With the help of our dedicated vintage dealers, we are creating the best virtual flea market in Britain. We’re forming a community full of inspiring vintage images, lifestyle and products. We pride ourselves on the variety of products our dealers have to offer, so it’s important to us to still ensure a certain level of consistency across the site; good photography is essential in maintaining a high standard of quality in the Marketplace and to help you successfully sell your products. That’s why we require, as a minimum, that your images are light, simply styled and inspiring. And we’ve put together this guide to help you achieve just that.
Photography Guidelines & Tips 1. The photos should be high resolution. If you’re using a phone, choose the biggest size possible when prompted. Editing photos using phone apps may have an impact on the resolution, so avoid using those. 2. Lighting is key. Natural light is the best light to shoot in where possible. A room with windows next to a wall is perfect. Photographing with direct sunlight should be avoided as it produces very hard shadows.
- Shot in a dimly lit room with no natural light; - Light source positioned behind.
- Shot in a bright room with big windows; - Light source positioned in front.
3. Photos need to be in square format for optimum viewing on the Pedlars website, therefore the framing of shots needs to take the subsequent cropping into account. If you can’t send over a square photo, leave plenty of space around it so we can crop it for you.
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4. Plain backgrounds work well and are good for showing all the details of a product, however, these photos tend to lack character. To make it more interesting try styling them using some related props here and there.
5. When using another type of background, keep in mind it shouldn’t be distracting from your product. Try to keep all items in the photo related to the product you’re selling and make sure everything in the photo works with each other, not against.
- The focus isn’t set on any object in particular; - It’s unclear what’s the subject of the photo.
- The subject of the photo is clear and in the foreground; - The background is less distracting.
6. Show any imperfection in the images, this will reduce returns frequency and show customers exactly what they’re buying.
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We also recommend at least 3 images per products, showing different angles.
7. When it comes to furniture, it’s important to show the piece in its entirety. We suggest an overall frontal shot and one or more detail shots taken at an angle. A photo that allows you to see the front, side and top of your piece in one image, will give the customer a better visual representation of your product’s dimensions. Once the basics are covered, you can play around with interesting angles and try capturing the finer details.
- The piece isn’t shown in full; - The sunlight is creating too many hard shadows.
- The piece is shown in its entirety; - The light is uniform and balanced.
- This secondary image helps gauge the proportions of the item.
8. A tripod is not essential, but using one can eliminate blurriness from your images. 9. If it’s not clear how big the product is, it can be useful to include something else in the image to show scale. 10. Take many photos, from all sorts of angles and positions. Take closeups of details, and make sure to capture all of the items features. It will give you more choice when picking your photos, and you’ll be sure to pick the very best ones.
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11. If you have the chance to show the products in a room set than this will be hugely advantageous. We sell a lot from Instagram and people like inspiration. Have a look at account (@pedlarsvintage) for our method of doing this.
- Examples of room set
Video Tips Being in front of a camera is nobody’s idea of a good time, but use of video gives customers and insight into your world as a vintage dealer. We have real evidence of just how effective it is. When posting videos of our vintage from antique markets in the US, we sold out of multiples in hours. 1. If you don’t want to speak directly to the camera, the video doesn’t have to be of you -although, great if it is- it can be of a product, or of your warehouse or studio. 2. Again, think about natural light. 3. Try to record it in a quiet spot without too much ambient noise. 4. Remember to shoot in landscape mode if using your phone (holding it horizontally). 5. The video doesn’t have to be long, 15-30 seconds is ideal. 6. Make it as fun and relaxed as possible. You are looking to engage your customers.
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