Etsy Photography – Take Great Art Photos

If you are selling art on Etsy.com and having a difficult time getting the right shot, you will love these tips provided by HandmadeMarketing.org reader Krystyna, from the blog Krystyna81.blogspot.com. Krystyna also has an Etsy shop – take a look at her work on the photo for this post!

“The digital camera has helped Artists out immensely,” Krystyna told us.  “We no longer have to shoot rolls of film and hope that we have shot a good, usable photograph of our work.  And shooting slides is now a thing of the past since digital files are the media of choice for most art show applications.”

However, Krystyna sees a big drawback.  “It can be tricky to control all the functions on your camera, including exposure, which can make it difficult to get a good shot of the full value range in your work,” Krystyna said.

“One technique I have discovered if providing a full value range for the camera to focus on, and then cropping the image to only show my work,” Krystyna suggests.  “I place a black and a white piece of mat board next to my art, then be sure my camera is reading the art, the black, and the white – and all of the details are picked up much more effectively!”

Wonderful tips Krystyna! For more ideas about 2D photography, check out Krystyna’s blog posts about proper lighting and set-up suggestions.

Is the technique successful?  “Maybe someday I will read my camera manual and master the art of manual control,” Krystyna admits, “but until then, this has been the best way to photograph my art!”

Do you have techniques for taking photographs of 2D Etsy items?  What works for shooting your items?  Tell us your suggestions for photographing Etsy items!