Use of Colored Backdrops in Photos?

[Former_Member]

Hello! I noticed that most sucessful Etsy photography is on white... however I just did a big reshoot for my store, and I included a lot of coral pink/red prominently in my front images.

Do you think that this is distracting or sucessful for having a cohesive store look?

Thanks! -Hannah

[Former_Member]

I used the advice of some of the great girls on here, and made sure to fill up all 5 of my photos! Great advice.

[HausofAriella]

I think that the colored background works for the necklaces with the cut-out words, but the colored strip next to some of the others is a bit distracting. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the giraffe figure in your pictures. When I first saw it, I thought it was part of the listing. Your necklaces are beautiful!

[Former_Member]

Thanks Ariella! Good advice!

[Former_Member]

Colored backround works good for you shop :)

[Former_Member]

In general...white is preferred b/c of the treasuries. It's easier for the treasury makers to match up things that have a white/really neutral background rather then some funky poppy colors...that clashes with someone elses funky poppy color.

I honestly...I dont think the BUYERS actually care what back ground color you use... as long as the product looks good.

I use a mix up of colors. they can just :p on the all boring white...just my opinion of course.

[Former_Member]

I think the colour works better for you. The white leaves your products looking washed out. Also try paler colours to get a mix

[Former_Member]

I think that the colour works well with those items, and I like the way you've set them up in your shop so that they look well arranged amongst the white backgrounds.

[UrbanJule]

Hannah, I'm in the process of redoing my shop photos to develop a brand and be consistent, too. It's a difficult process if you're not a photographer but I've had several critiques of my shop which all sale my photos need to be changed so I'm struggling through it. You have some very cute items but your photos are overexposed and out of focus so I can't tell what you're selling from the thumbnails. Even when I click on the thumbnail and go to the listing, the photos are so overexposed that they don't do justice to your cute items and because I couldn't see them in the thumbnails, if I were a buyer, I wouldn't have clicked at all and would have missed your shop completely.

What kind of camera do you use? Is is a point and shoot or a DSL? There are several teams on etsy that will give you some good pointers for taking photographs. Just search for photography in the teams section.

Much good luck to you.

[Former_Member]

They look good :) the mix of colour and white works really well :)

[Former_Member]

Here's my humble opinion, speaking from one jewelry creator to another: I like the coral backgrounds, as they show off the cut-outs of those items. That feature is what you're really trying to show off, so go for it. As for cohesiveness - as long as you use that background often enough that it is a regular feature of your pages, I like it. As for the photography, I do agree that it may be over-exposed and doesn't justify the beauty of your items. But I am still struggling with photo issues myself. Jewelry isn't as easy to photograph as it would seem. (at least for me!) As for the unicorn - I think that it is a clever addition. I see it is in your banner, plus it goes along with your shop description within your banner. A unicorn is an odd fantasy character, and the small statue you found is also unique! It is quirky and so is your jewelry! So I say well done on that theme! Am I on your same wavelength?

[Former_Member]

Thank you all for your insightful advice, much appreciated :) And LuAnne, close, it's actually a little giraffe! :)

[QuirkyUniverse]

I like the coral backgrounds. The white ones make it really hard to see the item. If you go to craftcount.com you can look at the top sellers, none of them have the solid, glaring, white backgrounds that so many people swear you have to have to get sales.

[TheMagnificentMagnet]

I was presenting our magnets on a black background, but I keep reading that the white backgrounds are better for being featured on Etsy and in treasuries. I am trying something new going forward...I am using both! I have started to photograph our magnets on a white background as our main listing photo and use an additional photo space for the magnet on the original black background. I like the way the black background makes our magnets stand out, so I am going to use it so that the buyer can have the additional view to see the image "pop."

Fredda from The Magnificent Magnet
http://www.themagnificentmagnet.etsy.com

[wildwomanbeads]

For your shop and your items, I think the color background is a better choice than all white. You have very cute and funky items that need a cute and funky look. White doesn't do that as well for you.

I guess this just goes to show that we all need to make our own best guesses at what works for our shops!

Good luck!

[SimpleElementsDesign]

I like the color. In my own shop, I photograph my jewelry on black. I work with pearls so often that I find that color really helps to accentuate the pearls. I know white is the thing on Etsy but honestly, I like color. I do treasuries and love finding things besides white backgrounds to work with. Nice shop!

[lippybrand]

I reallly like color backgrounds also, and I would like to know if anyone finds a shop as colorful as mine! :) :)

[MindOfAsh]

I'm glad to find a post like this because I have been reshootign some of my items, trying to get the right "white" background, to make things pop, but sometimes because I use a lot of shells it gets washed out too, and I find that I have to switch it up, but then the look is not as cohesive as I'd like, but it is all a work in progress, THANKS...glad to know I'm not the only one constantly tweaking and trying to get great photos while not just blending into the "white world"...

[MindOfAsh]

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98413842/minimalist-triangles-necklace-in-gold
http://www.etsy.com/listing/98576326/glittered-peter-pan-collar-necklace-in
Those two are the only ones that could look slightly washed out...but over all I think GREAT!..keep the colors...goes with your funky style!

[Former_Member]

As for me, I understand that white backgrounds and model photos can help promote my items in treasuries. But it's more important for me to preserve "unified state" of my etsy shop :-)