How To Create Your Own Etsy Mockups For Print On Demand Or Digital Download Sellers
Jun 22, 2021Mockups are a fantastic way to show your art or print designs on Etsy. You can buy mockups online from places such as Etsy, but this can lead to other shops having the same mockups as you, and Boss, we want to stand out from the crowd, right?
Creating your own mockups to use on Etsy isn't as hard as you might think it is.
* FUN FACT! I used to have an Etsy shop selling mockups a few years ago!
Here's seven tips explaining what you need to do:
TIP ONE: Find Your Space
Before you do anything, you need to have a look around your home or office and see where you get the best light. Photos can be edited later in an editing app, but it is good practice to find a light, bright space to work with from the get go.
Once you've identified a good space to use, you can set up your items.
* TOP TIP: If you don't have space for a permanent set up, you can purchase fold down tables from Amazon, or use sheets of white card to create a wall/background and table.
Make sure your space is clean of any dust, dirt or marks, as we don't want to see those in the final mock up photo.
TIP TWO: Use A Tripod
I would recommend using a tripod to hold your camera or phone. This ensures that the final image will be still, and not blurry. Remember, your camera/ phone picks up the most detail when it is completely still.
Tripods are easy to move around, and can be bought online at places like Amazon for less than £20.
Tripods are easy to move around, and can be bought online at places like Amazon for less than £20.
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TIP THREE: Lighting
Box lights on legs are a great way to bounce light around, and reduce shadows in your photos. You don't HAVE to have a box light, but you need something that will bounce the light back at your product. A simple white piece of card works too!
The aim is to make the area a lot brighter. Imagine you're shooting a photograph near a window (on your right) on a sunny day. The sunlight will cast a dark shadow behind your photo frame, and the left side of the photo will be super dark.
To prevent this from happening, you could put your box light (or piece of white card) to the left of your photo frame to reflect the light back towards your frame, and therefore reducing the shadows!
TIP FOUR: Preparing For The Photo
A few things we need to do right now before we're ready to take the photo. Firstly, remove your phone cover/ case so that the colour of it isn't reflected onto the frame/ mockup photo.
Secondly, place your phone on your tripod (or pile of books works well too!), and make sure its facing straight on to the frame. We don't want a wonky frame as this makes placing the photo in afterwards a bit of a nightmare. So, always get it as straight as you can.
Make sure the light isn't reflecting off the glass in your frame, or you might find it easier to remove the glass altogether if it's causing too much glare.
Place 2 sheets of white paper into the frame (where a photo would go) so that you can't see through them to the back of the frame.
Now, we're ready to take the photographs!
Now, we're ready to take the photographs!
TIP FIVE: Taking A Simple Photo Of Your Mockup
There are different options to shoot in here, and I'm going to suggest using both 'square mode' and 'portrait mode'.
Square photos are great to use across all platforms including Etsy, Facebook and Instagram. Portrait photos are great to use on Instagram stories, or when creating a reel.
Square photos are great to use across all platforms including Etsy, Facebook and Instagram. Portrait photos are great to use on Instagram stories, or when creating a reel.
Firstly, take a couple of pictures in Square Mode of just your photo frame and no props.
Then, switch over to Portrait Mode and take some more photos.
* TOP TIP: if you press on the frame on your phone, this will focus the picture, and make the background softer.
TIP SIX: Styling With Props
Grab some props that you have from around your home. Remember, it needs to be relevant to your target audience, so don't use a toy dinosaur if you're trying to sell boho prints.
Take care to make sure that you don't cover the white space in the frame with your props. This makes placing the artwork in later quite tricky. Instead, just cover the frame with your prop. Remember, we're busy handmade business owners, we don't have THAT much time on our hands to waste.
* TOP TIP: if you do a long press on your phone, and drag up, you will make the entire photo lighter!
Again, take photos in Square Mode and then Portrait Mode to make sure you have a good range to use across all platforms.
TIP SEVEN: Transfer To Your Computer
Once you've taken your (super easy) mockups, you're ready to transfer them to your computer.
I always use a program called Canva. There is a free version which is fantastic, or you can sign up to the monthly subscription if you would like to. This is not necessary to use the features I'm going to talk about here though.
Upload your photo to Canva, and from here you can adjust the brightness, contrast and detail if you need to.
Alternatively, you can do this in other photo editing apps like LightRoom if you prefer.
Congratulations! You've just made your first mockup! I told you it was easy. Now your mockup is ready for you to add your art.
If you'd like to watch me creating an Etsy mockup, you can watch my YouTube video here - https://youtu.be/ZcVmuuuXSxg
Upload your photo to Canva, and from here you can adjust the brightness, contrast and detail if you need to.
Alternatively, you can do this in other photo editing apps like LightRoom if you prefer.
Congratulations! You've just made your first mockup! I told you it was easy. Now your mockup is ready for you to add your art.
If you'd like to watch me creating an Etsy mockup, you can watch my YouTube video here - https://youtu.be/ZcVmuuuXSxg
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