Product Photography Tips: Using Props

 If you’ve visited my Etsy shop you’ll noticed that I tend to always use props in my images. Most of the time, they’re handmade but there are also times where I’ll head over to the dollar store so that I can have a few other options for a particular theme I’m working on. Lately, I’ve been having some trouble finding my ‘Christmas photo backdrop niche’—that’s what I like to call it, hehe. So I’ve been coming up with different ways to showcase the new 2013 Christmas items I have in my shop. Some of you may have already noticed some Christmas themed items in my shop already using the pine cone garland backdrop. I really love that backdrop but I was excited to try a few new things; and, I thought why not share my ideas and offer some seller tips on my blog? If you’re not a seller but you’re a card-maker, you could still use these tips when taking pictures of your creations (it’s so fun). I think adding props to photos makes them stand out—or at least I think they do, hehe.

You’ll notice in the first image above I purchased a Kraft bag covered with white snowflakes, a pack of green, white, and red pom-poms, candy canes, and a small box. Those items where all purchased from my local dollar store but the pine cone garland was purchased at Micheals (it wasn’t cheap but I had to have it, haha). 

The first thought I had when I found the pom-poms at the dollar store was, “this would make for a cute handmade garland”, so once I got home I just grabbed a needle and thread and began stringing them up in no particular pattern. 1 ½ packs of pom-poms made me a 5 foot long garland! 

Here’s how I used the pom-poms 2 ways:

Picture 1: I simply scattered the remaining loose pom-poms around my product. 

 Picture 2: I taped the garland to the background of my make shift photo studio.

Next is this beautiful pine cone garland that I bought at Michaels in Downtown, Los Angeles. I’m not sure if they have these at all Michaels’ but it was $14.99. I think it’s so cute.

Here’s how I used it: To show off the cards from my Winter Wonderland collection I wanted a dark background in order to make the cards appear bright, so I used some burlap fabric and hung the pine cone garland in front of it. That garland was so heavy, though, I can’t count the amount of times it fell, haha.

Do you remember that box in the first picture? Well purchased that box with the intention of never actually showing it in the images. I planned on covering it with some Kraft wrapping paper for more of a eco-friendly vibe. I also purchased this box so I could display my handmade tags on them.

What I did was: Cut a piece of the Kraft wrapping paper; stamp it with a Merry Christmas sentiment. Wrap it around the box, and add some Christmas themed twine. I think it came out really cute. I just need to find a better spot to shoot these tags in. I wasn't happy with the yellow color I was getting from the wooden table I had it on. 

Lastly, I wanted to use this pretty snowflake Kraft bag so show off my Yeti tag. I thought the light blue and green colors would match well with this bag. I think using props for your items not only makes them look great but it also shows the potential buyer different ways they can use your item, it also shows that you take pride in your products.

Buying props for your small business photo-shoots never has to break the bank—I certainly don’t let it, hehe. I always set a budget for myself and I try to stick buy it. I’m always at the dollar store walking through ever aisle thinking, “how can I use this as a prop”, or “what can I turn this into?”. Get crafty with it, it’s so much fun and it having unique pictures definitely separates your pictures from all the rest.  

Tips for Perfect Photo-ready Cupcakes!

As you may know being an Etsy seller isn’t that easy. Sure we have cute items for sale in our shops, but the only way we can show the world how cute our items really are is by creating a pretty mini-environment for those items.  What I mean by pretty mini-environment is: an eye catching picture with cute props, and great styling. Many books, forums, and blogs stress that great pictures are essential in order to gain sales—and they’re right. That’s why I create beautiful cupcakes and/or props to show off my cupcake toppers.

One thing I like to do when making my cupcakes is, make sure they are always the same height and are perfectly iced (but of course they don’t have to be). The tips I’m about to provide are basic, and I’m sure most people may already know them, but these are tips I never knew—these are tips I had to figure out on my own. So, maybe I can save you some time by showing you what I do! ;-D

First, I use boxed cake mix, and store bought icing. I feel it’s cheap and it doesn’t matter what they taste like really, because Etsians and potential buyers will only look at them and never eat them. But they do taste really good, LOL.

So go head and follow the instructions on the back of the cake mix box. Then once that and your oven are prepared go ahead and get your liners in your tray, and get ready to scoop!

Tip 1: I use this wonderful mini ice-cream scooper.

Tip 2: Only pour 1 ½ scoops of batter into each cup. Some advise filling the cups 3/4^th of the way up, but that leads to muffin-tops. By only using 1 ½ scoops of batter it will not only make a perfect cupcake; it will ensure you have enough for exactly 24 cupcakes.

Then once the baking is all done, your cupcakes should look like this:

Tip 3: I use jumbo size piping tools and a high quality piping bag.  In your local stores you’ll only find regular sized piping tools, but the jumbo sizes look much better and more professional.

Lastly, go ahead and add your signature pipe. Mine is just one circle with a dollop in the middle. But you can pipe the cupcakes whichever way you want. Make it your own so your buyers will always be able to identify your shop by your pictures.

Final result:

Ideas for heart embellishments

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share this cute collage of images I made with ideas on how to use some of the heart embellishments that are for available on my website.  Valentine’s Day is nearing and these are cute ideas for the upcoming holiday!