Etsy's Handmade Blog
Shop Makeover Series: Makeover Your Listings with Color
Story by jenlo262
Published on January 22, 2008 in How-To 		Photo by

Green Katamari pincushion by ReFabulous


For her second post in her color theory series, jenlo262 has some recommendations and examples for sellers undertaking the Shop Makeover series. The following article covers color combinations and theory, as it applies to your listings.

Before you can make a sale, you will need to get buyers to look at your art. There’s no better way to entice the browsing customer to click on your image than by keeping it fresh, interesting, and colorful!

For the first image in your listing, I suggest worrying less about what and more about the wow. It’s not necessarily important to capture the whole complete image of your item as long as you get the basics of the item with some colorful artsy flair. How can color make your item pop? Follow these six tricks for a better image and see how these sellers made it work…

  1. First things first — keep your colors true: Before you start arranging or choosing colors for your background, you will want to make sure you can keep your colors as bright as they can be by building a light box (see Lori's post here). A box will especially help when trying to keep your whites bright — making your item the center of attention. If you can’t build a light box (or your item is too big, keep it natural by using indirect sunlight. For two-dimensional items, scanners work great too if you have one available.

    [crochet pattern by anapaulaoli, yarn by OneSheepHill, bracelet by FancyFreeMe ]
  2.  Contrast - balancing your lights and darks: Keep your item from blending into your background by using dark colored backgrounds for light items and light backgrounds for dark items. Or mix and match!

    [earrings by KiwiTreeBotique, mug by misslo, apron by JoyfulAbode]


  3. A splash of bright color: Keep your listing fresh by increasing your color intensity.

    [soap by SudsMuffin, beads by tearose, cuff by NicoleLorentz]
  4.  Using your color compliments: Make your item pop by looking across your color wheel for a background color.
    [buttons by frombelgiumwithlove, hairpins by thefunkyfelter, clay pendant by Dirtgirlpottery]
  5. Using analogous colors:  Invite your viewer into your listing with a lovely combination of similar colors.

    [earrings by staroftheeast, face wall pocket by amandamoon, ceramic pendant by leapinglizards's shop]

     
  6. An artsy background: Finally, give your listing a little artsy flair with an interesting, unusual, or incongruous background and have some fun!
     
    [earrings by  executeme, lariat necklace by 12linden, vintage book by whiteelephantvintage, Green Katamari pincushion by ReFabulous]


If you’re still not sure how to spruce up your listing, try just keeping it simple. The tiny little square that makes or breaks whether you get a shopper in your shop can only hold so much. A solid colored background with a quality photo will make a great lead-in to your wonderful works of art.

Comment below with links to your before and after screenshots from your Shop Makeover improvements! Which of the techniques described here helped you out?

Tags colors, color theory, HOW-TO, photographing, photography, Seller Handbook, selling, Shop Makeover Series, Your Shop 101
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30 comments     Login to add your own!

Jan. 22, 2008 at 9:36 p.m. Caprichos

amazing!

Jan. 22, 2008 at 10:08 p.m. Dirtgirlpottery

Yeah! My pendant was featured! I'm new at photographing my stuff, but when I started I went back to my orginal color theory lessons and that have been really helpful to me.

Jan. 22, 2008 at 11:55 p.m. jenlo262

Great job dirtgirlpottery! I love your use of color!

Jan. 23, 2008 at 4:09 a.m. staroftheeast

This is awesome!!
I've been working 16 hours a day for the past 1,5 month to change all the pictures in our shop! The nice thing is I was reading the Make over article of the Storque so this is awesome to be an example now!!! Thank you, thank you!!! Now off to change some more pics :)

Jan. 23, 2008 at 5:51 a.m. pouch

taking good pics is one of the things that takes up most of my time and I am always thinking of new ways to take photos!
I've learnt lots about photos since joining Etsy and hope my pics are improving :)

Jan. 23, 2008 at 6:19 a.m. SudsMuffin

What a great article and what a treat it it to also be featured in it! Thank you so much! :)

Jan. 23, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. muxoriginals

This is great!

Jan. 23, 2008 at 9:44 p.m. KiwiTreeBotique

I've been lucky. I can manage to take my photographs in natural light. It is ideal for my jewelry, since I tend to use natural stones and glass as my focal pieces... they literally glow in the light of my north-facing window.
As for my NotableBookmarks, I think it is time to build a lightbox. I hate using Photoshop to alter my images, but with paper products, they can look so flat. A lightbox will reduce the need to alter brightness/contrast and correct for color expression. I'll be working on that as my next project! Thank you for featuring me in your examples... as a newbie, I am quite honored.

Jan. 24, 2008 at 6:40 p.m. Luvbubblettes

Thank you... isn't Etsy fab with all the tips and tricks and so on... no other site like it! I'm going to go away and play around with colours for my photo's now!

Jan. 24, 2008 at 7:16 p.m. pawandclawdesigns

Nice article!

I made some changes in my shop after reading this.

took 1207 pictures today; bet that's some kind of record ;)

Jan. 24, 2008 at 10:42 p.m. jenlo262

Way to go pawandclaw!

Jan. 25, 2008 at 5:55 p.m. katelynjane

Thanks for the advice! I'm going to have to change up some of my photos (:

Jan. 28, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. SilverShadow

Nice article. I had already revamped some of my product photography, after getting my lightbox, but some older ones still need to be redone.

This article is "pushing" me to finish it ☺ Good job!

March 26, 2008 at 6:34 p.m. nicoleraephotos

Love this article. I definitely need to get creative in using color. These are ideas I hadn't even really thought of before. Thank you!

May 28, 2008 at 4:24 p.m. coventgardenvintage

Thank you for your advice. I have a lot of work to do and now I have a direction.

June 29, 2008 at 11:49 a.m. patricewright

great information for all of us out there who are trying to get those pics right. thanks

July 7, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. tinyhands

Thanks! This is great, and just what I'm looking for.

July 19, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. susanskeepsake

Thank-you so much for this great advice. I really needed some help with my pictures and lighting. I have tried many forms of light and just haven't been getting it right. I can now go back and redo my pictures. Thank-you.

Aug. 25, 2008 at 5:29 p.m. BebeToby

Thanks for the great tips! I've always have trouble thinking about what background to use.

Sept. 15, 2008 at 7:13 a.m. LaurieValko

Wonderful tips! I am going to try out some new colors in my photos. I also like the idea of using different/unique background that compliment my sculptures. I am thinking dog treats, collars......I'm going to have fun! Thank you!

Sept. 22, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. HomemadeZen

nice tips, thanks!

Sept. 27, 2008 at 10:26 p.m. PDXfabricdeli

Great tips, I always knew but didn't know exactly what. Thanks for giving direction.

Oct. 31, 2008 at 6:25 a.m. janetkemp88

Wonderful advice and just in time for the weekend, so I can get to the work on a light box. Thanks Etsy!

Nov. 17, 2008 at 12:22 a.m. AuntTiff

I am so glad to have read this. I need color! My shop is currently like my house with white walls. I'm addin' COLOR! Thanks for the inspiration.

Nov. 24, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. loopiforyou

Now that I have made a lightbox... maybe I should start using a bit more colour. Thanks for the tips!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 1:20 a.m. handstrung

I am a newbee with Esty, so I love to hear about how to take good pictures for my shop. Thank U all!

Jan. 6, 2009 at 6:52 p.m. HModine

Love this series and all your tips are fantastic!!

Jan. 15, 2009 at 2:46 a.m. 2BellesBeads

Excellent!

March 29, 2009 at 11:12 p.m. debthedollgnome

My favorite color is blue. Should I be using it as a tag in every listing?

June 9, 2009 at 4:07 p.m. myfriendamy

thanks for the tips. i really like idea #4!

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