How to Take Photos of TPT Resources
Looking to grow your TPT Store through pretty product photos? Keep reading!
Summer is a great time to start or scale a TPT store. If you’re a classroom teacher, and you’re looking to earn some extra income, TPT is a great path to take! I have been out of the classroom for two years now, staying home with my babies, and TPT has been a huge part in making that possible for me.
The other thing that made the transition to staying home possible, was taking product photos for other sellers.
I began to master product photography (for myself and others) by understanding the psychology behind what a photo needs in order to sell a product!
And that’s what I want to share with you today. :)
Why is Product Photography Important?
Product photography is the one thing we have on our sides that can stop the scroll! If you are just getting started with selling TPT resources, and you want people to notice your products in a sea of so many, you need eye-catching covers, a strong social media feed, pins that capture attention, and more. All of these things begin with photos. Yes, video marketing is powerful, too. (And I teach about that, as well!) But the photo is the thing that your customer can ‘comprehend on the fly’, as I always say. Before they read your caption, check out your preview, watch your video…they have to be drawn in by your photo.
What Do You Need to Get Started?
A smartphone and a white foam board.
That’s it. Really. That’s all I had in the beginning anyways. And now, after 4 years of being paid (far more than I made as a teacher) to take product photos, I still basically rely on those two tools to get me through.
Honorable mentions include: generic, but fun classroom props (sticky notes, pens, bright paper, notebooks, etc.), contact paper to wrap around additional foam boards to make wood backgrounds, or other colors, and maybbeee a ring light to add brightness if you can’t find strong natural light in your home!
The Components of a Great Product Photo
Planning: What is the main selling point of your product? What story do you want to tell about the resource with your photos? Where will the photos be used? Do you need to work the biggest selling point into one photo, because it’s a social media shot? Or, can you tell the story through a series of photos, like with thumbnails on TPT? A great photo shoot starts with a little bit of planning, and understanding the resource deeply!
Lighting: Start with the best lighting in your house. How do you find it? Walk around your house before noon one weekend and take pictures in different rooms around your house. Which room looks the brightest? There’s your best light! No good lighting inside your house? Take your product outside and stage under a tree, deck, or other area where you won’t be in direct sunlight.
Composition: The main things to consider when composing a photo of a resource is to make sure it’s the biggest thing in your photo! The thing you want to sell should take up the most space. But, you want to make this interesting. Follow the rule of thirds to create interest, and help the human eye draw to your product more naturally. The rule of thirds simply means that if you divide a photo into 9 boxes (like drawing a tic-tac-toe board over it), the points where the lines intersect are the most interesting parts of the frame.
Staging: Staging plays off of composition, because it’s still talking about the way things are arranged in the frame of the photo. But this time, you’re also talking about the props you layer in. There is no right way to stage a photo of a resource. Some things to avoid, however, include: staging props that are the same size or bigger than your product, creating distraction with props by layering in too many, putting props in the center of the photo, and letting the product be off to the side. Props should create interest, but your buyer’s eye should always be drawn to your resource.
Editing: If you start the photo process on your phone, you can finish it there. Some people prefer Photoshop, and I say…good for those people. I’m not really one of them. :) Both iPhone and Android have access to some amazing photo apps. My favorites are: A Color Story, Lightroom, and Snapped. But there are so many others!
I want to learn more about taking my own photos!
Use me as your teacher!
I have launched Marketing Magic: Smartphone Photo & Video.
This online, self-paced course will take you through the steps of planning, shooting, and editing a beautiful product photo. It took me a few years to nail down the best techniques, editing hacks, etc. and I want to save you that time!
Right now, the course is on pre-sale for only $99. With that purchase, you will receive a few materials you can use right away to get started! An editing guide for A Color Story, a Staging Made Simple guide, one video preview template for TPT product listings, and one video tutorial on how to get started using Canva to make your product videos!
After the pre-order window, the course will increase in cost for $139. All future updates to the course will also increase the price, but those who purchase now for $99 will get those updates for free!
