Leveling up Listings: Product Photography for West Michigan Maker

Leveling up Listings: Product Photography for West Michigan Maker

Leveling up Listings: Product Photography for West Michigan Maker

Let’s be real. You pour your heart and soul into crafting amazing things for your startup craft business. I’ve seen it firsthand while hosting weekly craft and vendor markets at Round Barn during the winter months. West Michigan is packed with talent, from custom-made jewelry to live-resin wooden carvings. The creativity is wide in style, and everyone wants to get their new ideas out to the world. But a beautiful product can get lost in the noise if you can’t show off the qualities it should.

I get it, you make stuff- why should you have to compete with others who have professional photos for their products and listings? This is probably where to start thinking “ugh, another things to learn??” But trust me, investing a little time (or letting someone like me help) in your product photography can seriously boost sales. Think of it as the final flare to your own style. How you present your products are how others are going to see them; are your images good enough to make a sale?

a photo during an Artisan Market in full swing.

Why Good Product Photography Matters

Online, your photos are your products. Your customers aren’t going to be able to touch, smell, or experience your hard work in person, so your images will have to do the talking for you. Here’s my tips to what good photos convey:

Quality: Possibly my favorite, being able to show off the craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Materials: Make it so your customers are able to “feel” the textures in your product, wood? show the lines and curves your product posses.
Scale: Give customers a clear idea of how big (or small) it is.
Brand Personality: Photos should reflect your style

a drink flight being advertised by a local distillery. Images shows off garnishes, color of drinks, and captures different choices of drinks for customer to view.
DIY Tips for better product photos (on a budget)
You don’t need a fancy studio to get decent photos. In fact, a large amount of my product photos aren’t done in a studio at all- lighting is key.

Lighting: Forget the flash! Without extensive knowledge of lighting and photography, you’ll be hard pressed to create an image without harsh shadows leaving an unflattering look to your images. Natural, diffused light is best. Cloudy days, even lighting, and near a window are your best bet to getting the image you need.

Simple Backgrounds: Keeping your background clean and uncluttered will force the eye to draw right to where it needs to be, on your product.

Composition Matters: Ensuring your images are centered or following some photography rule like the rule of thirds will have you outputting much better quality photos.

Lifestyle Shots: As shown above with the whiskey flight, don’t just show your products on a white background, show them in action!CocktailsNeedNames-6.jpgCocktailsNeedNames-8.jpgCocktailsNeedNames-9.jpgCocktailsNeedNames-2.jpgNeed a hand?
Your busy making things, just like I’m busy taking photos for people like you. If you’d rather focus on your craft, then leave my craft to me and help showcase your business to the rest of the world. I specialize in product photography for West Michigan, and I’d love to help get you going. Check out my images here: Product Photography