La la la lucite

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You know, I give mad props to stylists and product photographers. Some things are just crazy hard to photograph, much less make them look appealing and, well, sellable.  This month I’m taking one of photographer Nicole Gerulat‘s online classes for tabletop photography and I have already learned so much in the first week. She’s given tons of amazing tips for props, setup, etc. But even with all the right elements, there’s a certain magic that has to happen. Or so it would seem.

I spent countless hours this past weekend photographing and re-photographing my lucite trays. They are ridiculously hard to shoot; it’s the strange mix of odd shape and the glossy finish, I think. In my opinion, the best way to promote your items on Etsy is presentation. What do your photos or product images look like? What do they say about your brand? Are they appealing? Informative?  It’s enough to make your head spin.

Case in point:

NEW Chinoiserie SMALL Lucite Serving Tray by PencilShavingsStudio

At first glance, this photo is, well, passable. Maybe. Sure, it shows the product and it’s not the worst photo you’ve ever seen. It was taken using natural light and it’s not like there’s some obnoxious flash bouncing off of the tray. But it’s… boring. Terrible.  And I’m sad to say that this is actually on one of my listings. Representing me. And my brand. Ugh. It does zero justice to the potential of this tray (and its Chinoiserie-inspired pattern)e.

So after spending hours shooting what amounted to terrible photos, I focused on what I could do to make them better, based on how I felt about the previous ones and what I feel about the trays. I love these trays; they are glamorous and fabulous and thus, they need to be represented as such. I started pulling out my fabric stash and got busy pulling accessories from my jewelry box. And what resulted was ten times better than where I started.  To me, these represent everything the Pencil Shavings Studio girl is about: bright color, mixing & matching patterns, bold jewelry, whimsical style.
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I still have a lot of learning and tweaking to do. I need to switch up the backgrounds and explore accessories more, but I feel like it’s definitely a start.  Additionally, I hope to be adding even more patterns to the current selection.  I can’t wait to see where I’ll be at the end of this month of classes.

Speaking of photography, I can’t wait to show you the photos I’m shooting today at our friends’ newly remodeled house. The before-and-after is nothing short of jaw-dropping!

 

with love,
Rachel

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