The Importance of Images

We live in an increasingly visual world. Proof: in Shakespeare's day, people didn't go to see a play. They went to hear a play. Which is probably one of the reasons that Willy the Shakes didn't write many stage directions other than Exits, Exeunt, or my personal favorite, Exits, pursued by a bear (in The Winter's Tale - look it up if you don't believe me).

Online, especially, graphics are key. A website is not a novel. Know why? It's on a screen. We are programmed, from decades of television, to expect images from screens. And it should be that way. Screens are hard on your eyes - add that to crowded lines of text and you're headed for a headache and vision strain. Images give the eyes a resting point on the page.

If you're selling something online, the stakes are raised. The customer needs to feel as if they know the item. They can't pick it up, feel it, turn it over in their hand before buying it - you have to do that for them, through your pictures. This puts you both at an advantage and at a disadvantage.

Advantage? The right photo can make anything look good. A great photo can be enough to sell an item, regardless of price or description (as long as the description isn't full of typos - more on that later).

Disadvantage? You've got to learn how to take a great photo. And then you've got to take them, and load them on your computer, and crop them, and adjust the color, Et-Cetara, Et-Cetara, Et-Cetara (as the King of Siam would say). It's a lot of time and a fair amount of effort.


I spend a decent amount of time on the Etsy Critiques forum, so I've gotten a feel for what works and what doesn't, and what some common mistakes are. I'm gonna do a series of posts about good photography and good listings.

Has this been done before? Yep. Many many times, by professionals and experts and newbies alike. But it hasn't been done by me, and though I'm no professional, maybe I'll have something new to say. And some things need to be said a lot.

To be written about:

Setting Up Your Shot
Backgrounds
Lighting & White Balance, AKA The Evil of Flash
Retouching/Editing
Choosing Your Main Photo
Close Up vs. Zoomed Out
Troubleshooting
Listing Do's & Don'ts

& more as I think of stuff to write about.

PLEASE comment on the posts when I post them! Feel free to correct me, disagree, or add to what I've said. I am no professional - these are just things I've learned from experience. =)