Setting the Tone

This week I have been doing shop critiques for some lovely people on etsy.com.
I have noticed that people aren't focusing on their photography as much as they could be or should be. I wondered, are they intimidated by editing? do they think they need fancy gear?
I want to dispel any fears! In the coming weeks, I will be discussing photography tips and tricks specifically for Etsy!
Tonight, I am going to start by talking about tone of the photograph.
You think "This is a great picture! I can't wait to list this new item!"
Hold there for a moment tiger! have you thought about what type of mood (tone) you want to set with this piece?
photo editing tools are everywhere nowadays, I personally use GIMP, it's an open source software, and I absolutely love it!
GIMP is available here http://gimp.org/

So now here we are, talking about tone and mood. Why? People see your store and the items, and they need to be persuaded into buying your item. They might not buy something if the mood of the picture isn't the same as the mood of the item. This disjunction will make them go to another shop.
I am going to stop chattering now, and actually show you what I mean.

here is an item I sold (I used a cropped "headshot" of this but needless to say this is the original photo)

By adjusting towards either blue or yellow in the color balance tool, I can change the mood this photo emotes

***Note***

DO NOT change the color balance so much that you mis-represent your work. This could lead to some serious issues when the buyer gets the item. If you are unsure about it, don't do it.

by adding more blue, I make it a cool tone, this helps set the "cold" and "icy" scene that I am trying to evoke.

by adding more yellow, I can heighten the "warm fuzzy" feeling of the pup seal.

***note***

This same tone is highly effective and used often in the baked goods market. Warm colors make people feel safe and happy.

by changing other colors along with the preliminary blue or yellow you can make the mood more complex

here, I added more cyan and a hint of green to the blue, I also lowered the brightness and slightly heightened the contrast, this darkens the mood a bit. This can be effective when selling "calming" items or stonework.

***note***

beware: some stonework should be used with a warm tone, it all depends on the hues present in the stone itself.

here we are with a yellow-green scheme. I also brightened this picture up along with lowering the contrast, this gives it a warm nostalgic feel, or maybe even a bright whimsical feel.

These are just a few examples, and this topic can get much deeper, which I hope to do next week if I can get the shop interview I want ;-)

I will be doing a full interview as well as a critique on the shop itself.

Hoping this helps, and feel free to comment with any questions you might have!

cheers!