Well, I turn 21 on Wednesday. I plan on going out with some co-workers and getting a couple of drinks. This will be the third time I've turned the legal drinking age in the jurisdiction I was in at the time. It happened in Italy and Austria as well. I am excited to legally be able to purchase some good beers, it will be great. I hope they carry Dogfish Head around here, I am excited to try their famous IPA!
I will gleefully be drinking over the next few weeks, but I'll be doing it responsibly. By responsibly, I do NOT mean that I will not be getting drunk, but I KNOW my limits, so I know I will not be getting to a dangerous level. I will be friends I know and trust, and I will ALWAYS have a Designated Driver (seriously, it sounds like a record on repeat, but seriously, why would you decide NOT to have a DD?)
I know everyone has heard the spiel about responsible drinking, but have you heard this one? You should NOT mix energy drinks and alcohol. Some people have, and yet, they still continue to drink their jagerbombs. I don't understand it. Basically, you're putting an upper, and a downer in your body at the same time; this is dangerous, and puts a MAJOR strain on your heart. You can find a basic informational article here: Dangers of College Red bull Cocktail Creations.
For a collegiate article, check this article from the State University of New York (chosen for readability, and credibility. There are more out there from Brown, Vanderbilt, etc.). Mixing Alcohol & Energy Drinks May Spell Disaster
I am NOT saying people should not drink alcohol, and though it's bad for you, I'm sure people will continue to drink their Jagerbombs, or Red bull and Vodkas, or whatever energy drink mixture you want, but those who down 4-5 in one sitting, should SLOW DOWN. I have a friend who likes to drink them to energize himself. I'd say, slow down, and take a bit of the strain off your heart.
To another topic. I am considering, once I turn 21 of course, developing a series of "college cocktails" videos. I will take cocktails--both famous and my own creations--and turning them into college level cocktails. College cocktails have taken the form of cheap, crappy vodka, covered up as well as possible. What happened to cheap Gin, cheap Whiskey, cheap Tequila??? Tequila doesn't have to be shots, rum doesn't have to be mixed with Coke, Gin isn't just for martinis, Whiskey is DELICIOUS. These other alcohols have character: Vodka aspires to be water, these other liquors are their own thing!
Anyway, I will go more into detail in the series. Let me know if you have any suggestions, or questions about this!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Where has Paul Been???
Wow, I can't believe it has been over a MONTH since I last posted. The honest truth is: I have been WAAAAAAY busy. I've had school, work, life, and I lost track of my blog :( but I'm back!!!
So, what have I been up to? Well I finished up my Junior year at Michigan State (man that feels weird to say) and, save for a small 3.5 blemish from a class I went to...oh, I don't know, 3 times in the semester, I had a 4.0 (woot!) To get that 4.0 (almost), however, I worked my butt off. I also had life: let's face it, junior year of college, there is a LOT to do, and this was definitely one of my more social semesters. I had made some new friends, and some new traditions that ate up a lot of time. Who could say no to dollar burgers on Wednesdays? And now! I have work. I got out of school on the 8th of April, and I began work on the 19th. That time in between consisted of plenty of packing, flying, driving, traveling, unpacking, moving in, learning a new area, etc.
Well, I am happy to say, I am finally getting well settled in my new home (for 12 weeks at least) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Where is Wilkes-Barre? It's very close to Scranton (which The Office fans have surely heard of) and is actually quite a nice town. I was not quite sure what to expect...a friend's brother told me that all there was to do in Wilkes-Barre was "sniff coal dust and look at poverty". I was worried to say the least. I got here, and it turns out it is quite a charming CITY. Not a town, a city, it's actually a fair sized city, not so small that you can't find anything to do, not so large that you feel anonymous within its' limits.
I am now working for Kraft Foods in the Export Control group. This was a HUGE surprise for me, especially since I was originally told I would be working in Chicago (wtf?) but then I got assigned to Wilkes-Barre (pronounced WILLKS-BARRY) and I was a little mad, I began thinking "maybe I should have waited for Staples...maybe I should have gone with Holcim! I mean, I wanted a consulting job, but I didn't get one, and now I am stuck in the middle of no where, I only took this job because I was afraid of not getting another job..." Well, it turned out to be a blessing.
First of all, the people/culture at Kraft are to be envied by everyone; very laid back, and yet professional. I am in the export control group, which means INSTANT international exposure. Whether or not I decide to take a role with Kraft (if I am offered one), I will have that to talk about, and international experience is vital in today's world. We get plenty of free food (it's Kraft, they have like 49238135109 brands), and I get the benefit of working for a fortune 100 company, who has like 6-8 brands over a Billion Dollars, and like 500 over $100 M. It is unreal how many huge names are actually Kraft.
Remember, just because you may think you've made a horrible decision, it may work out for the best. I am now at Kraft, in their Export group, meeting GREAT people, making GREAT networking connections, and I am actually coming in as some sort of a consulting role. They take me seriously, and are interested in hearing what I have to say, and how I can apply my school learning to their company. "You may find a better way to do something, then a year later, someone new comes along and finds an even better way to do it, you've got to be flexible, and ready to accept better ways of doing things," one of my managers said to me.
I will be taking pictures/video of my apartment here in Wilkes-Barre, so you can all see it. I have had plenty of fun outings already: we went as an office to see the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, one of the Yankee's AAA teams play, and they had some really sweet firework after the show. The next day, I got to go golfing with some guys from the office (including the director of the office I work at), and in 8 days, I turn 21 (woot!). I plan on doing PLENTY of traveling (this weekend, I go to Pittsburgh) to Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Roanoke, Boston, and Dallas (I'll be there for the 4th of July :D )
Hopefully I will have more time to write. I have done some reading on Neville's Financial Blog, and I realized that in trying to find ways to make money on the Internet/in a dorm room, I have focused WAY too much on selling, and could focus on services. A lot of his business ideas are service based; I guess because I grew up making a small fortune (for my age) on e-bay, I am just used to selling physical goods.
I will hopefully be coming up with some new business ideas in the near future (gotta get some beer money somehow)
Until then, I bid you adieu.
So, what have I been up to? Well I finished up my Junior year at Michigan State (man that feels weird to say) and, save for a small 3.5 blemish from a class I went to...oh, I don't know, 3 times in the semester, I had a 4.0 (woot!) To get that 4.0 (almost), however, I worked my butt off. I also had life: let's face it, junior year of college, there is a LOT to do, and this was definitely one of my more social semesters. I had made some new friends, and some new traditions that ate up a lot of time. Who could say no to dollar burgers on Wednesdays? And now! I have work. I got out of school on the 8th of April, and I began work on the 19th. That time in between consisted of plenty of packing, flying, driving, traveling, unpacking, moving in, learning a new area, etc.
Well, I am happy to say, I am finally getting well settled in my new home (for 12 weeks at least) in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Where is Wilkes-Barre? It's very close to Scranton (which The Office fans have surely heard of) and is actually quite a nice town. I was not quite sure what to expect...a friend's brother told me that all there was to do in Wilkes-Barre was "sniff coal dust and look at poverty". I was worried to say the least. I got here, and it turns out it is quite a charming CITY. Not a town, a city, it's actually a fair sized city, not so small that you can't find anything to do, not so large that you feel anonymous within its' limits.
I am now working for Kraft Foods in the Export Control group. This was a HUGE surprise for me, especially since I was originally told I would be working in Chicago (wtf?) but then I got assigned to Wilkes-Barre (pronounced WILLKS-BARRY) and I was a little mad, I began thinking "maybe I should have waited for Staples...maybe I should have gone with Holcim! I mean, I wanted a consulting job, but I didn't get one, and now I am stuck in the middle of no where, I only took this job because I was afraid of not getting another job..." Well, it turned out to be a blessing.
First of all, the people/culture at Kraft are to be envied by everyone; very laid back, and yet professional. I am in the export control group, which means INSTANT international exposure. Whether or not I decide to take a role with Kraft (if I am offered one), I will have that to talk about, and international experience is vital in today's world. We get plenty of free food (it's Kraft, they have like 49238135109 brands), and I get the benefit of working for a fortune 100 company, who has like 6-8 brands over a Billion Dollars, and like 500 over $100 M. It is unreal how many huge names are actually Kraft.
Remember, just because you may think you've made a horrible decision, it may work out for the best. I am now at Kraft, in their Export group, meeting GREAT people, making GREAT networking connections, and I am actually coming in as some sort of a consulting role. They take me seriously, and are interested in hearing what I have to say, and how I can apply my school learning to their company. "You may find a better way to do something, then a year later, someone new comes along and finds an even better way to do it, you've got to be flexible, and ready to accept better ways of doing things," one of my managers said to me.
I will be taking pictures/video of my apartment here in Wilkes-Barre, so you can all see it. I have had plenty of fun outings already: we went as an office to see the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, one of the Yankee's AAA teams play, and they had some really sweet firework after the show. The next day, I got to go golfing with some guys from the office (including the director of the office I work at), and in 8 days, I turn 21 (woot!). I plan on doing PLENTY of traveling (this weekend, I go to Pittsburgh) to Philadelphia, New York, Baltimore, Roanoke, Boston, and Dallas (I'll be there for the 4th of July :D )
Hopefully I will have more time to write. I have done some reading on Neville's Financial Blog, and I realized that in trying to find ways to make money on the Internet/in a dorm room, I have focused WAY too much on selling, and could focus on services. A lot of his business ideas are service based; I guess because I grew up making a small fortune (for my age) on e-bay, I am just used to selling physical goods.
I will hopefully be coming up with some new business ideas in the near future (gotta get some beer money somehow)
Until then, I bid you adieu.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Creating Effective Product Descriptions
As some of you may have guessed, I am doing a small series on effectively running small online stores. Many people seem to believe that if you put your product online, it will sell itself. If you believe this is anywhere near true, search whatever you think you would sell, and see how many results pop up on google. I bet it's easily over 100,000. It is important to optimize your products, and opening a small online store is not difficult, but it does take some time and energy.
I’ve covered product photos for online stores, so what about product descriptions? After all, everyone needs to read the specific about the product. Search engines can’t read images, so we need to provide good descriptions. This doesn’t just apply to online stores either, you could use this information for e-Bay auctions, craigslist listings, newspaper classifieds, and anything else you may need a good product description for.
The golden rule of product descriptions: Would this be a good product description if YOU were the shopper.
1. Be Specific
The first thing you need to do is provide a good, concise, meaningful title for your product. Think about: if you saw the title you provided, would you stop by to see the item? Would you be interested in spending your time to read more about the product?
Be very specific, if it is a product that depends on color, be specific on the color, not dark orange, but burnt orange, not yellow, but maybe goldenrod. If the color is specified with the product, specify it in your description. You should remember, if the buyer can’t easily figure out everything they wish to figure out, they will not be likely to purchase from you.
If you sell clothes, make sure to include the sizes, and maybe a size chart. With other items, height, width, depth are all good to include. If you sell electronics, you will want to include information about all the specs. Does it hold 256MB, or 2GB, what size is the product, etc. Just remember, you want to provide all specifics your customer may be looking for, and then a few they might not have even thought of.
2. Offer alternative uses
If your product could be used in more than one way, make sure you specify that information. I sell temporary tattoo’s on my web store; these are fun little upsells for people to add to their carts with their orders, but they could also make great gifts for parties, or great items to just have sitting around the room for a fun time. You want the buyer to see all the ways they could use this product; you want them to visualize themselves using these items. That's the trick car dealers use, you want the buyer to "see them self" using the product.
3. Remember your target demographic
If you are targeting a specific group of people (I tend to target college kids) then you need to remember that in your description. A college kit may be more receptive to a "shot glass" instead of a "cordial glass". You want to describe why your target cannot live without the product you are selling. "You won't know how you ever lived without it" can be good, you want to build that feeling that the buyer really needs the product. This all said, DO NOT do a corny advertisement type thing in your product description. The line I mentioned earlier "you won't know..." might be a little bit too corny. It is up to you, however, to figure out what your target demo. will respond to.
Your language should make sense to your target demo. as well. If you are selling electronics, you may need to provide more technical language which will be understood by those purchasing your items. Remember, though, you want to have language everyone can understand. It is a careful balance; you want the specifics, but also language describing the basic information. If someone is buying an mP3 player for a gift, they might not care that it holds 16GB of music, but they might care about other cool features, like a voice recorder, etc.
I’ve covered product photos for online stores, so what about product descriptions? After all, everyone needs to read the specific about the product. Search engines can’t read images, so we need to provide good descriptions. This doesn’t just apply to online stores either, you could use this information for e-Bay auctions, craigslist listings, newspaper classifieds, and anything else you may need a good product description for.
The golden rule of product descriptions: Would this be a good product description if YOU were the shopper.
1. Be Specific
The first thing you need to do is provide a good, concise, meaningful title for your product. Think about: if you saw the title you provided, would you stop by to see the item? Would you be interested in spending your time to read more about the product?
Be very specific, if it is a product that depends on color, be specific on the color, not dark orange, but burnt orange, not yellow, but maybe goldenrod. If the color is specified with the product, specify it in your description. You should remember, if the buyer can’t easily figure out everything they wish to figure out, they will not be likely to purchase from you.
If you sell clothes, make sure to include the sizes, and maybe a size chart. With other items, height, width, depth are all good to include. If you sell electronics, you will want to include information about all the specs. Does it hold 256MB, or 2GB, what size is the product, etc. Just remember, you want to provide all specifics your customer may be looking for, and then a few they might not have even thought of.
2. Offer alternative uses
If your product could be used in more than one way, make sure you specify that information. I sell temporary tattoo’s on my web store; these are fun little upsells for people to add to their carts with their orders, but they could also make great gifts for parties, or great items to just have sitting around the room for a fun time. You want the buyer to see all the ways they could use this product; you want them to visualize themselves using these items. That's the trick car dealers use, you want the buyer to "see them self" using the product.
3. Remember your target demographic
If you are targeting a specific group of people (I tend to target college kids) then you need to remember that in your description. A college kit may be more receptive to a "shot glass" instead of a "cordial glass". You want to describe why your target cannot live without the product you are selling. "You won't know how you ever lived without it" can be good, you want to build that feeling that the buyer really needs the product. This all said, DO NOT do a corny advertisement type thing in your product description. The line I mentioned earlier "you won't know..." might be a little bit too corny. It is up to you, however, to figure out what your target demo. will respond to.
Your language should make sense to your target demo. as well. If you are selling electronics, you may need to provide more technical language which will be understood by those purchasing your items. Remember, though, you want to have language everyone can understand. It is a careful balance; you want the specifics, but also language describing the basic information. If someone is buying an mP3 player for a gift, they might not care that it holds 16GB of music, but they might care about other cool features, like a voice recorder, etc.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Entrepreneurial Specialization
Well, I've taken the plunge (an obvious one for me) and declared an entrepreneurship specialization to add to my degree. It requires 12 extra credits (I just so happen to have one extra semester that I don't need).
I'll be taken a few classes that are exciting, mostly about analyzing an implementing a plan in the real world. I wanted to take an accounting class for entrepreneurship, but it's not offered all next year, so I'm replacing it with Emerging Enterprise Law, which is a law class about starting a new, smaller venture.
This brings up my point; use the resources you have available to you. There is a wealth of opportunity out there for you, at your respective schools, or at work. There is almost always an opportunity to learn more, and you should use the tools available to you. Figure out where you can learn more; especially in this highly competitive environment, the more you know, the more likely you are to get a job.
Remember, these companies that are still hiring are looking for people who not only have a fair amount of knowledge, but also those people who are enthusiastic when it comes to learning, and those who have the ability to learn. Show companies that you are willing to get out there and learn what is available. A great way to do this is to join an organization. I'm a member of the Supply Chain Management Association (my major), Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations (my future career goals), Student Investment Association (great life skills), Broad Scholar Organization (honors program in our Business School), Honors College.
Everybody knows that recruiters like to see students that are involved, but do you know why? They would like to see you take a leadership role, because that is the buzz topic right now in business, "we need new leaders", so they are looking for leaders. However, not every company NEEDS new leaders, sometimes the best leadership tactic is knowing when to follow. Think about it, it is sometimes better for the team when you decide to follow, than when you clash with the "leader".
Involvement also shows passion, interest, and the desire to learn; these organizations are a great way to learn, a great way to network, and a great way to build your resume. Join these organizations as much as possible, and be as involved as you wish to be. I like to go to most events for the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) and Students Consulting for Non-profit Organizations (SCNO), and pretty involved with some of the others. I'm going to an SCMA dinner tonight, to a golf outing with them, where I will be paired with a recruiter. I hope you can see how helpful my membership is to me. I am making myself a very marketable individual, and I also love learning what I do from these organizations.
So while I started by saying "use your resources available", I am going to narrow it down by saying, get involved. I know you hear it all the time, but I hope this gives a little insight as to why you should get involved.
It feels good to be writing again.
I'll be taken a few classes that are exciting, mostly about analyzing an implementing a plan in the real world. I wanted to take an accounting class for entrepreneurship, but it's not offered all next year, so I'm replacing it with Emerging Enterprise Law, which is a law class about starting a new, smaller venture.
This brings up my point; use the resources you have available to you. There is a wealth of opportunity out there for you, at your respective schools, or at work. There is almost always an opportunity to learn more, and you should use the tools available to you. Figure out where you can learn more; especially in this highly competitive environment, the more you know, the more likely you are to get a job.
Remember, these companies that are still hiring are looking for people who not only have a fair amount of knowledge, but also those people who are enthusiastic when it comes to learning, and those who have the ability to learn. Show companies that you are willing to get out there and learn what is available. A great way to do this is to join an organization. I'm a member of the Supply Chain Management Association (my major), Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations (my future career goals), Student Investment Association (great life skills), Broad Scholar Organization (honors program in our Business School), Honors College.
Everybody knows that recruiters like to see students that are involved, but do you know why? They would like to see you take a leadership role, because that is the buzz topic right now in business, "we need new leaders", so they are looking for leaders. However, not every company NEEDS new leaders, sometimes the best leadership tactic is knowing when to follow. Think about it, it is sometimes better for the team when you decide to follow, than when you clash with the "leader".
Involvement also shows passion, interest, and the desire to learn; these organizations are a great way to learn, a great way to network, and a great way to build your resume. Join these organizations as much as possible, and be as involved as you wish to be. I like to go to most events for the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA) and Students Consulting for Non-profit Organizations (SCNO), and pretty involved with some of the others. I'm going to an SCMA dinner tonight, to a golf outing with them, where I will be paired with a recruiter. I hope you can see how helpful my membership is to me. I am making myself a very marketable individual, and I also love learning what I do from these organizations.
So while I started by saying "use your resources available", I am going to narrow it down by saying, get involved. I know you hear it all the time, but I hope this gives a little insight as to why you should get involved.
It feels good to be writing again.
Monday, March 2, 2009
A note on risk taking
So, an aspect of ANY business is risk. If you want to start any business, you will be taking a risk. I found this interview by one of my favorite Food Network stars, Alton Brown, and I think it is a great one to watch about risk taking. Learn to live a little, and feel that raw emotion of fear, and risk.
I am usually quite risk averse, and that is something I want to fix. No one has ever made lots of money by being truly risk averse. You might make a good living, but you know what, you'll never be one of the greats!
Give that a watch, and I am SO sorry I've been so nonexistent on this blog the past few months. I have been incredibly swamped, but I am going to make a commitment to working on this blog more. I owe each and every one of you an apology.
I am usually quite risk averse, and that is something I want to fix. No one has ever made lots of money by being truly risk averse. You might make a good living, but you know what, you'll never be one of the greats!
Give that a watch, and I am SO sorry I've been so nonexistent on this blog the past few months. I have been incredibly swamped, but I am going to make a commitment to working on this blog more. I owe each and every one of you an apology.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Quick update
I'm not dead, just busy. Expect an update tomorrow. I've had a lot going on, and this has taken a back burner. I'm in class right now, but I felt the need to inform everyone of what's up.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
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 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!
- 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.
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.
If you have read this post on facebook, the complete blog is available at www.dormroombiz.com
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 read this post on facebook, the complete blog is available at www.dormroombiz.com
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