An Update on Updating Photos

(Right before publishing this post I realized I had posted about updating photos once before. So this is kind of an update on updating photos since a few things have changed for me.)

I haven't been able to create new items as much as I would like right now. Why? There is a list of why's but the biggest one is trying to update photos of the items I offer in my Etsy shop.

 

Like this photo of one of my top sellers. I shot this 2 years ago in a tiny closet in my office with absolutely no natural light. All because I believed that a white background would be best. That is true for some people but I have grown to love seeing pictures of my items in a home setting with props (that is a whole other post!).  I have also changed my method of painting. So it's no surprise that at times I will get feedback on Etsy that the sign someone received was so much better than the picture.

 

I have now embraced the power of natural light. So when I find good natural light I try to take as many photos as I can.

 

The other day was one of those days. I don't even remember why I looked out the front door, but the light was perfect. I was about to pack this one up to ship and decided to snap a few photos of this sign, as well as a few other signs. I'm pretty sure the roofers that were working next door were wondering exactly what I was doing. Every few minutes I would walk out with another sign and sit down, stand up, kneel down, move the sign and on, and on.

 

Now for what has changed since the last time. I took class in January from a local photography studio, Solas Gallery in Salado, Texas. My youngest had her pictures taken there as a baby and I have always admired Tim's work. I was excited to soak up all of his knowledge. His first suggestion was to stop shooting in manual, not that there is anything wrong with it, but the settings he showed us cuts down on how much time you spend adjusting settings. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with manual, I was just having a hard time getting everything right. I also learned so much about fstop, aperture, ISO, lighting, why I need to use a tripod and that sometimes it is ok to just use that awesome photo you took with your iPhone. Tim admitted to us that he had just spent a week in New York City with his family and only took photos with his iPhone. Just proof that having the top equipment isn't all that matters

 

I know that I still have a lot to learn about photography and props, it's kind of a necessary evil with having an online business, but I am enjoying the process.

 

 

Growing Pains

Things have been painstakingly slow here lately at block.paper.scissors.. (Sorry for the false advertisement of my title if you were expecting to talk about one of my favorite shows growing up!)

One secret of having a great online presence is having great photos. I got my DSLR camera for Christmas which helps, but doesn't guarantee great photos. I have tried reading websites and the manual to the camera but after the first few sentences my eyes glass over and everything looks like it's written in a foreign language.

A few weeks ago I found this blog post written by Miss Mustard Seed. If you have ever been interested in amateur photography, trust me, this blog post is worth your time. It's written for those of us that are trying out photography for the first time. I finally broke out the tripod, switched that camera to the big M and started messing with the different buttons and dials. 

It helped me take this:

(The color of this sign is butter pecan but it leaves you to wonder if it's beige, maybe gold? And what's with the super bright center?)

To this:

A butter pecan that actually looks like pecan! (And it doesn't look like it's radiating light on it's own.)

And what kind of pink is this?

Bet you didn't guess dusty rose!

So, I am now retaking photos of items in my Etsy shop which slows me down quite a bit. No pain, no gain. Right?!