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The Power of Images – Get them Right

Okay, so this week is ALL about images!

As someone with an online business, images are KEY. When we’re talking about social media – people will share images they love.

You want to make images they will love to share!

The first thing I’m going to do is refer you to the photography section of Etsy Success Stories. If you haven’t already read that, go and read it now (page 5)!

The more amazing your photos are, the more likely you are to:

  • get more sales
  • get more people blogging about you
  • have your images shared on places like Pinterest, where ALL the groovy kids (a.k.a. design bloggers in this case) hang out
  • get found on flickr
  • get chosen by magazines and the like for features

So, to cut a long story short, you MUST have amazing photos of your work, full stop. The standard of images is just getting better and better – so make sure that you invest the time to take great photos, and edit them, too.

Don’t be afraid to edit your photos – in fact, I would say it’s manditory! I’m not talking about making things look different to how they really do, but simply enhancing things like the brightness and contrast in your images.

I usually use Picassa to edit my blog and product images – it’s free, fast and easy to use. When I want a bit more detail, I use GIMP - which is basically the free version of Photoshop.

Here’s a quick little screencast showing you how I use Picassa to quickly edit my product photos (as always, the password is shescrafty):

Picassa from Jessica Van Den on Vimeo.

Now, for some inspirational examples!

Examples: Etsy Shops

I use Etsy as an example because it is the standard platform that most of us will get started selling on. The same ideas will go for Artfire, Madeit, Dawanda… or even your own website! Here are a few shops from my favourites (there are SO many shops on Etsy now with amazing photos – go search in your category to find inspiration from those who do it right!).
  • Rose & Anchor – a great example of a shop that sells a number of different things – which is often a recipe for disaster – but which works because of the coherent photography style.
  • Dear Golden Vintage – a very clean, neutral look that lets the objects stan out.
  • Love, Maude – gorgeous, warm backdrops that complement her products!
  • Slippin’ Southern – fun, bright photos showing the signs in context.
  • Woodland Belle – dreamy, natural backgrounds that enhance the theme of the jewellery.
  • For Strange  Women – all the photos have different backgrounds, but they all work to create a seamless ‘feel’

Examples: Blogs

There are a number of bloggers out there who just get it right with photos. They have a consistent ‘look’ and style to their photos, which is fun and engaging, and brings you back to see what other photographic gems they will share!
Often, these are blogs who primarily share original content – i.e. they’re posting their own photos, rather than other people’s (content creation versus curation). If you’re going to curate a lot on your blog, it’s still worth thinking about what sort of style you’d like to stick to.
  • Decor8 - no surprise here – always gorgeous images.
  • My Girl Thursday – my friend Chantilly has a lovely photography style, and it’s only getting better and better!
  • A Beautiful Mess – truly wonderful imagery!
  • Paperfashion - love! A great example of art/drawing imagery.
  • t does wool – truly beautiful photos.

Tomorrow, we’re going to talk all about Pinterest… which I know many of you have been looking forward to!

February 20th, 2012 | Category: Images

4 comments to The Power of Images – Get them Right

  • Jo
    February 20, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    great blog examples thanks Jess. love it all. Interesting knowing about Picassa and Gimp; so simple. I use Photoshop but it is quite complex so good to know there are other choices out there.

  • Diane R
    February 21, 2012 at 9:05 am

    I am so embarrassed. My blog is terrible!! Are we going to have a lesson on blogs? I designed mine several years ago and after seeing this samples, mine looks dead! I need help!

    • Jess
      February 21, 2012 at 11:59 pm

      Hi Diane,

      We will be talking about blogs, but not really the design side of things! There is a heap of great info out there on blog design, I have no doubt you’ll be able to master it :)

      J x

  • Jane
    February 22, 2012 at 4:52 am

    Wow, Jess, you have certainly given me a lot to think about and a lot to do! The more you learn the more there is to learn, if you know what I mean:)

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