I’ve been selling on Etsy for almost 9 years and blogging for almost 10 now. Hard to believe! One of the questions people often ask me is how to set up a home photo studio for Etsy or other small blogging projects. So today I thought I’d show you what my home photo studio looks like.
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We live in a small townhouse so we don’t have a lot of room. Luckily we do have three bedrooms though and when the first daughter moved out we turned her room into my craft room. (It wasn’t quite that easy and there’s a much longer story but I’ll have to go into that another day.) When my second daughter moved out we turned her room into a guest bedroom and I moved my “photography studio” in there.
Before that I would have to wait until just the right time of day to take pictures of my jewelry or other small craft projects. If I missed that time I’d have to wait until the next day.
But then a friend of mine offered to trade some old equipment for jewelry. She used to sell on Ebay and didn’t need this anymore. This little light box changed my Etsy life! Now I can even take pictures in the middle of the night!
Sources for Home Photo Studio for Etsy
Yes, I use an iPhone for all my photography. At least for now. I do have a camera but my new iPhone takes better photos!
If you want to photograph a whole room, consider something like this photography studio light kit:
I also use a small flexible tripod for my iPhone, similar to the one below. The flexible legs allow me to move it around and wrap it around just about anything if I need a different angle. Using a tripod also helps me get clearer photos. HINT: Put your iPhone or camera on a tripod and then use the timer so it is completely still and your photos will be even clearer!
Inside my light box I have my fake wood photo background. I’ll show you how to make that in another post.
I have a larger background nearby and I always keep a few clothespins handy.
The top desk drawer holds my real wood backdrops. Those are still best for close ups.
Here’s an example of a photo taken in this soft light box:
If you’re looking for more blogging tips, follow my Pinterest board.
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If you enjoyed this post, you might also like these:
- My Favorite Blogging Resources
- How to Organize Your Blog Posts to Get More Traffic
- Photo Tips for Etsy
- 20 Tips to Up Your iPhone Photography Game
- The Story of an Etsy Package
Someday I might upgrade my equipment and get a DSLR camera but for now this fits my budget and works well for me. Let me know if you have any other questions about blogging or selling on Etsy!
‘Til the next project,
Ann @ Duct Tape and Denim
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Amy says
February 18, 2016 at 2:17 amThis is wonderful!! I love your board background!! I have an Etsy store, and I’m 99% sure that better pictures would help my sales. I really need to take the time to invest in a proper photo set-up. I sell bigger items, too,. Do you have any recommendations for someone who, say, sells quilts or other large bulky items?
Thanks so much for this wonderful post!!
ducttapeanddenim says
February 24, 2016 at 9:48 amAmy, Thanks for your comments! I’ve never sold large items on Etsy. But I would recommend taking at least one photo showing the complete item and then some close ups. And make sure you have good lighting. If that’s a problem in your house you should look into that lighting set in this blog post. I have some blogging friends that use that setup to photograph rooms in their homes.
Thanks again for reading!