Etsy Product Photography the DIY Way

Etsy product photography has been the biggest hurdle I have had to jump thus far. I’ll be the first to admit it to you; I’m a horrible photographer. I used to scoff at professional/artistic photos, thinking, “Pff. How hard can it be to take a photo? Try to draw a portrait of someone and I will respect your ‘art’.” Wow, have I eaten my words. Taking good photographs is just as difficult — and every bit of an art form — as rendering a masterpiece in any medium. I started my first Etsy shop back in 2010. At the time, my Etsy product photography was lamentable {though I was blissfully unaware}. I specialized in magnets created from glass pebbles, fabric magnets, and sugar scrub. While the photo below admittedly isn’t horrible, it’s not a tempting product photo. The magnets aren’t centered, there’s a glare the obstructs the view, and there’s nothing interesting about the photo. In my defense, at that time I wasn’t focused on my Etsy shop {which is now defunt; it was called “bestioleabeille” — “bugbee” in French}; I was in college. However, now that I make a living from Etsy and my websites, I had to step it up with my Etsy product photography. Trust me, there was — and still is — a lot of trial and error, but my hope is that if you are ready to take your Etsy/creative shop to the next level, this post will help you with one of the most elusive components of selling on Etsy: the taking of the dratted photos. My plan is to walk you through exactly how I take my photos so you are able to get ideas for your own methods. This isn’t a one-size-fits-all tutorial, but rather a nudge to “wing it” for awesome, visually appealing photos that will help your products sell like hotcakes. First, I would like to welcome you to our living room, a.k.a. the sunniest room in the apartment:

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