Tempt potential buyers with creative and beautiful hatching egg images! Our walk through tutorial will show you how we stage our farmhousey scenes that make egg selling a breeze, using only your phone’s camera and a photo editing software.
Step 1: Gather the Eggs
For pictures I like to use eggs that were laid too dirty to use as hatching eggs. I wash them and then set them aside in a towel lined basket to cushion them. Hatching eggs should not be excessively handled so these rejects take their place. It’s a great way to not let any eggs go to waste!
Step 2: Select Shallow containers
Photo staging begins by selecting shallow farmhouse style pieces to add interest. The item should look good when viewed from above, should be 9 inches wide or less and not more than 2 inches deep. Imagine the depth of an egg carton and look for flattish items with character. The divided tray above is 2 inches deep and has 6×3.5 inch cells.
Why Shallow? Because it takes a lot of eggs to fill anything deeper than 2 inches and we don’t want the sides of the item casting a shadow across the eggs.
Step 3: Round Up Some Fillers
I saved a cup of crinkle shred from holiday gift baskets in two neutral colors. Golden colored wheat straw, preserved moss and frazzled twine are my favorite fillers. Anything that resembles a bird’s nest is perfect!
Step 4: Add Natural Seasonal Items
Thin budding twigs in spring, flowers in summer, pumpkins in the fall and pine cones in winter is all that is really needed. But it gives your pictures a fresh, in-season feel.
Step 5: Photograph in Natural Daylight
Position your eggs in soft, indirect daylight. Taking pictures on a covered front or back porch is often perfect. Avoid taking photographs at night in artificial lighting.
Use vibrant Pastels & Soft Whites for Spring
Photograph Your Eggs Monthly, to Capture the Ongoing Shade Changes
It is okay to use Photoshop Fairly!
Add Natural Autumn Items for Fall Photos
Your heaviest speckled eggs are likely to be a popular request so have them front and center!
Christmas Chicks
Egg buyers don’t always realize laying begins to slow down near the winter solstice. If you hatched chicks in March through May you’ll have fresh hens just beginning to lay. Breeders who want to hatch Christmas chicks need to fill their incubators December 1 and 2 so chicks are two to four days old on December 24 and ready for pick up. Be sure to send them home in a custom chick carrier!
The “Spring Rush” can begin as early as December 26
Show Off Those Speckles
Select Pretty Cartons to show off
Use Furniture Items Outdoor
Haul a small piece of furniture outside to photograph on if needed! Most of my pictures are taken on our white potting bench.