Sometimes when you’re taking a quick photo for your social media, you really don’t want to take the time to set up a backdrop.
That’s understandable. But kill the doorknob.
Please.
Case in point:
There are several ways to do this. If you’re lucky, you can just crop it out of the picture… and the resulting smaller background makes the merchandise more appealing too:
Or, you can clone a part of the background and cover the doorknob. This is easy to do, but takes some learning at first (and more time than I wanted to take to make perfect, so probably you’ll feel the same):
Finally, you can hide the doorknob AND add your sales pitch and shop info with a simple overlay and your chosen text:
Guess which method I’d recommend?
These photos were altered using picmonkey.com and ribbet.com, both free, online programs.
Auntie Kate The Resale Expert 
Auntie Kate,
Why do you want to kill the doorknob? I may be asking a stupid question, but I don’t know the answer, so….Thanks so much, for all your input. I have learned so many valuable things from you, and really thank my lucky stars on a regular basis that I found your site and ordered from you. You have really helped my business more than you know.
Sincerely,
Kathy Thompson, owner
Glamorous Again
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Thanks, Kathy, for asking the obvious question. Why get rid of the doorknob? My A to your Q? Because it’s distracting, and because you don’t want your viewers to think “what a pretty door” but rather “what a pretty dress.”
And, of course, because adding an overlay that brands your photo and gives your potential clientele a quick way to see your name again is so much more effective than promoting a doorknob!
Besides, titles/ subject lines are everything. Imagine if I’d titled this post “distracting things in your merchandise photos” instead of “Kill the Doorknob.” Chances are you wouldn’t open the post, or wouldn’t remember the point I was making!
I’m hoping the catch-phrase “Kill the Doorknob” will pop into shopkeepers’ minds when they set up and post their photos (talk about immortality. I could go to my grave happily if y’all remember to kill the doorknob.) (Not really, speaking metaphorically here.) (Please, dear lord.)
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which program did you use to create the overlay?
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I believe both the programs I mentioned have that ability… poke around them a bit, picmonkey has good free stuff (though I use the paid version) and ribbet is free at the moment…
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The “overlay”. Thanks so much for sharing!
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You’re more than welcome, FashionSafari. It’s a technique that even I should use more often… and especially easy if you’ve created a blank overlay, with your logo/ info, and all you have to do is add a few words to it every time you lay it over a merchandise photo.
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