URL: http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneursstartupsmagazine/2008/may/193424.html

Craft sites are like the Hollywood of the online world: Image is everything, and a bad photo can mean the end of your career. 

"Because your [customers are] shopping on the web, having good pictures and a good description is key to building up a good feedback reputation," says Robert Kalin, co-founder of Etsy.com. "Offline, customers are able to go into a store and hold the product up, stretch it out, try it on. You need to have things that mimic those elements in the online world."

HomeGrownMarket.com provides links to a few product-photography help sites, such as tabletopstudio.com, which offers advice ranging from how to avoid dark images to determining if your photographs are up to snuff. In general, several clean, up-close, detailed shots are best. 

It's also worthwhile to invest in basic photo-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements, which is often included with the purchase of a digital camera. Skilled photographers and techy crafters might look into 3D Photo Builder software, which turns photos into an interactive viewer so visitors can look at a product from several angles. 

If all else fails, says William T. Lasley, a guide for arts and crafts business for About.com, hire somebody to take great photos of your products.