Thursday's Featured Tools and Tips

You thought I was going to say artists didn't you.  I would like to, but so many of them are busy creating and crafting and promoting that it is difficult to do one more thing!  So in light of an artist this week, I thought we would discuss Macro Photography and then Etsy's coupon code entry.

For the longest time I put off internet sites and shops because I felt my pictures were not good enough to use as a selling point.  A friend, who is a wealth of knowledge, taught me about Macro Photography, or more appropriately taught me about the menu on my camera, which as luck would have it, has a MACRO setting.  Macro photography is for taking clear, close up shots of tiny objects.  Below are two examples of Macro Photography.  A bracelet of my own (Brecciated Jasper), that I photographed using the Macro option on my camera, and a professional photograph of a baby octopus.

Detail of the focal stone.  Shot at home on a gray velvet display board.

Professional Macro photograph.

 Macro settings allow you to capture the smallest detail.  I use a Canon Power Shot A480 - the Youtube video below was originally e-mailed to me by my friend.  I love this camera.  I will say that the manual is lacking in instruction on the menu and the settings the icons represent.  This young man will walk you through the basics.  If you are unsure if you camera has a Macro setting, search Youtube or other tutorial pages for your camera's make and model.  Your shop items or whatever you're photographing will look better for it.

A quick note about coupon codes.

As most of you have probably seen, I post the occasional coupon code for a percentage off your purchase price or free shipping.  Either you all forget to enter the code or not sure of where or when to do so.  Like so many I am guilty of rushing though a purchase at times, the information is automatically entered for you, what's there to think about!  That darned coupon code!  That is important, it saves you money!

I urge you to REVIEW you orders or whatever you are doing on the net, before pressing that "Submit" button.  This first picture shows your order before you click the check out button.  Notice the Apply shop coupon code link in light blue between the payment options and the order summary.  Click that before clicking the check out button!

This second picture shows your order before you click the check out button and after you have clicked the Apply shop coupon code link.  Notice the Apply shop coupon code link has been replaced with a text box between the payment options and the order summary.  Enter the coupon code here if one is provided before you click the check out button.  Your discount or Free Shipping will be applied and subtracted from your total!  Your new total will appear and your order will reflect the discount in the order summary.

Now you can shop to your heart's content and get all the good discounts offered by so many of the shop owners / vendors.

Thank you for stopping by and having a look.  Comments are always welcome!