Product Photography 101 (!%$#!?!)

In keeping with having products in my store to sell, I have just added another (and very colorful) item for sale - the Boucle Delight Cowl. I had originally made this as a scarf, but it ended up a little short, so i decided to convert it to a cowl. I know that I should have more summery items in the shop. I promise I will, but I'm still in the throws of reorganizing my bed/craft room, so when something pops up to add, I'm just going with it. In my world the months seem to fly by, so it'll be fall before I know it!

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The biggest problem I've had with this cowl is the photography. I didn't use bright or neon yarn colors to make this, but in the photos the cowl really looks much brighter than it actually is. I tried taking a pic inside the house (thinking the sun was the culprit), but that didn't work either. The next photo is much closer to the real colors.

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In articles about taking product pics, they tell you to use natural light (or "reveal" type light bulbs) as much as possible because this will show off the true color of the item. Obviously, direct sun doesn't always work. Since I don't have a room to set up for product photography or the money for a pro photographer, I just have to rely on photo editing programs to try to achieve the proper effect. Easier said than done!

Until next time, happy crocheting!

Hi Nova55, I think the pictures looks good.

I can't take pictures at all. My fingers are in the way my hands shake and the picture is to dark or light. You have seen some of my baby dresses they look terrible. I always state at the end of the pictures forgive me for the picture. By now everyone knows I can't take pictures ha. But you can.....

I say good job well done. The cowl is nice too.
Spoula

Trust me, my first pictures were pretty awful. I had to read several articles on how to take photos to eventually get better. Then the camera I had broke, which ended up being a good thing because the camera I have now is so much better. It has a shake setting that helps to minimize that problem, and you can adjust the settings to help with low/high light situations. And taking photos outside in natural light (not necessarily in direct sunlight) helps so much! I still don't know all the things my camera can do, but bit by bit I'm learning. Plus a good photo editing site is invaluable. I wouldn't have a frame around the pic or the company name in the pic without it, plus the ability to change the exposure, focus sharpening, and color saturation (that was the problem with this cowl) can really be important. I have a paint program on my computer and I use that to crop and correct background issues.

As you can see, taking pictures to sell something is a whole lot different than taking a snapshot to share your creations. Your pic of the blue and white baby dress was just fine! Good lighting, in focus to see stitches, and on a background to be able to show off the piece - what more can you ask for? The thing that drives me crazy is when people don't think about the background. Sometimes it's so busy you can hardly see the item because it blends in, but for the professionals it seems that putting a pale-colored item on a white background is in vogue. I like white, but I don't like having to manipulate my screen just to see the product! When did it become ok to make the customer work to see the product? Oh, I guess I'm just getting old.

Hi Nova55, Thanks for sharing that information on the camera. I am old and I use to use Polaroid one step camera's to take my babies pictures. Snap and wait for the picture to come out of the camera. Only problem with those photos are that they disappear with age. I can't see what my children looked like as babies any more. My husband takes all the pictures with his camera and he is quite good at it. Only problem with that is waiting for him to show me the pictures or to give me the card from the camera to download. I got a tablet that I use to take pictures of my dresses and it has some neat features but I don't know how to use them. I prefer to bug my husband to take nice pictures for me.

I love your post so much you always write such interesting things and in a very funny way sometimes. I like your sense of humor. Good luck on your craft room.
Spoula