Some photos are disgusting!

Hi,

I bought a crochet pattern today and I’m shocked. There’s a photo of a woman sitting on a sofa, taking a picture of her own socks. In the background, you can see hairy male legs. I’m appalled—I find it unattractive and even disgusting.

Please take nice photos for commercial e-books!

Best regards,
Karo

Hi Karo,
it’s a real shame that there are product photos in the shop that you find disgusting. Of course, that shouldn’t happen.
Yesterday, in the authors’ section—where we share tips and tricks for creating patterns, among other things—I posted some information on photos with white backgrounds, specifically photos where the product is photographed in a lightbox against a white background. We’re constantly working to improve the photos.
I ask that you please be patient and understanding with the sellers. Some sellers have years of experience creating product images and patterns, while others are just starting out. Of course, taking good photos is a skill that has to be learned. But as far as I can tell, our sellers are improving from pattern to pattern and continue to develop their skills. I’m therefore quite optimistic about how the patterns will continue to improve.
Best regards, Mod Josefa

Josefa... If it weren’t for you...

Dear Karo, you bought ONE e-book in which you found the photos disgusting. I don’t think it’s appropriate to start a thread titled “Some photos are disgusting” and ask us to take nicer photos. Please don’t generalize—instead, write to the designer and share your feelings about the pattern.

Best regards, Melanie 

 

Dear Melanie,

of course I’m allowed to start threads whenever I want. I can find at least 100 other photos that are just as bad—even in various patterns. I’m not angry, but I don’t want to pay for photos where I end up seeing something I don’t want to see :-\/

Thanks for the info, Mod Josefa. I’ll be patient.

Best regards
Karo

Of course you can, please don’t feel attacked; that wasn’t my intention. I just don’t like generalizations. If you think a pattern is poorly made, you can review that specific pattern accordingly and give your reasons. You can also contact the designers if you feel you paid for disgusting photos. 
For my part, if someone is unhappy with my patterns, I would like them to tell me directly. That’s the only way we can do something about it and come to an agreement, because I don’t want my customers to buy a pattern and feel it was money thrown away. :0)
best regards 

like I said, I don’t mean it badly; I think feet are gross too, and I can understand you well. But feet are simply part of life ;0)

I feel exactly the same way as Melanie does.
First of all, it seems that hardly any designers read here, so they probably won’t even see your thread. But your statements in this thread could give other customers the impression that many designers here work with poor photos.

And you really should always contact the seller directly with a justified complaint. That’s the only way they can change anything and know what bothers customers and may even deter them from making further purchases.

Best regards, Johanna

No one particularly wants to look at hairy men’s legs—I can confirm that. However, it’s important to keep in mind that most of the people offering patterns here aren’t full-time marketing professionals; they usually see this as a way to earn extra income alongside their main job. At least, that’s my understanding of the situation. Very few people will be able to make a living from it. A white or neutral background for photos would definitely be a good idea, though, and I agree with the benefits of the lightbox mentioned above. http://de.wikihow.com/Einen-Lichtkasten-zum-Fotografieren-bauen
If you click on this link, you’ll find an informative guide to building an affordable lightbox in several different versions.
Richard

Well, if there really are any strange pictures, just click through to the next pattern. At least, that’s what I always do. The first seller might miss out on a sale every now and then, but not all buyers pay attention to things like that, right?
Would you not buy a pattern just because there’s something in the picture that shouldn’t be there? Or would you buy the pattern anyway if it’s interesting and you want it?

Well, I’d actually be more concerned if the men’s legs were hairless :D
I get the feeling they just accidentally ended up in the picture—that’s how I interpreted it. In real life, men’s legs have hair—that’s just how it is and how it should be. That certainly wasn’t one of my patterns; I’m careful not to get body parts in the picture, but I also see the real world, and it just happens to be hairy, which is why that wouldn’t necessarily bother me. 

Dear Johanna, by the way, I think your photos are very beautiful and professional. That’s not to say that others here take bad photos. I just wanted to say that some photos are simply “not good at all.” Everyone else takes very beautiful photos, and some are actually so beautiful that they could be used for awards :-). How about photo awards?

Best regards,
Karo

@Karo, what kind of photo awards were you thinking of? I mean, how would that work in practice?
So you want to highlight the good photos so that people with photos that could use improvement will follow suit?