'm sometimes very frustrated when beads arrive and I was wrong about the dimension of them. So I find it helpful to see one pic where I can see them in comparison.
i agree with stefanie - i like something comparative in at least one photo - a ruler, a coin... something standard... i like to give actual dimensions in my descriptions, but feel that the visual is so important... the macro is a fabulous setting - i hadn't tried fiddling with the qualities - but i can see the difference in your pics... i once heard someone say if you erased a photo out of picasa it removed it from blogger - but if it is saved somewhere else, perhaps not... hmmm...
A clear, uncluttered photo is a must for me, but as said above, I like some sort of visual to compare size. Also, sometimes its not apparent which way the holes run in some beads, which can make a big difference for me, especially if I've already got a design in mind.
My pet peeve is out of focus shots. Thank goodness for macro! In taking my own pictures it's the stray doggie hair or speck on my background that drives me into photo shopping madness. One way to stop that fussing is to take pictures in a more forgiving area like you have on a rock or natural surface where those little details are camouflaged.
Uncluttered, clean, bright photos are what attract me. And like others, I like one photo with scale because I really can't imagine what 7/8 inch looks like in my hand, even if I have a ruler to look at. That macro setting, while the most wonderful thing, lets you super size everything so that things like beads look on the computer so much bigger than they are in life.
For sure, if I see a shop full of fuzzy pictures, lame descriptions and no measurements, you can be sure I won't be buying anything. I've seen advice from professional online sellers who say to never include something like a quarter or a dime for scale, but personally, I like to see something like that because it means I don't have to break out my ruler or gauge to see just how big a 24x27mm cabochon is!
Blurry photos are definitely a pet peeve. I also like to see different angles of the piece...one that's straight on, one that's shows a side view and what the back looks like. It gives me a better idea of what the product looks like.
I agree with everyone else; a scale photo is sooo important. I also appreciate that if there is something that could be percieved as "wrong" with the product, i.e. a small natural groove in a stone, that the "something" shows up in the photos and is not deliberately hidden from view. Our products are handmade and therefore not perfect, but buyers appreciate seeing every aspect of the product.
I'm thinking that from now on, I will start including a visual for comparison. I started doing that once and then I guess I had an issue with the "prettiness" of the picture. I'll have to work on getting over that ;o)
Blurry images = no sale. Since Etsy allows us 5 images per listing we have the flexibility to include a more artistic shot as the main image, and then others with more functional details (e.g. a ruler for reference) in the back-up shots. 5 images allows us to include a lot of information in our listings that the buyer might want to have: what the item looks like close up, what it looks like from farther away, colors under artificial light, in natural light, texture detail, what the bead holes look like (important), clasp detail, relative size to commonly known objects, etc. If you can combine some of these in a shot you're ahead of the game. Great post, Mary Ann!
Post a Comment