Everyone wants to show off their newly finished quilt or wall hanging. We all want to see it. Some of you take pictures of a quilt on a bed or on a chair. Taking a picture of a quilt on a bed doesn't allow the reader to SEE it. Oh sure we SEE the end of the bed as this is where your camera is focusing but we cannot see the quilt in it's entirety like we want to.

If someone is available to hold up your quilt for you while you take a picture ( in natural light ) think of how amazing that quilt would look compared to laying on a bed with some of the photo focused and some not ;(>

Recognizing that sometimes there is no one around to help hold up a quilt or wall hanging, you can also fasten it over a second story staircase railing. Pin it to the wall, whatever it takes to make a good photo of your quilt. Taking an extra few minutes makes a huge difference.

I prefer to photograph outside in the natural light, be aware of shadows on your quilt and wind blowing up an edge. It takes a little time and patience.

The point is to see the whole quilt face on - if you get that visual in your mind while taking the picture you will be happier and so will those who look at the photo.

Thank you for this. I love to look at quilts. I also get frustrated at those teeny, tiny pics. My old eyes aren't what they used to be! :lol:

BTW, beautiful quilt!

Thank you. I love to see the pictures of quilts hanging up.

This is great information for those who have the ability to make use of it. However, I am delighted to see a quilt on a bed. It is just as pleasing to me as one displayed outside or hanging from a staircase.

I wouldn't want anyone to be discouraged about posting their pictures. I love them all.

thanks for the great photo tips

certainly not trying to discourage anyone....I like to see both BUT for purposes of SEEING the quilt.. this works.

welcome

tiny pictures and fuzzy ones ;(>

I love the close up pictures too. But sometimes our quilters don't have the equipment or the expertise to do more than they do. I am just happy when they succeed in getting a picture posted.

I agree, but we don't always have someone who can hold it up or have enough room to lay it out somewhere to take the pic. Great advice though.....

Right on! Beautiful quilts. Hope it stops with the showers as I want to take pics of two quilts outside, which will show them off at their best!

I agree that some of us simply don't have anyone to hold up a quilt. I guess I could grab someone off of the street, NOT!

We use a little trick sometimes to photograph quilts for our website.

Buy about three of those hangars with clips on them for hanging up pants. Clip them on the top, one at each end and one in the middle.

Hang them from a doorway, a double door into a den works best for wider quilts, or if you have a big empty wall put a few nails in at the correct intervals and hang the hangers from them.

You can crop out most of the hangers when you crop the picture.

I also like seeing quilts photographed on a bed. Getting up on a stepladder a few steps and photographing down on the quilt from the end or side helps give a better perspective of the quilt.

I'm satisfied photographing mine laying on the carpet, but I wish my colors were more true to life. My reds and pinks just don't come out right. I'm curious how the purple in the next one will photograph.

Thanks for the great advice. Hope everyone reads it and remembers when they photograph their latest creation. The photos are not just for the quilt board but also for the quilter to look at after the quilt is gifted. :)

Thanks for this awesome tip because O take a lot of pictures of my quilts on the table or bed. Holding it up is where I need to go. Thanks again for pointing this out.

Great ideas for a subject that most of us sorely need advice on!

Ditto!

Nice quilt and thanks for the info. I finished a quilt last week and took a picure of it today. I had to take it in to our sewing room as it is a charity quilt.
I was home alone and had to drape it over a chair. I dont think the picture will be good.
I havent got it into the computer yet and will send picture as soon as I can figure out to get it on here.

I don't understand why your first picture is bad. I got everything I needed to know.

I have a clothesline in my basement that I use to hang my quilts, then take a picture. Turn on all the lights and use a flash!

The ones that bug me are when the quilt is "staged" - creatively draped over a bench or with a plate sitting on top or something. Makes it hard to see the whole quilt.

I prefer to take pictures of my quilts outside on a bright, overcast day. You get the best color representation and no shadows.

I put mine out on the clothesline, but then that darn wind comes up out of nowhere!!.

My husband holds my quilt for picture taking. He is such a support with any of my ideas.

It will be in the nexty county if we aren't careful. lol

Good for you!
I noticed that somebody recently posted a photo of a quilt on a bed using a flashlight that had those ultra bright bluish bulbs in them, and it worked amazingly well, showing the colors more realistically.
Why?
The filament temp. of those bulbs is higher, which is wanted for better color reproduction.

I know some of you have to wait for good weather... :( I sometimes forget that living in CA where we rarely get rain :((

That's a good idea... if you can't get outside ( due to weather )

are you using a flash or a higher ISO setting when taking the picture picture? also when you take a picture like that you may be focusing on the part that is closer to you. all kinds of things can happen to your colors just by doing it this way. try that hanger idea if no one is around or you cannot take it outside in bright light be sure there is enough light indoors.

yes, true and nice to have documentation of your quilts ;)

Thanks for the tips.

You provide some excellent advice, thank you. I love to look at the pictures of quilts, but when the picture quality is poor, I wonder "Do they realize we can't see the quilt?" I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from posting pictures, but it is a shame when they do, and their work cannot be appreciated because we can't see it!

I do this with mine to give the viewer a sense of dimension. I also do my best to get a full shot of the quilt. Sometimes that means stepladder while standing over the futon, sometimes it means hanging it from the moulding around my studio door. Larger quilts will require hanging from our bedroom balcony, but since it's 100*+ at 9 am around here, that's not a fun prospect.

This is why I started my quilting blog. I was carrying around pictures of my quilts to show my friends and family, but eventually I got too many pictures, and I couldn't show them to people who live far away. So a girlfriend and I joined forces and started a blog. I am able to document the fabrics, patterns, process, any funny things that happened along the way, and I can share it with all my friends and family, no matter how far away they are. Plus, I've made a lot of new friends because of the blog!