If we’re real lucky,
(and if we are talented consignment, resale, thrift shopkeepers as well) we have some great merchandise to take quick shots of so we can post them online. Let me show you how much
you can do in under five minutes.
Case in point:
Photo’s great but darn those fluorescents. They make everything look green.
Great bag, but what color is it? asked a FB fan of this shopkeeper.
With one click of the “color correct” button in Irfanview, the color’s shown true!
And another less-than-5-minute fix:
Do you really want to make your internet buddies muscle their monitors sideways just to see what you have to offer?
There now, isn’t this better? One button: rotate left (or maybe it’s rotate right, I always have to try both. So maybe it takes 2 clicks.)
Cute outfit, nice bright contrast background. But what’s all that extraneous stuff?
Ah, now their attention’s on the outfit. Cropping is as simple as dragging your mouse from corner to corner, then clicking “crop.”
While these photos wouldn’t be ideal for the home page of your web site, they’re certainly improved quickly and simply enough to spend 5 minutes on!
Get the free Irfanview program which is what I used on these examples. Or use Picnik.com which doesn’t require downloading. UPDATE: Picnik is no more; try ribbet.com or picmonkey.com. I use both, since each has its strengths.)
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
[…] First, let’s make the photo look good. And more info here. […]
I love all of these ideas! Lately I’ve been using ebay to sell overstocked items, I love the simple crop, rotate, brighten buttons that ebay has, cuts out a few steps. Picnik is also great (free one) to add text, great for a simple ad or promo. I haven’t found a great way to group or collage yet?!
Thanks. Picnik has a collage feature, but I’m not sure how extensive the free choices are. I collaged and added text to my graphic on http://TGtbT.com, the one that’s clickable to our Build/ Grow/ Thrive etc pages, so take a look at how nice it turned out!
Photo’s are great but have you tried videos?
We send out a weekly “video email” with samples of new arrivals. You can make FREE 30 seconds videos from your photo’s or pay only $30/yr. for some extra features at http://www.animoto.com . Remember, you can use your photos to make a video. You don’t need a video camera (you can add video if you like however).
We use video extensively in our promotions (emails, Facebook, website, social networks, etc.) and the feedback has been tremendous!
One other tip……Why not do a free video for the folks who you donate to? We did one for the local cancer society and they went nuts! They put it on their website and our store gets a free “plug” at the end of the video!
Don’t forget to upload your videos to YouTube and other video sites and begin your video description with your website (e.g., http://www.yourwebsite.com) This will put a live link back to your website on YouTube and drive web traffic to your site. It also helps with search engine rankings (Google owns YouTube)!
Video marketing is hot ladies!
Great ideas, Linda, many thanks! Animoto is indeed easy to use… but I’d like to caution folks to be wary of all the extra effects which can get in the way of the message. And I appreciate your pointing out that “videos” doesn’t have to mean moving pictures…in fact, some of the most interesting videos consist solely of still shots. Thanks for helping us out here.
So true! Another tip is to create a border – usually just a click to choose something not too busy. I like to unify several pictures with the same border, especially if they will be in the same ad or same web site. Even just a shadow edge or black border looks professional.
You’re right, Jenni: borders do give a finished touch. Collages are great, too, if you really want to invest more than 5 minutes.
Thank you for the photo tips!