Photo pics and tips

So yesterday I was taking pictures for my Etsy store and I was being lazy.

I didn't want to gather all my stuff and haul it outside for pics.

I knew better, but since I only had two outfits, I thought I could just do it inside and call it good enough.

I convinced myself that my semi-sunny window was good enough and snapped the pics.

And started editing them

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And I knew they were horrible.

Color was OFF

Color correcting was looking awful and fakey

and they were lame photos.

And since I can only sell my products by photos (instead of seeing the real product, since I sell completely online)  I know photos are IMPORTANT.

In fact, when it comes to selling, I'd say they are initially more important than product.

Initially.

Product quality is ultimately the most important... but I digress.

So, anyway, I did a little collage and wanted to show you what I'm talking about.

The BEFORE pics are the inside pics, edited and looking the best I can make them.

The AFTER are also edited, but very minimally.  

They look almost perfect straight from the camera, and that is a bit of bliss right there.

The Befores have that funky background off-white reddish/yellowish color that no amount of temp adjustment can fix... I tried. AND the color on the shorts and shirt are WAY off from my attempts to get the background back to white.  Notice how the doll's arms look pasty?  That's not even fixable with contrast and saturation.

The Afters have been boosted in light and contrast to send the background farther back, but other than that, they are as they came off the camera.

Pretty amazing what natural light can do.

So if you don't have a fancy light box set up (I don't), 

and you want to have a better chance at selling your product with your point-and-shoot bare bones camera keep in mind these tips:

Keep background neutral (black or white...but black is tricky and needs its own post)

Use NATURAL light! OUTSIDE but not direct sun.

If you have a photo program, boost the brightness a bit and contrast till it pops.

If you don't have a photo program, Picnik.com is AMAZING. (I use it just as much as my photoshop elements.)

I hope my little tips will help you if you are wanting to sell online.

It is an amazing job to have!!