I’m off to a slow start but I am making progress on the Velo Arthouse store.  In addition to getting the site up and running I am also trying to create the designs and add products.

How would you like to quit your current job and then work from home and make $140,000 a year doing it? Yokoo Gibran did it, thanks to Etsy. But here’s the kicker, you can’t. Even if you tried to make enough to cover the cost of a cup of coffee by selling on Etsy or Ebay or a host of other sites the results would be the same. You would fail miserably. Think about it for a second. If everyone were capable of running a successful online store to the point that it would allow them to quit their current job then why are we all still working for someone else? Do you see my point? Probably not.

When I first read about Ms. Gibran in The New York Times and saw how successful she had become with her Etsy store I was like most of you, I was stunned.  I was envious.  I was all set to go and launch my own store on Etsy.  And then reality set in.  Success stories like Ms. Gibran are due to a lot of hard work and a little luck and if you don’t believe me then go and read the article yourself.  When you are done then I think that you’ll be able to see just why you would fail at trying to replicate her success.  Or I could just tell you.  You’re lazy.

Come on, you already knew the answer.  Do you really think that someone could make $140,000 that easy?  Anywho, I’m done here.

The site is almost ready, you’ve chosen the domain name, gotten the overall site design completed and pulled out your trusty digital camera.  What the heck, you’ve shot dozen of photos during your vacations and family events so just how hard can it be to photograph your widgets in such a way that everyone will be dying to buy one?

A lot more difficult than you think.  In addition to composing the shot and getting the lighting just right, have you considered post editing?  No?  The process of editing the photos after they’ve been shot is one of the more difficult apsects of photography, especially product photography.  Take a look at the product photos used by the major online retailers.  It’s pretty obvious that they didn’t just take that watch, candle or widget and prop it up on the counter and shoot it with light coming through the window.  And they certainly did use the pop-up flash on the camera.  Of course they hired a professional.

On the internet, content is king.  If you are selling online then you definitely want to present your items in the best light possible.  It won’t be your friends and family looking at the photographs of your items, it will be the public and you’ll want to impress them.  There is a lot to be said about DIY (do it yourself) and the joy of learning to build and maintain your own website but photography is both art and technology and not everyone has the knack nor do they have the time to sit around perfecting technique.

If you find yourself in this situation do not fret.  The web is filled with many talented and affordable product photographers.  It’s definitely a small luxury that you should consider especially if you want your website or online store to really stand out from the crowd.