Taking Effective Product Photos

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Back to the regular grind. I will be finished with my semester in about 2 weeks of classes, including my finals. This may be my last post for a couple of weeks as I prepare for, and take my finals.

I have gotten my Wine Making Kit online, as well as the required Wine Making Kit Refill


If you have any sort of web store, or are selling any items on the internet, or anywhere, for that matter, you will need to take enticing product photos. I will try to provide a short description of a technique for taking simple, effective product photos.

1. You will need a place to take the photos.

I fashioned a simple "photo studio" which serves my purpose. You may, if you wish, purchase a "home product studio" from several retailers. These are more professional, and have everything you need, but you will pay for it.This is effective, and will serve your purpose if you have the cash. You can find this studio at first street, among other places. If you have $60 to spare on your business, go ahead. I do not, however. If you will be taking TONS of photos, this is worth it, I, however, do not have enough turnover to make it worth my while.

I fashioned my own studio which works very effectively. I simply used 4 different pieces of computer paper to fashion my own little studio. I just took a little time, and some tape, and formed exactly what I needed, add a light to the picture (it's a pun, get it?) and voila!

To make these:

• I folded the side pieces, so, when laid on top of the other piece of paper, they would reach the end.
• Tape them to the back piece of paper.
• Tape the bottom piece of paper to the walls.
• You are finished making it.

Now, you need a light for...lighting. I shine a nice light straight up, and then use another piece of paper to reflect the light back down onto the products. This gives a nice light effect (DO NOT USE A FLASH!)

I turned off the lights in the room, shined my light straight up, reflected the light back down on the product, and got a result as follows:
A little quick photo editing yielded me:
This was as simple as pie. Well, it sounds simple as pie, but how exactly did I do it?

2. Get a decent camera

I used the Panasonic Lumix FZ28, which I just got, and think is an INCREDIBLE camera. You do NOT need a super complicated camera. Certainly, the nicer the camera, the nicer the photos, but you will not get bad photos from a less than stellar camera. Ideally, you will want some manual settings. I set my shutter to 8 seconds, at and ISO of 100, and got great results.

You do not need to be perfect, but here are the settings I used:
Shutter priority
ISO 100
Shutter time of 8 seconds (Also tried with 6, and 4 seconds with good results)
NO FLASH

You will likely need a tripod, or some sort of stable place to put your camera. With these long shutter times, it is very easy to get a blurry image. You can get a cheap tripod on e-Bay. While not necessary, make sure you at least have a way to keep the camera very steady.

If you can set these settings, try them out. The important thing is to try to work out what settings are needed for your own camera. These worked for me, but may be terrible for your settings, only time will tell.

3. Edit the photo

At the very least, you can put your photo up without any editing, but you will benefit from some editing. If you have adobe Photoshop, and you know how to use it well, you are pretty much done with anything I could tell you.

You will want to do some cropping, which can be done in very simple programs, even windows picture editor can crop. If you want to do a little more work, try GIMP. It is a toned down photo editor like Photoshop, which is completely free. I have used GIMP do do some very nice effects, and though I don't like it as much as Photoshop, it works well. I used a clone stamp tool to fill in some areas which were not what I wanted them to look like. For example:




This was the original photo, taken with only the little photo studio I fashioned.












You can see the difference that can be made upon a photo with just some simple editing tricks.






4. Publish the Photo

You'll want to make sure you save the photo in the proper settings for your personal sales website. My main requirement is that I save in a square. Beyond that, it can be in any size, and it will be fixed by ecrater.


I hope that helps out, it's a simple process, and it can be repeated for any products. Picture here were my Wine Making kit, and Wine Making Refill Kit.

• Make a simple studio
• Get a simple camera
• Take some photos
• Do some editing
• Sell some products

If you have any questions, please contact me at ContactUs@dorm-gear.com

If you have read this post on facebook, the complete blog is available at www.dormroombiz.com

I'll be out of town.

Quick update. I found a shopping cart I can use on my independent store, where I don't use ecrater. That is basically all I need beside web hosting. I will continue using Google Checkout, and will design my own site. I need a host...if you know any cheap or free ones, let me know :)

I'll be in Florida for a little while, and will not have regular internet access, so I'll not be able to post for a few days.

New work on Webstore

Well I've begun working a little bit on the store again. I've got some down time since I just got my wisdom teeth out. I am working on creating product photos for the other glowing shot glasses (finally) and hope to have those finished soon. I've been neglecting the store I feel, and need to get going. I have some plans for the store this summer:

• Get a real store up instead of just using ecrater
• Get new product photos
• Create pre-made magnets so people don't have to rely on doing their own designs

Those are my 3 main goals. I would also like to find some new products, but I'll be out of the country for a month, so I don't have a lot of time to work with it this summer.

Store Updated

All of my inventory is now available on my store (dorm-gear.com) I finally got it all updated, and I'm very excited, I think I can finally start some advertising. I know I'm going to put up signs around campus; I feel that will be the best advertising. If you have any ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

I have also begun work on an access database to manage my orders, products, and inventory. As it turns out, this is a bigger project than I had expected; I guess I know less about access than I had previously thought. I finally figured out how to do some things, like automatically add one to my highest invoice number, so they are sequential, but I will not have gaps in the data. I want to build it using mostly forms, so I can have a very simple method of adding data to the database.

I think what I'll do is just take my time trying to get this system up and running, I don't think it has to be rushed, but it's also a great learning experience. It doesn't help that I'm really sick right now, so I'm not doing much of anything right now. I thought since I slept through all my classes, I would go ahead and do something a little beneficial.

Anyway, again, check the store at dorm-gear.com, I'd appreciate it.

Stay Safe!

Quick Update

After a very long time of waiting, I finally put all my new products up on the store.

dorm-gear.com

Go to see all the new fun products I have up there.

Also working on an order and inventory/customer management database. Fun huh?

I'll update more later, just wanted to throw out a quick update before I go to bed.

If you're reading this on Facebook, you can see the full blog at dormroombiz.com

Do business ideas help all businesses

As I've been slowly getting this store going, I've been trying to apply some concepts from the business classes I'm taking. I am trying to set up an inventory system, a customer database, an order database, as well as a table of product information, and supplier information. I got to wondering, is this overkill? I mean, yeah, a small business should have these systems in place, but this is a small business, run out of my dorm room. My inventory is probably less than $250, and I'm just not sure if I have the type of business that requires this kind of organization. I've thought about it a lot, ever since I took my Managerial Marketing class. I used to apply those concepts to different businesses I've run in the past, not actually applied them, just thought about how those concepts could have helped it more.

I guess these systems are good to have, just in case this thing does blow up and I need a management system, it would be better to have than to not have. Also, this does provide good practice for when I need to do this in the real world. I'm simply creating an Access database, which doesn't require much (but man, if you mess up Access, it just doesn't work) but I'm also thinking it's powerful enough to run a small business. the more I type the more I think this probably is a good idea, since this could ultimately help me to run forecasts and produce some effective charts, so I can see how my business is running.

My ITM group is working on this project right now, where we have to take our "grandfather coffee shop" that we "inherited" and write about how we could use a few aspects to technologically advance it. We talked about a biometric payment system and it seems pretty cool. I wish Michigan State would use this kind of technology. You set up a central account, and can link a credit card to it, as well as your address, phone number, and a username and password. You then set up your fingerprint next time you come in, by putting in your password and recording your fingerprint. Then, each time you come in, you place an order, scan your fingerprint, and it automatically charges your credit card. I thought that would be nice for state. You could use your spartan cash (campus cash account, lets your swipe your ID to spend your money) and even get into the cafeterias with it. You could also use it to provide access to different buildings, say Student A has clearance to use the chemistry labs, he can use his fingerprint to open the door. It just seems like that could be a fun technology to work with. Of course there are some security issues, like what if someone loses their finger, or entire hands, they wouldn't be able to use the system. Also, let's say some unsavory characters wanted access to your stuff, they might do something you wouldn't want to happen to you. I know that's one reason they dont' do this with ATM's, same with retinal scanning; those are body parts, but their not exactly body parts you can't lose.

This weekend, the rest of the shot glasses are definitely going up, as well as the temporary tattoos. I figure the tattoos are good add-ons, I just hope people don't only buy those, because then they'll be paying $5.50 for shipping a little $0.50 tattoo. I should include that in the description. I wonder if ecrater will allow you to do something like that, where it costs $1.00 shipping if they buy it alone, but nothing if they buy it with something else. My shipping tables are specific enough, and they can't be made specific enough. Anyway, keep reading, I'm back into posting.

Check out the store:

www.dorm-gear.com

I got the shot glass up

Well, it's not where I expected to be at this point, but I have one shot glass up on the store. I plan to put more of them up, but I'll be generally without internet this weekend. You can see the shot glass on my store, they're really quite cool.

www.dorm-gear.com


I also have some temporary tattoo's to put up, as well as 3 other colors of shot glass. I got my first order on the site, but Google Checkout screwed up and I didn't get an e-mail, so 6 days later I find out I have an order waiting. I felt really bad, but it went out on time. That's all I'll say to protect privacy. Anyway, I know I've been falling off on posts, but I'll post more next week, I finished my week with 3 exams this week, with a very small amount of sleep; next week I'll have plenty of time to take care of this.

I got more Inventory, it goes up after my break

Well, I'm on my spring break right now in Texas, but as soon as I get back to Michigan, my new products go up on the store. I got glow shot glasses, 16 blue, 16 red, 16 green, and 12 yellow. One of them was pre-cracked (it came glowing, which means I can't sell it) so the company I bought from put a credit on my account so I can get an extra one next time I order from them. I also bought a bunch of temporary tattoos. I was going to put these up before spring break, but I decided to wait until after spring break to upload the products and really promote the store. I figured if someone ordered something while I was in Texas, there was no way I could fulfill the order, and that would be bad for business.

Since I got to see one of the shot glasses pre-glowing, I was able to see how cool it was. It was really quite awesome. I just thought it was going to have a little novelty, but I really liked taking a shot out of it, there's something cool about a glowing shot glass, it just felt right :)

Anyway, I should probably begin uploading the products on Monday, and I'll start serious marketing. As far as I can tell, I am going to have some of the least expensive glowing shot glasses on the web. The tattoos are going to be great add-ons to other products. They'll be cheap, but they're really cool tattoos. I got the armband ones, wristband, and a couple types of Chinese symbols. I figure they're fun little items that people can pick up with their purchase.

This is going to be a short post, because I have to go get ready for a dentist appointment, but it's been good to get a few thoughts out there and let everyone see where I am.

Store is Launched!!! View www.dorm-gear.com

I've just launched my store! It's got a few products up, nothing too much, but it's a start.

Visit www.dorm-gear.com

That's all I had to say, I'm very excited!

Products online now!!!

I've now got some products online. Admittedly this is not a huge product line, but it's a start, and hopefully it will motivate me to start doing more to get stuff online.

I put my 5 photo holder online, on e-Bay, but online nonetheless.

You can see it here! 5 Photo holder

I would really appreciate anyone who would look at it. This really is a great product, and I use multiple copies of this product, I think it is absolutely great! I can hang tons of photos on the wall without having to buy frames or stick the photos directly on the wall like I did last year.

I have developed a website that I hope to have up and running by the end of the month.

Well, that's enough of that.

I'm really sorry I haven't been posting lately. I have decided that from now on, this blog will be more dedicated to business in general, instead of just business in dorm rooms. I think this is a better, broader topic, and brings me out of my myopic focus. I simply didn't have much to post blogs about, since I haven't been developing my business lately. I hope this will change.

I've purchased a few books and gotten some from Christmas that I hope will be really great. I have

• The Book of the Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi
• The Book of Family Traditions by Yagyu Munenori
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman
• The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene

These are all meant to help with business, The first 3 are more about battle, and business at a higher level. The world is flat is the new bible in business it seems. Every class talks about this book sometimes. The Art of Seduction is supposed to help with sales, however, I don't think I'll read this in public, that could look kind of embarrassing. I'll go ahead and stay in my room when I read that one.

I got thinking about the role of these books. I have read a few books based on business in the past couple years, and they really are much better than any classes I've taken (with the exception of my International and Comparative Dimensions of Business class). Why do people choose not to read these books. There is a definite edge in the business world based on knowledge. When someone knows more about the business world and can react faster, there is undoubtedly an edge, and I don't think anyone would doubt that.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know!"

That could not possibly be true, it is important to have connections, but unless you're just going to work a nothing job for a relative, your connections can only get you in the door. Please don't get me wrong, connections in business are important, because you DO need to get in the door, but that's as far as they will go. Without the ability to impress an interviewer, and the knowledge to excel at your particular job, you will not last long. Just remember, you do need to know something about business, and economics, and psychology, and how to work with people, and many other things. Your dad's a CEO? Well you better know something about that business to get a job with him, because if you don't, a good CEO will fire you without hesitation.

I get so sick of people relying only on their connections in business for jobs. No one cares if you know more executives than they do, you can only get an interview with your connections, so go to class, stop wasting your opportunities in life. If you're in school studying business, YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING RIGHT! Don't let the seat in your class go to waste. That fact goes for everyone really.

Anyway, that's enough of a rant.

I watched the Detroit Auto show today, quick review: My award for coolest car goes to the Audi R8 (look it up)

Some Products Found

I've found some products to use. I'm making customized magnets (fridge magnets). I'm also making these really neat photo holders. I've made 2 of them so far to hold pictures of my god daughter. I also plan on selling temporary tattoos (great upseller) and glow shot glasses. Any other ideas out there? I'm working VERY hard on getting these products going.

I'm also starting to think about store design; I'll need a shopping cart, but I can use Paypal for that. I do need to find a webhost, as well as a clever name for the store. I could use some ideas on that too. I'm pretty excited about this. Even if it doesn't take off, it's still something I did, and that's a good feeling. I tried hard with e-bay many years ago, and was rewarded for that, hopefully this will pay off as well. I wish I could find like wholesale DVD's and sell those, that would be great.

Well I just wanted to keep everyone updated on my current progress with the store.

The Business is on it's way

I've been working on finding products, and so far it's going pretty well. I've decided I will be selling clever/cool looking magnets. I ordered a sample of magnetic ink jet paper, so I can see if it will work in my printer. I'm also making a thing that can hold like 4-8 pictures, so people could get one or two of these for their dorms.

I'm currently figuring what else to sell. I would need to dropship most of the products, and ideally I find a site that can dropship most of the items, so I don't have like 4 different shipping charges. I found a site that can send out DVD's, but it's based in Europe, and after the exchange rate, it's not as much of a deal as you would think. I'd like to send like laptop accessories, ipod accessories, stuff like that. I just need to figure out how I'm going to do this. I can't hold any inventory really, so I've got to work hard at getting very small items, or finding an affordable dropshipper.

I also ordered some shipping supplies, mostly priority mail. I think I"ll send most products via priority mail, since it has free shipping supplies. It costs a bit more, but it is much easier to ship out.

A business I can get behind

So I finally decided that I'm going to open a small online store selling things that would be useful in the dorm rooms. I'm working on a list of items right now, and now I need to find vendors. This will not be fun, but it's necessary. I figure the people I'm targeting with this blog would be likely to buy some of these things, and since I'll be going for low margin high turnover (VERY risky for a small business) I'll need to get word out. However, with low overhead, I won't be out too fast if it fails, since I'm not paying any sort of monthly fee. My goal is to make $5 in the first month, $20 in the second month, and $60 in the third. I think this is all plausible, and that's profit numbers.

Any tips? Anyone out there know a good way to find vendors. I know Neville from his financial blog has houseofrave.com and he doesn't even keep most of that stuff in stock, just handles the orders. Maybe I'll try to ask him how he got his vendors in line. Ha, he runs one of the most popular financial blogs out there, and I want him to answer my question...think he'll respond.

Well that's all for now, just wanted to let everyone know what I'm up to. Short one. Hopefully next time I post I'll have some sort of store going.