And then there are the accidental photos . . .

Taking photos for the Etsy shop is beginning to feel like playing pool to me. Every once in a while I nail a shot, but I never know how I did it! This photo was just a test shot to adjust the white balance on my camera before photographing the three little magnets in the center. I also wanted to try shooting from farther away and then perhaps cropping. I wasn’t paying attention to the composition (or the fact that it was a food theme), I just pulled a magazine off the coffee table and put the magnets on the white portion after a couple failed sets of photos where I couldn’t get the browns or white balance right. It wasn’t until I transferred the images off the camera that I noticed this test shot had an internal logic all its own.

Part of the problem I’m having is my items are so small, about 3/4" diameter, so I need to use the camera’s macro setting. But for Etsy’s photo boxes, that means showing images of small items in a very large size, and sometimes the extreme close-ups actually don’t look much like the magnets in person. I don’t think this shot is the solution — I don’t typically like backgrounds that overwhelm the subject, although in this case the accidental whimsy factor (candy magnets against a photo of lunch) kind of works. I’ve listed two other sets similar to these “candy” magnets but this is the first time the colors have come out right without distortion. So while I’m happy for now with this “accident,” I’m still seeking photo tips!

1% of the sales price for these “Eye Candy” Dessert Magnets (and all my Etsy sales) donated quarterly to earth-friendly nonprofits.

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