Has anyone got any suggestions as to how I should photograph a garland. The trouble is it is long and thin and doesn’t lend itself to a square image. I know these photos are dreadful but I am just trying to work out how best to display it at the moment, will work on image quality later!
I was wondering if maybe a collage would work
or
any suggestions gratefully received 
Could you drape it across a fireplace (like a Christmas garland type effect) and therefore show your lifestyle shot as a square containing the fireplace in its totality? And then have a couple of close ups on the individual parts?
I don’t make all my photos square, I try to get the main one square then with the others it depends on the shape of the card, (long/tall cards get cropped to rectangles in the close up photos otherwise there would be too much back ground) You could use the close up as your main photo so buyers can see the flowers/beads in detail the the ones where you’ve hung them up as 2nd/3rd photos and crop them to rectangles so people can see the garland as it would look in their home.
Images don’t need to be square for Folksy any more, just the main one really. I have seen some really nice garland pics shot at more of an angle along the length of it as it hangs rather than straight on, if that makes sense, so you get a close up of the nearest element and the rest gets further away. @Bookity’s heart garland is a lovely example, I hope she won’t mind my saying.
Thanks, you have all given me some ideas - will try to get some better pictures today.
A tricky subject but I think you are on the right lines with the first collage of three. I like the idea of an overall wide picture and a couple of close-ups.
Just ensure that the ‘levels’ and contrast is brought up to give the photo more punch.
If you are doing a wider shot like a mini-panorama, crop it so that the item does not have loads of free white space below it or above it. I do lots of panorama images (Not on Folksy), and a tight crop makes a huge difference in the final picture. The proportions of the panorama wide shot can be important, so please experiment.
The overlapping collage doesn’t work as well for me.
I agree that you should try to use something like a fireplace or prop to enhance the picture without dominating the image.
A wide, banner type image can look impressive.
