Board member "JDAVIS" showed her quilt "Hot Flashes" and said she didn't have a good place to photograph her quilts. It looks like the clothes line she used works great and her pictures is wonderful ...I don't have a clothesline but wish I did for the quilts but also to hang my clothes out to get that wonderful fresh smell from line dried clothes...I digress!

My tip is from a photographer who came to our quilt group to give us tips on how to photograph large or small quilts to the best advantage.

Outside Photos:
1. Always take pictures with the sun over your LEFT shoulder for the best light and least shadow.

2. For large quilts, LAY them over a bush in the yard, drape them on a fence or hang them on the side of the house. Quilts laying flat on the ground or floor will usually give the quilt a distorted look and the colors of the quilt will not show up as well as in a raised or hanging position.

3. Natural light is always better than flash lighting when picture taking

4. Always take several pictures of whatever your subject. Moving even an inch or two forward or back or to the right or left will sometimes make a world of difference.

These are just a few of the hints this photographer gave us. Maybe there is a "pearl" of info here that you can use that will help you in your photography.

Cool! Thank you. I will definitely use these tips!

Thanks, this is always a challenge for me

Thank you for these tips. I will definately try them when photographing my next top or quilt!!

Kyia

I do like taking ppl pictures outside...didn't think of taking my quilts out there. good idea!
yes, I have a lot of trouble backing up far enough to get good pictures in a small house. thanks, Feathers :D

Great tips - thanks for sharing. I'm going to print them out and keep in a safe place.

Thanks Feathers, I really needed help with this one.

Great tips -- thanks!! I have tried and tried to get a decent photo of my daughter's quilt that is 120" square and finally gave up....

Thank you for sharing those great tips! I always have trouble getting the right pictures. Moving around and trying different angles as well as getting the proper lighting is very helpful. :D

Oh! good, I'm glad the photo tips might be useful. Make sure and let us see your results via LOTS of pictures being posted! :wink:

Thanks for the tips!

Of course, I definitely agree that lighting is the single most important aspect! Natural light almost always does the best job. If you would rather not bring the quilt outside, take some time in the morning or afternoon to walk around the house and find a spot with the best lighting. Direct sunlight can cause harsh shadows, but indirect natural light does the job perfectly.

Jared: Thanks for the tips...I'll remember to use them, too.

Cool beans!!! Thanks for the fantastic tips. Did the photographer happen to mention the best setting to use on a digital? I've tried most of them, and none of them seem to give the best color and detail.

I would think that would vary per camera and also per situation...i.e....lighting, setting, background, colors of the actual quilt, amount and closeness of quilting...well, you get my drift, right? I think that there isn't really a great setting for my cheapo camera... :roll: ..its one of those "you get what you pay for" type deals.

My cheapo digital settings don't seem to make much difference either in the picture quality -- but it could also be user error :oops: But I found THE camera I would love to have -- a Nikon and only $759 on sale!!!!! :roll: :roll: :roll:

Yup...like I said...you get what you pay for....go for it girl!!! I'd love to have the Canon digital SLR body...I already have all the lenses...I think. (wouldn't they work off of the older regular SLR models)

Well, if I had the money -- it would already be mine :wink: But since I don't, I can't and will have to continue to dream :lol: :lol:

Well...dreams are good too...its just harder to develop those pics on actual paper :lol: I know the feeling though. I'm thinking I'm going to have to get a newer one on ebay sometime.

I really love all or suggestions about the outside pictures. I have never tried to take a picture outside with my quilts. But, I will say this, there is an mid- morning light that makes things look the best. Or try a afternoon shot on the other side of the house. You will see what I am talking about if you walk around and check it out by taking preliminary shots to see how the lighting looks. Be aware of what is in the background and sides of the picture too. Some pretty funny shots have come from not doing this. But a photo editing program is a wonderful thing to crop out the bad stuff. LoL!

I will say this ... The pros take pictures inside with special lighting added. Have you ever gone to have a photo setting that they didn't have that light that projects into the setting area? You can use even a spot light desk lamp, if you direct the light from the right angle.

There is a free photo class at hp.com. It forces you to learn what the different settings and lenses do on your camera. It doesn't matter what kind you have.

There is tons of computer related classes there and free printing templets too. One is a quilt label that you can put a picture in and the wording and print it out onto special fabric. It works great! I have used it a couple times.

I hope someone gets some use of this info ... I feel kinda funny from typing so much on your thread. But, maybe it will help someone and no one will mind. I can't take pics in the winter outside ... Too snowy and nasty.

Thanks for the tips--not too long ago I sent a query on how to take quilt pics. Those answers and this one will really help.

Great tips for taking pics of our quilts-I never even thought of taking pics outside until last yr when I was trying to take pics of my scrap book pages and the house I was living in at the time was very dark. Thanks again.

Red your tips are always very useful to me, I have already learned alot from your tips..so as far as I am concerned you just keep on sharing...thank-you very much...
dee

a couple of tips that I learned long ago (before digitials)

1) hold you breath ~ just before/as you 'click'

2) If possible bring your elbows into your ribs/sides, you will be making your own tripod with your body.

I have found that these two tips keep me from having those fuzzy pictures (most of the time)

Oh! Great tips, GrammyDwynn. Thank you.

Thanks for the tips!!

Great tips. I don't always spread the quilt out to photograph. Here is a picture of a quilt I made for my dnl and son for Christmas and this is the photograph I liked best.

Ragdoll: Your photgraph is perfect and your quilt is lovely. You must have a talent and gift for creativity...it shows in both mediums. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the compliment.....Ragdoll

Now that I think back, some of the best pic's I've taken have been on my back deck while it was nice and sunny. Thanks for all the tips, I know I can use them.

Very useful tips. Thanks for sharing.

great tips, thank you

yes great tips from all of you, I will try to use, thanks.

thanks!

I will have to try taking pix outside. Someone told me once to take pix of quilts outside on an overcast day. The colors show better and there is not a problem with shadows. Now, I have not tried this yet but I will soon.

Ragdoll, where did you get that pattern? I just love it! And your color choices are fantastic, too. Where do I get one?

Thanks for the great tips :) As a professional portrait photographer, I couldn't agree more about taking quilts outdoors to photograph. However, sun over one shoulder as a opposed to the other shoulder really doesn't matter when photographing inanimate objects. Sun over the photographer's left shoulder causes a catch light in the upper right quadrant of the subject's iris which is considered desirable in portrait photography :)

Another professional photographer here, I have been taking photos of my quilts on the design wall, but as I make Queen Size I was finding it hard to get it all in and the colour was less than pleasing. But I've just had a lightbulb moment, I have my very large backdrop stand packed away somewhere which would be fantastic to display my quilts on outside for that perfect shot, along with using those curtain rod clamps I've seen. Would like to give it a go with my studio light setup also. Don't know why I haven't done this sooner. I will post a pic after I've set it up. Have you given this a try clairvoyantquilter.

Although I try to take advantage of as much natural light as possible, I also often try playing with a copy of the digital image using my photo processing program. Sometimes adjusting contrast and brightness compensates and makes colors appear much closer to the original and results in a better "record" of my quilting project.

Some great tips both here and in the thread. If you must use flash. Especially on a point and shoot camera you can help make it softer and more pleasing by taping or holding a piece of tissue over the flash. This acts as a diffuser and generally gives better results. Also good for photographing people.