First attempt at a photo shoot with new backdrop

Today I decided that I would try a photo shoot using my new urban style photo backdrop and take photos of some of the new shawls that I've made that can be worn more scarf like.  Its a warm day so putting a coat on and a scarf and pretending its autumn is going to be physically exhausting but it has to be done, there's no point waiting until its cold to get the photos done because everyone would have bought new scarves by then in readiness for the cold weather.

Today was more of a trial, than a "yeah, here come the final product photos", I need to see what works and what doesn't.  The only suitable coat or jacket that I have is an old orangey-red double breasted wool coat, as my usual coat is a Regatta walking/hiking/all weather 3-in-1 fleece lined waterproof coat that looks pretty silly with a scarf.

So, I took a load of photos, with different scarves, different poses, different expressions but this was difficult because of the sun so a lot of the time I was squinting a bit or screwing my face up against the sun shining in my eyes/general brightness of the day.  I'm not photogenic, I hate having my photo taken so this was a big deal for me.  I usually crop my face/head off all of my product photos as I am not pretty, I've never considered myself to be pretty.  I'm not blind, I can see my reflection in the mirror and I know what I look like.  I decided to try it anyway and ask for opinions in a couple of places online where Etsy sellers give each other advice, feedback and generally support each other.

Wow!  I was not expecting anyone to say "Oh, beautiful photos, well done you", but neither was I expecting anyone to say, and I will have to para-phrase here because the actual comments have been deleted now, but it was something like "To be honest I wouldn't buy the item because your face would put me off as you look miserable.  Perhaps you could find someone young and pretty who could model for you".  Now, I know all too well that I am getting on in years, I'm currently 46, and gawd knows I am not pretty but Jesus woman DO you have be such a BITCH!  There is absolutely no need for the comment.  Kick a girl in the teeth when she's down why don't you.

Thankfully, I had a number of people who gave constructive advice, such as "the coat clashes with the colour of the brick, maybe try a black or dark grey coat" or "do you have any dark, plain coloured tops that you could wear and try a photo shoot without a coat" and thankfully, I also had a few people who made counter-comments to hers and said that I have a nice, normal, friendly face and that youth and beauty is superficial and doesn't always sell a product, that there are plenty of older models and elderly models out there and to ignore the nasty comments.  Thanks, but they are pretty hard to ignore when they are so bitchy but I believe in Karma so we will just wait for that bus to come along and get her shall we.