Product Photography

I am still learning about my camera’s settings and how to best use them.  On my most recent trip, the camera was too often on a low shutter speed resulting is some blurry photographs.  This was not visible on the display, but certainly was on my computer.  I was reading my histogram, but that didn’t help this problem.  Fortunately, I took so many pictures that I could work around the blurry ones.  Considering my general lack of expertise you can imagine how difficult it is to take decent product pictures for TheQuiltifyShop.  I’ve been told by those who are better at product photography that I need to do better. Here’s a photograph that someone else expertly edited for my shop: il_570xN.799837433_9u2i Here’s the same photograph before it was expertly edited, but after I edited it: IMG_1732 Obviously, the first version pops more than mine.  It’s brighter and stands out from the background better.  I need to figure out how to do this.  I also need more than one background, which isn’t so easy in my woodsy, low upkeep urban/suburban yard. I’ve essentially ignored my shop.  My quilts have sold before they were uploaded to the shop, by word of mouth.  It was easier to handle these sales directly.  Consequently, the shop does not reflect activity.  I’ve decided to change this as I would like a more active, organized shop containing a wide selection of Don’t Bore Your Baby quilts reaching beyond local sales.    With this in mind and the need to improve my photographs, I had a product photo shoot (tongue in cheek). I took my latest quilt to Peacefield, John and Abigail Adams’ manse.  Here are some of my photographs from this ‘shoot’. IMG_2218 IMG_2219 IMG_2240 IMG_2230 Photographs number one and four have been edited by me and are on the shop.  I still don’t think they particularly pop, but I think they are better than older ones I have on the shop.  Photographs two and three have not been edited. IMG_2215 And I just like this one… How would you make these photographs better?  What do you do to take better product photographs?  Please let me know. Happy Quilting!

About quiltify

Crazy about functional art: quilting; travel, family, and New England.
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2 Responses to Product Photography

  1. I use a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 or a Canon PowerShot Elph 330HS and then upload to iPhoto where I use some very basic editing tools or use PicMonkey. I wish I had Photoshop and knew how to use it. 🙂 Photo you like or not – the guilt is gorgeous. Our town adult ed programs include photography classes in the fall. I don’t know if other towns do that or not.

    • quiltify says:

      Thanks Judy.

      I think, more than anything, I need to just develop my eye and watch for the ‘pop’ as I edit…perhaps. Maybe our camera club will have a lecture on product photography this year.

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