Wayne had the pleasure of attending the Etsy's Seller Success Symposium online that was held this week (the videos are still available on
Etsy). When I got home from work, he was all a buzz and wanted to chat with me about what he had learned. He had taken notes (I know, amazing huh?) and chatted a bit about the details of the talk. When I asked his one take away, there was no question: work toward a cohesive shop.
I honestly had been pondering this for a while. The photographer we were using up until now is amazing. We couldn't be more thankful for her help, but we were going through our already painful name change and she was having computer issues. In spite of her best efforts, we were left with several missing photos and I had an overall feeling that our shop just didn't match well. Some backgrounds were light, some were darker, and several photos still had our old name on them. Like I said, all gorgeous photos, just not consistent.
Wayne and I discussed this for a while and debated about what to do. A few weeks ago after our photographer warned us of her computer problems, I purchased an inexpensive light tent online. I had set it up a few times and taken a shot here or there, but really hadn't spent much time with it.
After Wayne's excitement from attending the symposium, we decided the time was now. I borrowed my Dad's camera this weekend (Nikon D300 - I am officially in love) and got to it. We set up the light tent on the back porch, propped open the back door, and started carrying things back and forth.
Wayne, who is amazing at merchandising, would do the initial set-ups. He would step back and survey his work before letting me take a gander through the lens. I would shoot and then we would adjust as needed.
We tried to use the props we had around the house and vary them when possible. By the end of it, we had quite a mess on our kitchen table.
All told, we spent 6 hours shooting pictures this weekend. The end result was close to 600 pictures that we had to sort through, so I spent an additional 6 hours processing them. It wasn't an easy process at all, but it was enjoyable and I think it was worth it. I've included a sample of our new images below.
The Lemon Lip Balm shot Wayne was setting up above:
Goat Milk Lavender Oatmeal Soap:
A stack of our soap - I love the colors in this one!
We still have quite a photos still to re-shoot, but it was a huge step in the right direction and we're awfully proud of the result so far. You can see all our updated photos in
our Etsy Shop.
Wayne and I discussed this for a while and debated about what to do. A few weeks ago after our photographer warned us of her computer problems, I purchased an inexpensive light tent online. I had set it up a few times and taken a shot here or there, but really hadn't spent much time with it.
After Wayne's excitement from attending the symposium, we decided the time was now. I borrowed my Dad's camera this weekend (Nikon D300 - I am officially in love) and got to it. We set up the light tent on the back porch, propped open the back door, and started carrying things back and forth.
Wayne, who is amazing at merchandising, would do the initial set-ups. He would step back and survey his work before letting me take a gander through the lens. I would shoot and then we would adjust as needed.
We tried to use the props we had around the house and vary them when possible. By the end of it, we had quite a mess on our kitchen table.
All told, we spent 6 hours shooting pictures this weekend. The end result was close to 600 pictures that we had to sort through, so I spent an additional 6 hours processing them. It wasn't an easy process at all, but it was enjoyable and I think it was worth it. I've included a sample of our new images below.
The Lemon Lip Balm shot Wayne was setting up above:
Goat Milk Lavender Oatmeal Soap:
A stack of our soap - I love the colors in this one!
We still have quite a photos still to re-shoot, but it was a huge step in the right direction and we're awfully proud of the result so far. You can see all our updated photos in our Etsy Shop.