Why Your Photos Do Half the Selling

A customer can't pick up your bowl and feel its weight in the palm, or run a thumb along the rim of a mug to check it's been smoothed properly. All they have is your photograph. That's a big responsibility for a single image, but it's also an opportunity: with a modest setup you can reveal the honesty of the making — the throw lines on a stoneware jug, the ripple of grain in an oak serving board — far better than a rushed snapshot ever could. You don't need a studio. You need a table, a window, and a bit of patience.

Find Your Spot: A Simple Table and a Window

Before you buy anything, claim a corner of your home or workshop that gives you soft, consistent daylight. A north-facing window is the classic choice because it delivers even, diffused light all day without harsh sun streaking across your work. If you only have a south-facing window, shoot in the morning or late afternoon, or hang a sheet of baking parchment across the glass to soften the glare.

Set up a sturdy table at a comfortable standing height so you're not hunched over your pieces, and leave a clear metre or so around it so you can move without knocking things over. Keep a plain wall or a hanging cloth behind the table as a neutral backdrop. Once this corner is set up, leave it be — a permanent shooting spot means you'll actually photograph new work rather than putting it off until the light is right.

• A table you can reach from three sides
• A window that gives indirect light for most of the day
• A roll of white paper or a plain linen cloth for backgrounds
• A tripod or a stack of books to steady your phone or camera

Lighting: One Window, Diffused

Forget flash for now. One window plus a white reflector will flatter both glazed ceramics and oiled wood, and it's far easier to control. Place your piece slightly to the side of the window rather than directly in front of it — this creates a gentle shadow on one side that gives the object shape and depth, rather than the flat, catalogue look of head-on light.

Glazes are the tricky part. A glossy celadon or a tin-glazed dish will pick up a bright, hard reflection that hides the surface beneath. Diffusing the light source solves this almost entirely. Tape a sheet of baking parchment or a white shower curtain over the window, or tent it over your piece on the lit side. Then place a sheet of white foam board opposite the window to bounce light back into the shadow side. The result is soft, rounded highlights that show the glaze rather than blinding the viewer with it.

For wood, try the opposite trick. Alongside your diffused light, add a small, directional source at a low angle — a desk lamp works — to rake across the surface. This picks out grain, carving marks and the subtle sheen of a wax finish. Turn it on for one or two detail shots, then switch it off for the main image.

Backgrounds and Props That Don't Steal the Show

Your background should do one job: make the piece look like it belongs in someone's home. Neutral tones work best — off-white, soft grey, warm oatmeal, pale wood. Avoid pure brilliant white, which can make handmade pieces look clinical, and avoid busy patterns that fight with the texture of your work.

Props should be used sparingly, and only when they add meaning. A linen napkin under a bowl suggests a table setting. A few dried stems in a vase show scale and use. A cup of tea beside a wooden board tells the customer how it will be used. But anything that draws the eye away from the piece itself is working against you.

• Choose backgrounds that contrast with the piece, not compete with it
• Use one or two props maximum, and keep them in the same colour family
• Show scale with a familiar object — a mug, a piece of fruit, a hand
• Keep props consistent across your shop so it feels like one collection

Getting the Details Right: Angles, Texture and Scale

Every listing benefits from three or four consistent shots. Start with a straight-on view at the piece's own height — not looking down from above, which distorts proportions. Then add a three-quarter angle to show the form and the curve of a handle or spout. Follow with a close detail: the foot of a pot, the lip of a bowl, the join in a dovetailed box. Finish with a lifestyle or in-use shot.

Focus carefully on the nearest point of the piece and use a small aperture — around f/8 on a camera, or tap to focus on the front edge with a phone — so the whole object stays sharp. Use a two-second timer to avoid the tiny shake that ruins close-up work. If your phone has a portrait or macro mode, use it only for detail shots, never for the main image.

Editing and Consistency Across Your Shop

A little editing goes a long way, but restraint matters. Correct the white balance so your whites look white rather than blue or yellow, lift the shadows very slightly, and crop to a consistent shape. What you shouldn't do is push the saturation until a honey-glazed pot looks orange and a walnut board looks mahogany. Customers notice when a piece arrives a different colour than advertised, and that's how returns and poor reviews begin.

Edit a batch of photos in one sitting with the same settings, and your shop will look cohesive and professional. Then check each image on a phone screen as well as a laptop — most of your buyers will be browsing on a handset in a spare five minutes, so the piece needs to read clearly at that size. Get these basics right, and your photographs will do your craft justice.