Effective backgrounds for your image

Updated almost 9 years ago. Categories: Help, Images

Do you sometimes worry about the background in your images?

There are a number of factors that can influence the effectiveness of your images and one of the main ones is your background. Backgrounds can vary from a simple one colour backdrop to a complex outdoor scene, say your garden. There are no hard and fast rules as to whether you should use one or the other as it very much depends on where you are displaying them. The main thing to remember is that the background should never take the focus away from your creation. After all, that is the thing you are trying to sell. Here’s three simple things you can do to keep your backgrounds relevant.

1. Only use props that are included with the sale.

It is sometimes tempting to pose your creation in a nice setting including some props to help set the scene. For example, you may have a circus themed item such as a clown. You might want to add other circus themed props in order to make a nice scene. This could confuse prospective buyers into thinking they will receive these additional items too. make sure you only include items in your image that are included in the sale.

2. Don’t use busy backgrounds that detract from your creation.

Busy backgrounds are ones that contain colours or props that take the focus away from your creation. A nice garden setting can look very pleasant like our example at the top of this article, but if your artwork blends into the background it won’t stand out. Use contrasting colours. If your item is a dark colour then use a light coloured background. The opposite is true, if your item is white, don’t use a white background. Keep the focus on the item you are selling.

Busy backgrounds like this detract from your creation.

3. Try removing the background altogether.

In some circumstances it can be very effective to remove the background altogether. This can be tricky to do depending on your computer skills but the effect is quite often worth it. If you don’t have the time or equipment needed to do it yourself then there are some simple services that will do it for you. www.pixelz.com is a great service we have used ourselves, in fact the images used in this article were all done by them. They only charge about $1.50 per image and you can try them out for free. Another place you can get simple image editing done is www.fiverr.com. Do a quick search on fiverr for “Remove background” and you’ll see a large number of freelance graphic artists who can do it for you cheaply.

As I said at the start, there are no hard and fast rules so be sure to take a good look around at the site you’ll be putting your images on to see what is appropriate. Of course, if it’s your own site you can do what you like but whatever you choose, keep the focus on the item you are trying to sell.

Do you have any hints and tips for effective images you could pass on? Head over to our facebook page to leave a comment.