If you have been following my blog for a while, this picture may seem familiar. It is a picture I took of my daughter trying to photograph the bright wings of the blue morpho butterfly This butterfly has amazing electric blue wings on the front side ,dull brown on the back.
When they land they seem to always fold their wings shut exposing only the brown pattern ....very frustrating!!!
It took her a long time to get the shot she was after.
This week I am experiencing some photo frustrations of my own.
First ,Picnik is closing down on the nineteenth .Despite my own research and my friends good advise, I have yet to find a substitute I feel comfortable with. This probably has more to do with my lack of time ,than with lack of decent photo editing programs. But ,still I am frustrated ! I understand how to do what I want with Picnik .
I really don't have the patience to learn a new format!
My second frustration is aimed at others .
Lately I have been having so much fun with Pinterest . I have always scouted around ETSY for new ideas, inspirations,gifts and goodies . Now I have a place to store my favorite finds and share them with others .
But, here is my frustration... poor photos!!!
Sometimes the pictures are clear as can be .But they are dull,dull,dull!
I call these the "e-bay shots" clear straight on shots on plain solid white background. If I know I want ,for example ,red ribbon, I can see every detail of this red ribbon. But ,what if I didn't know I " needed "red ribbon ? This type of photo sure certainly would not lure me in to take a closer look. .It is surprising how many sellers don't include a photo that draws a buyer in . Many people on ETSY don't even use all their listing photos.Worse yet ,some photos are out of focus or taken with no thought to background at all ! My personal preference is to see a "glamor "shot and then a few really clear photos from different angles.
I do like props that help enhance the item . However,I must admit certain items look best without props. Too many additions might make a lovey picture,but may make it unclear what is really for sale ! I feel frustrated when I find an item that promises to be something good .
But ,the picture is just too poor for me to "pin" it or want to purchase it.
The more I look outward the more I think I should be looking inward. When I find fault with others could I be learning lessons to use in my own shop? I know I could ! Photos are how we window shop the internet . I must continue to work on improving my pictures .
I will have to take the time to settle on a new editing program .
I will have to experiment with new tips,techniques and tricks.
Maybe my photo frustration can lead me to photo fabulous !!!
this week
try some new photography techniques
share your favorites
and
Bead Happy !
Have you seen PicMonkey.com? It's a pretty new site and it's made by a couple of Picnik engineers and some other guys so it's similar to how Picnik works. Might be easier to go from Picnik to the monkey than to some other tool.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty new (that's why I didn't name it last time you asked for alternatives) and I just recently found it via Picnik's website. Still a work in progress and you can't upload pics from e.g. a flickr or picasa album or save it straigt to Facebook, but the features are very nice -- and at the moment you get them all for free, including the royale once which are the PicMonkey version of Picnik's premium features.
On my blog I actually just show my stuff against a really white background, but then again I don't sell so no need to do anything fancy. And I want lots of white space. But rather a sharp photo against white than a blurred pic because regardless of props, if you don't see a crisp pic you kind of lose interest, I so agree with you on that.
It often baffles me why there are so many poor photos when it's so easy to sit down and learn how to use macro settings and get the object in focus. It just seems like they don't care or are too lazy -- not something they would want possible costumers to think when seeing their shops!
One thing I often like is close-up shots of details, photos that show the colours and materials, show some of the style and "ambience" of the item. A photo of a whole piece of jewellery is of cause wanted too, but when browsing e.g. Etsy a thumbnail of a whole necklace makes it so small and hard to tell what it really looks like up close. Artsy close-ups from an interesting angle really grabs the attention better. You get a taster -- ideally, if the pic is good -- and want a closer look. A pic that looks attractive in full scales doesn't always look that flattering as a thumbnail.
(I should stop talking now. I'm actually doing some photo editing right now -- while reading blogs at the same time -- dealing with some photo frustrations of my own...)
Photos are a challenge. I have a Mac and use iPhoto. It's not hard to learn but also doesn't have as many bells and whistles as Photoshop. My Etsy shop has pretty much died — maybe it's the photos?
ReplyDeleteThank you both !!!
ReplyDeleteI did check out PicMonkey
It has all the features I used on Picnik.
I am saved!!!!!
Back to ETSY to look and learn from photos that attract my attention and those the don't
:D m.e.
I love Pixlr.com and iPiccy.com -- they work out lovely!
ReplyDelete