Do your gift basket photographs enhance or detract from what you make? Learn from my mistake so you know how not to take a gift basket picture.
Pretty bad
After creating my first DVD, Gift Basket Basics (now part of the Beginner Package), the videographer took photos of the designs shown on the DVD.
The DVD reveals methods to make gift baskets from the bottom to the bow. This information is also captured in text form in this definitive article.
He encouraged me to elevate a watercolor fabric shown in the DVD in back of the gift baskets.
I agreed. After all, he was the videographer, the all-knowing person who knew the basics of taking good sales photos – right?
Once I received the photos, I saw the horror of my decision. You can see the result in the above picture.
The watercolor background clashes terribly with the gift basket designs. It’s distracting and does everything to keep the gift baskets in my hands rather than sell anything.
What a lesson. Thank goodness I didn’t pay a separate fee for those pictures.
Eight tips for best results
Look at any well-known gift basket seller’s website, and you will see the basics for picture taking. You don’t have to visit the well-known sellers. Search for “gift baskets,” and you’ll find plenty of websites that display designs clearly.
Here’s how to create great photos.
1. Your cellphone camera is great for capturing pictures, and so is a basic handheld camera.
2. Be sure to attach your camera onto a tripod for stability while taking pictures.
3. Find an area with sunlight, lamplight, or similar lighting in your studio or elsewhere.
4. Make sure your lighting does not create shadows. If it does, position your designs so shadows are removed.
5. Add a white backdrop to surround your designs in back, beneath, and on the sides. Cream and eggshell colors are fine, too.
6. Snap more than one photo. Capture the picture from the front at different angles so you choose the best one.
7. Store your photos properly through files in your computer’s Pictures folder and also through a cloud-based backup.
8. Write down all of the equipment and supplies needed, and take a picture of the setup so you don’t forget how it’s done.
Learn and get better in time
Years ago, before digital cameras and the internet were available, gift basket designers would send pictures by mail to prospects so they’d see the expert workmanship.
You had to send pictures you could afford to not get back because they weren’t always returned. If you remember those days, you are truly an expert today.
I look at the above picture and others still in my file and chuckle as I remember the past. Thankfully, I only used one of the pictures on a VHS box when that technology was popular.
My hope is that this experience will trim your photo-taking time in half. Yes, there will be time expended on this part of you gift basket business, and perhaps you’ll spend money, too, if hiring a professional photographer.
Picture perfect
Don’t let this part of your business stop you from pursuing the promotions your designs deserve. No Excuse for Not Taking Pictures expands your education on this topic, and there’s an additional article link included in that story.
What is your biggest dilemma in capturing gift basket photos?
