Photography Tutorial/FAQ Part I

One of the questions I get asked quite often relates to the way I photograph my items and yarn. I often choose to photograph at least some shots of a project against a white background as I find it an unencumbered way to view the items without distraction of a busy backdrop.

It took a little playing around before I could get the technique to work for me, but once I worked out how to set my camera up to best make use of the light conditions, etc, it became an easy and quick way to take good quality pictures. 

I’ve been asked a few times if I have a little studio for taking my photographs. All I can ever reply to that is I can only wish I did! I also have an inexpensive little pocket digital camera and not much space, so those dreams cast aside, it’s time to reveal the truth:

So, all you need is a large (A1) sheet of pure white card and maybe a bit of Blu-tack to keep it in place whilst you snap away. The important thing to remember with the card is that it should be un-creased and should be placed against the wall, reaching down to the floor/table-top in a smooth curve – this will produce a seamless background. To ensure the best images, try and have as much natural light on the subject as possible. By this I do not mean bright sunlight, but nice, cool daylight. I find it best to have a large window/open door to the side of me (in the picture above there is a large window to the left of the piece of card) as this gives a good amount of light on the object and you will no be hampered by your own shadow, or the shadow of your camera, appearing in shot.

Now – fiddling around with a few of the settings on your camera is going to help to improve your shots. Not all cameras work identically as far as button placement and menu navigation are concerned, but many are quite similar. If you cannot find one of the settings/buttons which I mention in the following part of the tutorial/FAQ, it’s time to go and hunt down the manual for your digital camera.

Continue to part 2.