Have you seen the latest Etsy Success: Product Photography for Beginners video that just so happens to feature moi?
This was the very first time I've ever been filmed like this before and it was so strange and totally fun! I was super excited for it to come out and now that it has I can share with you some shots from that day. You know the opening image of me with a camera up to my face? Well, this is what I saw through the lens, the camera man Matty (<--- so super nice!) & director Lauryn (rockin' suspenders!!)....
And when I'm introducing myself in the very beginning of the video, this is my view....
I've had a few people ask me some questions about the video and thought I'd answer them here. If you have any more you can leave a comment....
What kind of camera do I use? In the video you'll see me using my boyfriends camera a Canon 5D Mark II, which has that nice preview screen you see when I'm taking a shot in the video. But that's not the camera I use everyday. For all my Etsy pictures I use a Canon 5D. It's a work horse that I got 4 years ago and was a great investment.
Why do you use a "big fancy camera" in the video, but say you don't need to have one and show a point and shoot? Zing! No but really, all these tips are ideas applicable to any kind of camera you use. It's a way or approaching your images so that photographing your goods is easier, more enjoyable, and gives you the best chance of reaching a buyer.
What kind of editing software do I use? They show a quick segment of me editing an image in Adobe Bridge. It's a program for sorting, viewing, and editing. It's really an intermediary program to be used with Photoshop (or other Adobe programs). I always open up my files in Bridge first, because there I can see thumbnails of all my images, I can compare images, choose the best ones and do some light editing prep work on the files. Then, I open them up in Photoshop to do any other corrections and size the images. This is the before & after from the video. I did almost all the editing (contrast/levels adjustment/ crop) in Bridge then sized and saved the photo in Photoshop. You could easily do all this in Photoshop. This is just how I learned.
What kind of lens do I use? I use a Canon 28 - 135mm with image stabilizer. It's a great general, all purpose lens because it has such a wide focal range. It's not the most fancy lens, because the widest aperture is only 3.5, which isn't great. But I use this all the time and it's great for my Etsy photography. Sometimes, for certain projects I rent lenses from
K&M. For tabletop photography it's great to have a range- for close ups and wide shots. For people, I love shooting at 60 mm (but this can range depending on your camera) with a shallow depth of field.
KEH is great for used lenses at good prices, if you're looking try something new.
Got any more questions? Leave me a comment and I'll add it to the post.
Hope you liked the video!!
