I had no idea how much my sales and customer interaction would go up with every small change I made with my photos. I'm going to go through how I set up my current photography area and what I used to do.
For The Beginner:
If you are just selling a few items or don't want to waste space in your home, this is for you.
Buy an over-the-door hanger . Choose a longer one, often sold as a "wreath hanger". It will allow you to not have to photograph the top of your door. This helps the photo look better because the door will be the only background for most pictures. I like to hang these on my closet door since it is wider than other doors, allowing for a consistent and wider background.
If you are planning on selling clothes and jewelry, I'd recommend a multi hook version like this Over Door Multi Hook Hanger. I photograph clothes just as I would with a single hook, but it also allows me to take better pictures of necklaces since I can hang them on multiple hooks. If you don't want to take pictures wearing the jewelry, this helps customers see what it might look like on.
Lighting is incredibly important for both the quality of the image and for to show the quality of the item! Most people use their phones for photos on Poshmark which is totally fine if you have proper lighting.
If you have a bright floor lamp, that's perfect! If not, try to take the pictures in a well-lit room with the light hitting from directly across the item. This will help eliminate shadows that could make the quality look bad.
Here is the LED Floor Lamp that I started off with and still use when necessary. It's great quality, dimmable and you can choose the color temp which is great because cool light makes product photos look great!
The Set-Up I Have Now
Camera:
I use a Canon DSLR (Rebel T3i) for my photos. The Canon Rebel series is great but if you have any DSLR from the past 5 years, it will be great. The cheapest Canon DSLR is currently the Rebel T7 which is about $400. I would not recommend buying a new DSLR just for Poshmark.
Most newer phones can take just as good of a picture if you have great lighting. Especially considering that large images get be compressed after uploading to Poshmark, you might actually be better off with your phone or a quality point and shoot. I use the Canon PowerShot if I'm taking photos outside since it is easier to carry.
Tripod:
Any sturdy tripod will do so here's an Aluminum Tripod that I really like.
Backdrop:
I originally wanted a traditional backdrop and stand kit but the good ones are $100+. I would have also needed to buy a mannequin, which is equally as expensive and on top of that, it would take up even more space.
So instead, I decided to DIY my 2 backdrops. I went to Home Depot and got a 4x8 ft. Oriented Strand Board then had them cut it at 6ft. So I had a 4x6 ft and a 4x2 ft. Then I got a 1-9/16 in. Cabinet Knob to use as a hook.
I then got 12 ft. of thick white fabric that is plastic on the back from Joanns. They're sold as table/outdoor fabric so it is wider than apparel fabric bolts.
I then cut the fabric at 10ft length and used a staple gun to secure the fabric to the back of the 4x8' board. Make sure you have someone helping you to pull the fabric as tight as possible before stapling!
Then, I drilled a hole about 5in from the center-top, screwed in the "cabinet knob", and voila! A sturdy backdrop to hang clothes on for pictures.
You might be wondering why I had the wood and fabric cut. Well, I thought since I only need a 6 ft tall board for my dresses, I could make a separate board for handbags and jewelry.
Using the 4x2 ft of board left over from the previous project and the remaining 2ft of fabric, I did the same method of pulling the fabric around the board and stapling. But instead of using a cabinet knob, I used a 7'' Bar Drawer Pull. The one linked is 11'' but the same brand and style as the one I used.
I'm super happy I had made these backdrops last year. They've remained in great condition and I feel like I will get years of use.
The total for the two boards was just under $50!
Thank you for reading and I hope you found this helpful!
Yeliz