Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Tuesday's {Tip} Photographing Projects

There is always a lot of talk on message boards about photographing your work. Some people scan their work; some people photograph their work. I much prefer to photograph my work. The scanner I find to be more of a pain, and it also takes me longer. I wanted to share with you how I photograph my work. Everything you see me post on my blog has been photographed this way for at least the past year or more. I hope it is helpful to some of you.

First, find a bright window in your home. Mine happens to be in my laundry room. I can depend on that window 365 days a year! So no worries about going outside to take pictures and encountering bad weather. :) Next get a piece of white fabric. I purchased two yards of white cotton from Wal-Mart for $1 a yard. Couldn't beat that! Next set up your "studio." If you are using a window, you can set a chair next to the window. I use my washing machine. :) I then need a little height so the Downy bottle and the iron work great for that! If you are using a chair, the back of the chair will be great for you.Next drape your white piece of fabric over the back your chair and onto the seat, or drape it over any other setup you come up with like my "laundry room studio." Then set your creation on the fabric and take your picture. I do not use a flash either. Sometimes I will use the macro setting but not always. It depends on how close I want to get to my piece.All stamps photographed here are by Unity Stamp Co. The stamps included here are Tea Time Toile, Worn Music, Baby Boy Plaid, Worn Grid, Polka Dot Jam, and Distressed Dots in Handle D.

I always take 2-3 photos. Then I upload, crop, and edit in Photoshop Elements 7.0. Works great for me. I keep the fabric piece in the laundry room folded up, and I am always ready to go. Super fast, and it didn't cost much. I hope that is helpful to you! Enjoy creating a "studio" that works for you! Blessings,

18 comments:

9kids said...

Thanks for this, Patter! I have a terrible time photographing my projects, so I'm going to try your tips. One question ~ whenever I try to photograph near a window, I get a line of 'shadow' somewhere on my card or page...do you have any suggestions for this?

Stephanie said...

Great tips Patter. Thanks so much for sharing -- I especially appreciate the cost-cutting tips. Nice to know a good set-up doesn't have to be expensive.

Time of my Life... said...

thank you Patter! This has been by far my BIGGEST hinderance to uploading my cards/creations. I bought a new camera and still I was having trouble getting a good picture. I am going to try this today!! Thanks!

Patter Cross said...

9kids, as far as the shadow, you really need to watch for that as you place your chair by the window. You will need to position your chair so that the shadow will not be in your picture. That may require a bit of shifting of the chair each time because the sun is different every day. KWIM? Since you are aware of it, you should be able to adjust as necessary before photographing your piece. I hope that helps.

lostgrl16 said...

That's how it's done?!?! Wow I'm slow lol. THANKS!!

Ally's Corner said...

I love finding out how others do things. It makes it so much easier for us that do not have a clue.

Sue Strozyk said...

Thanks so much for the great tips, i will definetely be trying it.

Chere said...

Thanks so for the helpful hints on photographing projects. Thanks. I would really like to know how you created your copy right?? Do you have this set up in a action?? I see you are using elements7. Yes they have just added actions to elements. I would love any hints. Your copy right is beautiful.

Cecile said...

Thanks for the tip.I will try it out because I am forever running out to the patio and setting up on the table out there and it is a pain:)
Thanks for sharing:)

Lori said...

Patter, thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I have had a horrible time with my photograhs lately - so much so - that I believe it is keeping people from visiting my blog. And I so want everyone to visit - so I am going to set this all up tomorrow and photograph all three His Holy Name challenges and Week 5 of the Scripture Challenge and will be so proud to have good pictures on my blog!!! THANK YOU!
Blessings,
Lori

cjknick said...

This is a great little tutorial. Thank you! Now any hints on just how to use PSE for beginners? I've had mine but I know VERY little about using it.

Cindy

Heather said...

So simple, and yet it works! Thanks for the tips!

Penni said...

Just found your tutorial via SCS.

My photos sometimes come out a little dark.

I'm going to give your method a try, as it seems to work so well for you.

Thanks for sharing this.

Hugs
Penni
X

Linda Fulghum said...

I have been using a white tri-fold foam board on top of a flat foam board but always worried about the seam showing. White fabric ...duh...why didn't I think of that! Thanks for sharing!

Lisa Renéa said...

Patter-thanks so much for sharing this link at 2peas!! This is a super tip and I'm sure to try it out in 2010! Happy New Year!

Stephanie said...

Patter, I'm linking this post to my blog in my post today. I've been struggling with where to take good pics of my projects in this new (to us) house. I still need to tweak things a little but the suggestions in your blog post helped. You can see my post here: http://stephsscraphappenings.blogspot.com/2011/01/sss89-rrr-challenge-15-project.html

Jill said...

This is a great idea!

facsmom said...

How do you out the "label" on your photos?

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