Outside The Frame

I'm not as organised with my Christmas stock as I was last year (when I began in July...) so I've been racing through a few new ideas to get them into my Etsy shop and to other stockists as soon as possible. Yesterday I whipped up a batch of these kanzashi flower decorations;

When it comes to my product shots I have a go to set up of:

•  Big A2 sheet of off-white paper blu-tacked to the wall so it falls into a curve against the dining room table.
• Sheet of white foamboard to bounce back light and reduce shadows.
• Camera set on 'macro'.
• As much natural light as possible, but not too much, and only from a certain direction, and not too bright. 
• Everything else can be fixed in Photoshop. Usually. Unless I've done a really bad job.

After a brief forage around Etsy this morning for Christmas decorations generally I came to the conclusion this category, more than any other, is full to the brim with shabby looking photos of what may or may not be shabby work. Determined not to fall into this trap I did the only sensible thing and snuffled round the shrubbery outside the flat for a goodly sized twig.

I know decorations are best shown hanging up, obviously, but I've not had any photos 'in situ' for any of mine for the past couple of years. Why? No idea. What I do know is that I don't like product shots of ornaments hanging on an actual Christmas tree, I know it should make sense, but I think it looks too heavy and cluttered, and a plain white or grey background will always win you brownie points with treasury curators.

Keeping my set-up much as I would use normally I rested my branch at either end on a vase, with my paper backdrop where it usually is, and Catsby where he usually is, right in the f***ing way.

Pesky felines aside I'm quite pleased with the results, not perfect but a good starting point. You can see how there is still a lot of space around the ornaments so it doesn't feel too busy, but it adds a wintery feel and shows them off as they would look on your tree. Having many branches gives lots of options for hanging things so you can create some depth in multiple shots.

I tried it out on a few of my old designs too so I can keep it consistent across the shop.

For muffs, a slightly different/precarious arrangement;

So, a multi-purpose twig, what every Etsy seller should have to hand, perhaps you know someone who might need one too? It's a budget friendly gift idea!