Behind the scenes of my new photos

For the past few days I've been working on "re-shooting" all my pieces with a white background. I've fought against the same background for a long time, but I'm finally giving in because I think it will get more exposure for the items. So I read a few articles, looked at a few photos, studied my camera and found the best place in the house to "create" my studio.

At first I wasn't sure I could pull it off with two kids around needing my attention. However, I soon realized that my son could entertain himself most of the time, and my daughter could sit in her high-chair and watch me while working to grab, hold and put her pacifier in her mouth, essentially entertaining herself as well.

Setting up was the hardest part of the photo shoot because I had to find items to help reflect light as well as create a backdrop high enough to shoot from various angles creating an illusion of calm within the image.

Here are some "set shots":

I needed to put up a white board to reflect the light back onto the subject.

I pushed the table as close to the window as possible still leaving space for me to maneuver

The boxes aligned in the back needed to give enough height for a good backdrop

Of course, an ironed white sheet created the base and reflective surface to work on.

Here are the resulting photos:

Not too bad, huh?

I'm happy with them, but as with everything I can see where they can be improved. . . all in due time! In case you're wondering, I got some great information from Handmadeology, Etsy Blog, and by looking at a lot of photos!

Coming next. . . new items and patterns!!!

Photography lighting

With shorter days and long work hours, I'm only home on the weekends to take photos of my items in "natural" or "day" light. Since my weekends are filled with family and housework, I needed to find a way to use the evenings to take photos of my items. I haven't yet made a lightbox, so I thought there might be a way anyway. Last night I tried an experiment.

We have "daylight" light bulbs in some of the light fixtures at home, so I took an extra one and put it in a tablelamp. I positioned the lamp right next to the window (for my psyche) and placed my item on the table I usually use to take photos. Imagine my delight when I saw these photos!!!

I know they aren't perfect, but for a "soft" touch and clear picture, I think the daylight bulbs did wonders to save me. I've tried taking photos with regular bulbs in the lamp with no lampshade, but they always came out grainy or too dark. I think that until I have the time to make myself a lightbox, this is going to help tremendously!

BTW - This item was a custom order on my "Chunky Men's Scarf". I love this color, I have one just like it. Here's hoping my customer love it too!!!

New Etsy projects

My Etsy store seems to have been a bit quiet lately with no new additions, however, it's not that I haven't been working, it's just that I've been preparing a few items and needed a chance to take photos. My sister, her friend Zai, and my niece were kind enough to serve as models, so there are now new posts in my Etsy Shop. If you haven't stopped by lately, take a another look!