Taking Product Pictures, Part 1: The Shoot

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I’ve missed you all! I hope your Mother’s Day was as lovely as mine, and I hope you aren’t still hobbled by that half marathon you should have trained for like me! Let’s get back into the swing of things, shall we?

I’ve done my fair share of product photo shoots over the past eight months, so I thought I’d share the setup that’s working the best for me now.  In the next two parts of this little series I’ll give you my editing process and tips for streamlining your photo shoots.

 

 

For a long time I took my pictures in my sewing room.  Although it’s the most convenient, it certainly isn’t the best for light (the orange walls don’t help). I finally noticed that the big bay windows in our kitchen let in really nice light in the mornings, mostly due to the filtering effect of those sheer curtains.

 

 

I like to use an all-white background for my pictures because my fabrics are so colorful.  I use a big white project board (the kind we all used for science fair projects) as my background, and I keep a big piece of white felt on hand to lay across the table.  You can see the project board is kind of tucked into our light fixture – it just barely fits. 

I don’t turn that overhead light on because it gives the pictures a yellowish tint; I just rely on good ol’ sunlight.  On a cloudier day I set up my camera on a tripod and take pictures using my remote to ensure super-crisp pictures.  If it’s a sunny day, I can usually use a fast enough shutter speed and just hold the camera while I squat down in front of the window.

 

 

For the pictures of products lying flat (like this bib and this changing pad – the picture of it opened up), I lay that big piece of felt on the floor and take my pictures from above.  I used to put everything on the table, then stand on a chair and risk my neck by leaning in strange angles to get the best shot.  We live and we learn, right?

Once I have all my pictures taken, I sit down after the kids go to bed and tackle editing them in Photoshop Elements.  We’ll get to that next time!

In case you’re interested in the specifics, I shoot with a Nikon D40, which I looooove.  If I need a flash I use my SB600 Speedlight or O-Flash.  My tripod is just an inexpensive collapsible one and my remote was a ridiculously cheap one the hubs found on Ebay.  And just an FYI – those are affiliate links.

quick braided fabric bracelet with snaps

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The original Bobaloo and I were making bracelets for Craft Hope last week and we came up with these little cuties to use up some of my fabric scraps.  Using snaps makes this project silly quick – it took me longer to type this up than to make the bracelet – but if you don’t have snaps, Velcro would work too.

 

 

supplies:

• three different fabric scraps, at least 16” long and 1 1/2” wide
• pinking shears or regular fabric scissors
• One set of snaps (I use KAM snaps and love them)
• snap pliers or press, or whatever you use to attach snaps 
• awl

 

1.  Cut one strip from each of three fabrics, 1 1/2” wide by 16” long, using pinking shears or regular scissors.

 

 

2. Stack the strips on top of each other, right sides all up, at one short end.  They don’t have to match perfectly – we’ll trim them up at the end.  Using your awl, poke a hole about 1/2” from the end of the strips. 

 

 

3. Attach one snap with the cap side up.

 

 

4. Braid the pieces of fabric (I had my cute little helper holding the snap end for me).  Try to keep the right sides of the fabric up – you may need to twist the strips a little to keep them facing the right direction.  Braid loosely for a wider bracelet, tightly for a narrower bracelet.

 

 

5. Once the bracelet is near the length you’d like it, stack the strips on top of each other just like you did at the beginning. 

 

 

6. Install the other snap with the cap on the wrong side of the bracelet. 

 

 

7. Using your pinking shears or scissors, trim the ends of the bracelet in a nice rounded shape.

 

 

8. Put that bracelet on the nearest kiddo or pack it up and send it off to Craft Hope!

 

If you make one, be sure to add it to the bobaloo! flickr pool – it’s about time we started using it, right?

How to Make a Facebook Landing Page for the New Page Layout

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If you haven’t seen them yet, Facebook landing pages are typically seen by first-time visitors to your Facebook page.  You can create a large image that replaces the plain old Wall view on your page.  This image usually presents a call to action - such as liking the page or clicking on a link to your website – and (in my opinion) makes a stronger first impression than a list of comments on a white background.

I used this article by Thomas Sinfield on Standout Blogger to guide me in making the image for the landing page.  I spent a good hour putting it together in Photoshop, then uploaded it to my Facebook page and realized it was the WRONG SIZE.  I completely forgot about the new page layouts on Facebook.  Boo.  So I started over.

The article still has great tips but you’ll definitely need a differently sized image.  I started with a blank file in Photoshop sized at 510 pixels wide by 450 pixels tall (I’m pretty sure you don’t have to use Photoshop – that’s just what I’m comfortable with).  I added on some product pictures, my logo and tagline, and a little “shop now!” graphic.  Thomas points out that the whole image is going to be a link, but people need direction as to where to click so some direction helps.



You’ll need to save that image somewhere online.  If you haven’t already, you can open up a free Photobucket account and upload your image as a jpeg.  After uploading, click on your image – it should have a few links listed underneath it.  Keep this page open while we get your Facebook page ready – we’ll come back to it in a minute.

Next is the part that’s a little trickier.  I used this article by the same guy for guidance.  The article is on setting up a business Facebook page from start to finish, so you’ll need to scroll down a little to get to the instructions on how to get your landing page up and running. 



First, you’ll want to log in to Facebook and head to your business page so you can install the FBML app.  Click the “edit page” button on the top right, then click on “Apps” on the left side of the screen.  You’re looking for Static FBML – it showed up in the suggested apps section for me.  In the picture above, mine is titled “Welcome!” because I had already installed it when I took this screenshot.  Yours should be called “Static FBML”.  Click on “add”, then click “go to app”.



The title of this page is going to be what shows on the tab on your Facebook page, so type something short in the title field.  I just used “Welcome!”.  Next, you have to add some code in the FBML field.  Now I know virtually nothing about html, so I just copied Thomas’s code from his article.  It includes a link (so when someone clicks on the image it takes them to my Etsy shop) plus the image source link (from Photobucket, more on that next).  Here’s the code I used:

<center><a href="http://bobalookids.etsy.com%22/>
<img src="http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n605/bobalookids/FBLandingPageFeb20112copy.jpg%22 />
</a></center>

The first link to Etsy (in quotes) is where you’d swap in your own shop address, blog address, or whatever site you want to send people to when they click on your image.  The second link (also in quotes) is where you’ll want to put the image source, which you can copy and paste from the “direct link” field in Photobucket.  After you’re done pasting in links, click Save Changes.



We’re almost done!  Now you’ll have to change your settings in Facebook so the landing page shows up for new visitors.  Go back to your wall and click on “edit page” again.  Next, click “manage permissions” on the left side of the screen.  In the “Default Landing Tab” drop down menu, choose “Welcome!” (or whatever you named your landing page tab).



Go find someone who isn’t already liked your business on Facebook and beg them to help you test it out!  I sent out a Twitter distress call and Tonya from Love of Family and Home helped me out.  Then, I logged in as my husband, unliked bobaloo!, then checked it out for myself.  It works!

I’m by no means an expert, but if you have any questions ask away.  If you’re not a fan of bobaloo! on Facebook already, I’d be forever in your debt if you would head on over there and tell me if the landing page works for you.  If you’ve already liked bobaloo!, we’re totally best friends forever and you can take a peek by clicking on the Welcome tab.

Now go make one for your page, then let me know so I can check it out!  Good luck, and report back on your progress!

Starting an Email Newsletter

Tweet At the Rocky Ripple Festival, I set out a sign-up sheet to gather customer’s email addresses.  I ended up with ten or so, and that page has been gathering dust in my stack of business stuff until last night, when I finally got around to setting up an email newsletter.  Go ahead, sign up – the signup box is on the left side of this page!
 
I decided to use Mail Chimp to manage my email newsletter.  It’s free for up to 1000 subscribers and 6000 total emails sent per month.  In my wildest dreams I’ll have 1000 subscribers anytime soon, but it never hurts to plan ahead!


The setup process is super simple.  After signing up for the free option, I manually entered all of the email addresses from my sign-up sheet into one list.  Next, I designed my first newsletter.  I just chose a pre-designed template, but you can make yours from scratch if you’d like.  I’m pretty crazy about having all of my stuff match, so I went with the simplest one and added my logo to make it coordinate with the blog and my shops.  There is an Etsy predesigned option that imports listings from your shop using Etsy API, but I wasn’t crazy about how mine turned out using that option.

Last, you send that bad boy out and wait for people to read!  Evidently I’ll get lots of stats once it goes out – who opens it, who clicks through, who subscribes and unsubscribes.  I also added that little sign up widget on the sidebar of the blog – you just copy and paste the html from Mail Chimp and add it through your blog editor (instructions are here to add it to Blogger, and here to add one to your Facebook page).

It looks like there are some really cool features.  You can split your campaign into two groups so you can see if you get a different response if you send it in the morning vs. the evening.  You can also just send your email to part of your subscriber list, or just send a text email to everyone.  You can also have Mail Chimp automatically send a tweet or post to Facebook when a new email campaign goes out.

Overall I’m pretty happy with it.  The site seems kind of sluggish sometimes, and the editing reminds me of Blogger’s image and text editing (not a fan, as we all know).  It will be interesting to see if it helps business at all.  I think it may be kind of like blogging – it takes a few times to get your flow.

I realized this weekend that I’ve been sharing a ton about how I’ve been running bobaloo!, but I haven’t been sharing what I’ve been making!  Here’s some pictures of some new stuff I’ve been stitching up.  See something you like?  Go grab it in my Etsy shop, or check out my brand-spankin’-new Cargoh shop!

Now go sign up for the newsletter!  Have a great day!