Photography tips for Crafters PLUS GIVEAWAY!!
Hi There!
I’m Katie from the Key to Pictures Academy. I know you all love to create. I love to create as well. I love to take gorgeous photos and I equally LOVE to teach people how to take their own.
In this digital world having the ability to take beautiful photographs of your creations is almost as important as creating the piece itself! If you’re anything like me I find that I’m slightly turned off by a product that has been represented with poor quality photos and this usually means I don’t end up purchasing the item.
If you know nothing about photography, no need to worry! You just need some basic (yet vital) information. That’s where I come in. Let’s dive in and learn the 2 biggest mistakes in product photography, shall we?
Mistake #1 Not using NATURAL light.
First and foremost…use natural light. I really can’t stress this enough. Taking a picture using a flash or using overhead lights tends to produce cold and uninviting photos. Check out the contrast in the two images below. The one on the left was taken only using natural light from a nearby window. The one of the left was taken using a flash and the light of the sewing machine.
See how much more inviting the photo on the left is as it is taken with only natural light?
I open up all the curtains and blinds in the room and sometimes I even bring my product close to the window in order to get as much light as possible. The other trick to only using natural light is to use a lens that has a very WIDE open aperture. The perfect and inexpensive lens for this is the 50mm f/1.8 lens. It’s available for Nikon and Canon and only costs about $100!
Mistake #2 Too much clutter in your background
Mistake #2 Too much clutter in your background
DECLUTTER your background. So many times I see a really cool project but the clutter in the background is detracting from the actual project. A good tip is to use a couple of white foam boards to display your projects. And as a bonus, besides giving you a simple clean place to take your photos, using white will help draw more light thus giving you a faster shutter speed which will in turn give your sharper images!
Here’s an example of a set up using 2 pieces of white foam board.
And here are the shots using the foam board.
You can also use wrapping paper and foam board to help simply your photos
And the shot using wrapping paper and foam board
Try using cool scrapbook paper and fabric
The shot using scrapbook paper and fabric
And one more idea…You can even use a blank wall for a nice simplified background
The shot using a wall (and the cutting board!)
Easy Peasy, right?!
For those of you who want to learn even more about photography and how to use your camera I have something for you!
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