Indoor Lighting on a Budget

I was faced with either dragging my mannequin to the shed out back through 3 feet of snow to get natural light for photography, or not making and shooting new designs. I didn't really like either choice, although my mannequin is light, the shed is about 30 feet from the house and the chances of my making it there in the snow without tripping and landing on her and the new Aprons is pretty slim.

I decided to look into lighting for the house. I did a little research and found a pretty nice photo lighting set on Amazon. Some days I almost have enough light in the house during the day using my manual camera settings.

This is how it looks in the box. Really folds compactly. I like that for storage.






This is what came. It was much nicer than I thought for the price of $41 (I have Amazon Prime and have free shipping). The kit contains 2 adjustable stands with sockets. The sockets have switches, this really surprised me for the cost. I was planning on having to unplug to turn off. It also comes with 2 light diffusing umbrellas that fit into the sockets, and 2 full spectrum light bulbs. The light bulbs alone sell for about $25 for a pair.

Each light stand can be as low as 4 feet or as tall as 8 feet with bubs (list 7.7 feet). I had to lay it down to measure, because my ceiling are not that high. Not sure why you would need it that tall, Maybe if you want to photograph that humongous spider on the ceiling. Although the cord is a nice 9 feet long, you have to remember that it comes from the socket at the top of the stand, so fully extended, you will probably need an extension cord to reach power source. The base is only about 2 feet diameter, but the umbrellas take up more like 4 feet of air space. I have a fairly small space and trying to set them up with umbrella and still have room to shoot the model was tricky.

If you look at the product reviews, you will note that the bulbs are not bright enough. I purchased these to soften the light coming into the room. Sunlight and my ceiling light were creating shadows and this setup really worked to soften the light. I tried to do photography when the sun set and the bulbs were truly not bright enough for my full body photography. I haven't used it for close items, so I'm not sure if they are bright enough for that, but if it's a matter of one or 2 brighter bulbs, it's still a great deal.

This is the negative, but not really too bad. There are no assembly instructions and DON'T write me to ask how. It's pretty easy to figure out. There are no use instructions either, so the locks could be a bit tricky to figure out if you've never used adjustable stands. The only thing I don't like is the way the tripod base unfolds. It's a bit hard to open. I had to first spread the feet and then push the top of the legs down the center pole.

All in all, I really like the setup. I am learning how to adjust my camera now to get the best shots.

Adventures in Photo Editing Part 200

This post is going to be mostly pictures. You'll like it.

This is what I've been up to. I make eye jewelry, but didn't have photography in all of the colors I can make. I can actually make them any color, but mostly just 5 sell well.  So I wanted to offer 5 colors and thought it would be easier to do this on Photoshop. Actually it takes a lot of time too. For those who don't have Photoshop, I really like pic monkey. It's a great editing program. Adobe is also offering a fee to use program now, but it's not really cheap either. I use an old program, you might find one on eBay.

Here's how I started. I took my eyes and photographed them on the printed sheet with the lenses over them.

Then I did some photography.

 Then I made a template with blank areas. I pasted my eyes in the "holes" and scaled to fit. Voila I made new images.

 


Then after making each piece of jewelry I made a band of all the colors. And here's the final images.

Craft Seller Tips - Sample Making Pt 2

My first post showed how I was going to try to do something simple to make new purses without really making them. See Craft Seller Tips - Sample Making Pt 1

Well, I made my Purse sleeves and did a photo shoot. But I wanted to make more purses that I didn't have pictures of so I did some Photoshop. You be the judge. What is real, what is a sleeve and what is Photoshop?

This is a purse that was made and photographed

These bags were sleeves over a purse and photographed

These two purses are Photoshopped panels in older photographs

I can't decide what is better. I'm not sure either of them look any better than the other. I am beginning to think that I don't even have to make the sleeves to make the presentation, as long as the image on the bag is the right size. I can cut out the panels and shoot them and "shop" them into already modeled bags. And Although the crease in the smurf bag doesn't look great, I think it actually makes it look more "real"

What do you think?

Fauxtography - Punny Picks for Great Photo shoots

I've been working out new ways to do interesting photography for my items. Fortunately I am very handy at Photoshop. I just did (and am working on) a series of Fauxtos of my Bow Ties on Tuxes. Here is some of what I did.

I took some Tux images and creatively altered them in Photoshop to show off my ties better. I did the Jon Hamm just for fun, not to add to my listings. Not sure either he or the producers of Mad Men would like that, but I was having so much fun.

I'm not exactly sure just how legal using these images are, after all, I'm not crediting the photographer. If you photographed any of these, let me know and I'll give you shared credit. After all, these images are digital altered art collages done by me. Heck, a collaboration with me, could make you famous Jon Hamm.

Find these bow ties and many more at Poppy's Garden Gate.

Just another Manic Monday - Photo and Filters

I took a lousy picture of one of my new pieces last night. With flash. Never list an item with flash photography. You're better off just taking a picture in the dark and posting that. Flash makes everything look flat flat flat. Washes out beautiful detail. I am not kidding, look at the difference here. 

The picture I took looked so bad that I thought, maybe with the right filter they could be improved. I really don't have any filters and no Instagram (lucky you who do) so I did some searching on the internet without much help. Lots of sites recommended Picnik, but you know what happened there.

Then I remembered Photobucket used to have some filters I never used. I use Photobucket for my photo hosting for Ebay. I gave them a try and this is what I did. Not great, but more attractive.

Then I got carried away with the filters. Here is what I did next. Click on the images to enlarge the before and afters. I really don't like Photobucket, but it is working better on Chrome and I might like to make some cool pics and features with their filters, frames and other editing tools with all my free time.

Photo Tips on a Budget Revisited

Here are links to some great photo tips. elgarbo Etsy Forum Etsy Seller Merriweather Council

Artfire has a Photography guide But I think you can find better tips.

I have a few tips to add.

Your photography should be front page worthy. There should be enough contrast between setting and product to distinguish between them. Not necessarily a white or black backdrop. It can be something with character, a vintage table top, an old love letter, a slab of stone or wood. See Examples of Good Photography. Most sites display a square format, but Etsy for example uses a rectangle for Treasuries. Set up your picture so that the focus is within a center square. You can also do this with editing later. I will explain further in my next post. 

Star of the East                                         Shiny Adornments                                            Beau Monde

My first tip is don't do it yourself. What? Yes really! If you are not a pro, you can often get a student or fledgling photographer to take pictures for the exposure. Try local schools or listing on craigslist. You can find photographers and models (clothing, jewelry) at modelmayhem. Many will work for free or for product.

Second tip, if you must do it yourself - LIGHTING! Indirect, natural light is best. Don't use your camera's flash, It will create an artificial, 2 dimensional look and wash out your product. Best light is outside on a cloudy day or by a window. White Transparent film on the window helps to filter strong light. Another option is Halogen shop lights. I have seen some wonderful pictures taken with them. You will need two to distribute the light source. They can be pretty inexpensive. Make sure you keep an eye on them while working as they can get pretty hot.

You can also make a light box for jewelry and smaller items, like this one at wikiHow

Now that you have your layout and your light. What do you do with your camera? You can get decent pictures with just about any digital camera as long as the light and setup is good. MY digital camera was bought on eBay for $120, was $400 new. It is wonderful for the price.

Take time to play a little with the photography to get the right settings for your camera. You get better pictures if you can use your manual settings but, you can easily get good pictures with automatic settings too. Make sure your camera is set for the proper distance. A good trick for getting a bit of depth of field out of a less expensive camera is to focus on your merchandise, (this will usually be in the center of your item), move your camera so the focus is on the closest part of the item, then shoot. Take a lot of pictures, you will never be wasting time if your merchandise sells.

Get a good picture and then on to photo editing. If your pictures are not perfect this is where they can be touched up. Tips on next weeks post!

Phote Editing on a Budget

Getting good photos first is always best, but, if your images are a little less than perfect, there are several things you can do to improve them. Photo editing is a wonderful way to improve your images, even if they are not quite perfect.

Of course Photoshop is the best program to use, but it can be very expensive. Here is a link listing several free image editing programs and the pros and cons. www.readwriteweb.com/archives/free_alternatives_to_photoshop_with_all_the_bells.php I always get my free software from downloads.com I find their rating system to be helpful and they are pretty safe. Although nothing is free, just make sure you have a good spyware and adware removal program running on your PC.

Now that you have a photo editing program, play with it. Your less than perfect photo CAN be improved on. I always take my photos with a fairly high resolution. This will make a crisper picture. You can always reduce your resolution later.

Here is an example of an edited image:



The first picture is too light, not enough contrast and definition, and the composition could be more interesting.

First: adjust levels. Play with these settings until you get a look you like. This can add definition and contrast.

Second adjust brightness and contrast. In this case I would make darker and raise contrast.

Your photo editing program may not have a levels setting but they all have brightness and contrast.

Third step is color balance. Have your item in front of you and adjust the color on your screen to match what is in your hand. This will not be perfect, as all monitors do not have the same color settings. You may get complaints about your color, but it is impossible to have your color match every screen in the world. The best you can do is match yours and add a disclaimer on your site.

Once your photo is perfect, crop your image. Try a few different compositions, until you get the one that looks the most interesting and show off your art. Remember, your first image is a teaser to make a buyer want to see more. Your remaining pictures should show your complete item with as much clear detail as possible.

Finally reduce your resolution to your sites specifications.

Now look at your pictures. Would you buy from this shop? Would you add these pictures to a treasury? If yes, you have done a great job. Congrats!!!

Photo Tips on a Budget

Etsy Storque has some wonderful tips on photography, (see http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/shop-makeover-series-are-your-photos-frontpage-worthy-3178 and http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/shop-makeover-series-feature-friendly-photos-3222 and http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/give-props-how-to-style-your-photos-1079)

I have a few tips to add.

Your photography should be front page worthy. There should be enough contrast between setting and product to distinguish between them. Not necessarily a white or black backdrop. It can be something with character, a vintage table top, an old love letter, a slab of stone or wood. See Examples of Good Photography

First tip is don't do it yourself. What? Yes really! If you are not a pro, you can often get a student or fledgling photographer to take pictures for the exposure. Try local schools or listing on craigslist. You can find photographers and models (clothing, jewelry) at modelmayhem

Second tip, if you must do it yourself - LIGHTING! Indirect, natural light is best. You can use your camera's flash, but it can wash out. Best light is outside on a cloudy day. You can shoot by a window, but sometimes it's hard to setup by a window. Next best option, Halogen shop lights. I have seen some wonderful pictures taken with them. You will need two to distribute the light source. They can be pretty inexpensive. Make sure you keep an eye on them while working as they can get pretty hot.

Now that you have your layout and your light. What do you do with your camera? You can get decent pictures with just about any digital camera as long as the light and setup is good. MY digital camera was bought on eBay for $120, was $400 new. It is a wonderful for the price.

Take time to play a little with the photography to get the right settings for your camera. You can easily get good pictures with automatic settings. Make sure your camera is set for the proper distance. A good trick for getting a bit of depth of field out of a less expensive camera is to focus on your merchandise, (this will usually be in the center of your item), move your camera so the focus is on the closest part of the item, then shoot.

Get a good picture and then on to photo editing. Tips on next blog!