Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Please Vote: White vs Color Background

I really need your help! After 7 months selling my jewelry creations online in my Etsy store, I've evolved from colored backdrops for my jewelry to all white. During this evolution, I've spent literally hundreds & hundreds of hours taking pictures, re-taking pictures, loading them into my PC, & cleaning them up using Photoshop Elements. Yet it's unclear to me which background strategy is more effective in drawing a shopper into my store for closer looks. I would really appreciate your help. Please view page 1 of my Etsy listings VS page 2 & take 1 of 2 Photo Surveys on the right. NOTE: If you're viewing my pictures on a Mac, take the Mac survey. PC users take the PC survey. Why? On PCs images appear more vivid than on a Mac. This fact is the wild card. I hate wild cards :)If you have any specific suggestions or comments re my white vs color strategies, please click on the "Comment" below this post & talk to me. I'd be so grateful for the help.

TODAY'S HOT LINKS:
"Etsy Teams" are groups of local Etsy artisans who encourage & support each other. Teams from around the globe can choose to receive a sister team. Please enjoy the beautiful printed card stock by Modern Printed Matter, from our sister team in Rhode Island. Sleek & sophisticated, beautifully packaged & photographed!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Sir,
I could not find a link to Mac or PC specific responses; I am using a Mac.
I examined your pages and what immediately becomes apparent is the lack of "pop". The pieces sit on the page but don't really come off it. This is not just a matter of background color, but of lighting. I noticed shadowing around some pieces which tells me you either don't have a light box, or you don't have even lighting if you do. Each piece requires different lighting conditions and some folks are going to LED's instead of hot lights to bring out details.
As for the background colors, I noticed you have a light pastel on your home page, and it works well. For jewelry or small pieces, one color doesn't fit all. If the piece has very lights hues, the edges will blend into the background and appear dull. The background should emphasize the piece being displayed.
The correct combination of lighting and background should makes the subject "pop" off the page. It's a lot easier to say than to accomplish; but for what it's worth; that's my opinion.
Have a great day,
Bill Hackett
fotosos (fotografie services of seattle)
bill@fotosos.com

Cheryl Z said...

Bill, I'm so grateful for your tech comments!!! Thank you. If you don't mind, I have a few questions...
1. By pastels on page 1, I assume you mean the light blue or gray behind a few items?
2. Could you name 1 piece on each page that comes closest to the goal? That would help a lot, as I know how to get that again...
3. Is there a trick to getting just enough contrast & brightness (Photoshop Elements) to add pop for Macs w/o burning the eyeballs of PC users?
Thanks in advance...... Cherylz