Hints for photographing your project
You’ve spent many hours planning and creating a beautiful project, whether it’s a garment for yourself or someone you love, a quilt, handbag or other accessory, maybe a stuffed animal for a child. Why not spend a little extra time photographing it so you’ll always have a record of your work? Then you can share your photos with those far away or enter our ASG San Jose chapter- wide challenge! Here are some hints for successful photography along with some links to articles for further reading.
Keep your lens clean. If you’ve wondered why some of your photos look a little foggy, it’s because the lens is dirty. Give it a wipe with a microfiber cloth or even with some good lens cleaner like you use on your glasses. And, although this might seem obvious, know where your lens is located. How many photos have been ruined because your thumb gets in the way? With a “real” camera, the lens was always in the middle, but we are all using our cell phones now, and the lens is usually in the corner. Hold the phone so that your hand doesn’t cover any part of the lens.
Good lighting is essential! The best lighting conditions are outside in the shade (or on a cloudy day) for diffuse natural light. Indoors, don’t use the camera’s flash because it causes glare and harsh shadows. Open all your window blinds and turn on all the lights in the room. If possible, place your project near a window, but avoid direct sunlight because of glare and shadows. Try different lighting conditions until you are satisfied that your photo closely matches the colors of your project. Take lots of pictures! The advantage of digital photography is that you can always delete the ones you don’t like.
Compose your photo so that the subject takes up most of the space in the frame. Eliminate any clutter in the background. Try moving the project around and taking photos from different angles. Make sure it’s in focus! You can get creative with composition by showing your project as it will be used in real life: a quilt on a bed or a handbag hanging on a chair. For garments, you can model them yourself and get someone else to take the photo of you or use a tripod to photograph yourself. If there is no one around to act as photographer, use a dress form or style the photo in other creative ways (see the third article below).
For more detailed advice on photographing a sewing project, see this blog post from By Annie: click here
Here is another article with more advanced advice, especially for those who want to sell their projects: click here
Here is a great article on modeling and photographing your handmade garments: click here