Etsy Photoshop Tips – Keep The Color

Etsy item photography can be a challenge for many sellers.  The importance of great photography is often underestimated.   We went straight to the Etsy.com forums and our friends on Twitter to ask sellers to point us in the direction of their item photography that may have fallen short.

The mother-daughter duo behind Etsy’s BelleBeads told us they would like some help with her item photos.  When our “Photography Tips on Etsy.com” team looked at the Etsy item photo to enhance, we immediately thought the pale purple color of the piece was washed out.  The beautiful piece was being underminded by the detailed background.

Our team prefers to use Adobe Photoshop when editing images.  Sellers can find other great software online – and many times the photo editing tools are free!

When using Photoshop, the first thing we need to do is adjust the tone.  To adjust tone,  you need to adjust three other settings: “Brightness”, “Levels”, and “Curves”.

We find nearly all photos can use a boost in both brightness and contrast.  In Photoshop, this setting can be found under  Image> Adjustments> Brightness.  The two sliders will adjust the brightness and contrast of your Etsy item photo up or down.

Our team suggests playing with this tool.  You will see that your image will show the kind shadows studio lighting would produce.  They are deeper in contrast to focal point of the image. This tool is especially useful when enhancing BelleBead’s image because the color of the Etsy item is on it’s way to being much clearer to the potential buyer.

Next, our team suggests using a tool found uner Image> Adjustments> Levels.  The “levels” command can be used to improve a tonal range and color balance.  This is achieved by adjusting the output levels of shadows, midtones, and highlights.  In short, the tool is useful for increasing color contrast.

BelleBead’s image is a great example of why color contrast is important.  Our team hopes to use this Photoshop color correction tool to show potential buyer’s the beautiful color of this Etsy item.

When using this Photoshop setting, always move the sliders down from where there is little to no information.  The feature allows you to see a part of the spectrum not found in the image.  Using this tool, you can make the difference between the colors more dramatic.

One of the most important keys to making this tool work for your Etsy photo is to read the levels histogram correctly.  This histogram shows your image’s tonal range.  Here are the basics:  if you see a large concentration in the left region of the histogram, this tells you the image has a lot of details in the shadows.  This means the image is underexposed.  However, if you see a large concentration in the right of the histogram, you know there are a lot of details in the highlights.   This means the image could be overexposed.  Using this tool, our goal is to have the tonal range spread across the histogram, or balance the image.

Finally, take a look at the tool found under Image> Adjustments> Curves.  Using this bar, slightly touch up the image.  This is done by mimicking the curve of the grey shaded area.  Some Photoshop users think the “Curves” tool is used specifically for more complex graphic design projects.  It is a surprise to some that this tool can be used for basic photography editing as well!

Here is our final image: