Tips to share about taking photos for SWAP

[indigotiger]

I wanted to start a thread with information and suggestions about taking photos, which is not an easy task for most of us, self very much included. There are a few things that I try and do when I need to take photos of my personal sewing projects:

1. I don't remember where I read this, but it makes a big difference in how the image looks... have the camera at the level halfway between your head and your feet, if you are taking a whole body image. This creates a less distorted/tilted image. I now have a tripod I got at a thrift store, but even without one, there are ways to prop your camera on things  (boxes, railings, etc)

2. choose an uncluttered simple background, ideally one that provides some contrast with your sewing project. If there are outdoor walls or hedges that can work well. Some indoor spaces work, and another option is to hang up a large piece of fabric as a backdrop, like a sheet or other large fabric yardage. (I'm going to try this, since the only "blank" wall inside my tiny house is the shutter closet doors in the hallway, which is a mass of horizontal lines.)

3. Natural outdoor lighting is the best for photos, and indirect lighting rather than bright overhead sunshine. I can't always manage that even here in the damp PNW, but I try and take outdoor photos when the sun is not shining directly on my front porch, but either before it is all the way above the roofline, or when it is obscured by clouds or a tree... I try and remember to pay attention to where the shadow lines and splotches are, or to find a place where it is all in even shadow (outdoors even in shadow is usually brighter than indoors with lamps and lights)

4. If you don't have a helper to take your photos, find out if your camera has a "self-timer". That has made it possible for me to take photos by myself, I set up the camera, focused on where I will be standing, set the timer... and in the case of my venerable camera, it starts blinking orange flashes, and gives me a certain number of seconds to get back to where I want to stand before it actually takes the photo. I have heard that there are fancier cameras that you can trigger by remote, but every digital camera I have had has a self timer

[indigotiger]

I've started looking online using the search terms  such as "how to photograph your sewing projects" and there is a fair amount of information out there... while not all of it will be relevant, since we aren't needing to take photos as pattern testers or fashion bloggers, it is often helpful to read through what other people suggest, as there are a myriad of ways to approach the chore of taking garment photos...

https://allspiceabounds.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/5-simple-photography-tips-for-sewing-bloggers/

https://www.tillyandthebuttons.com/2014/06/photographing-your-sewing-projects.html

https://sewalteredstyle.com/2018/09/28/sewing-photo-tips/

https://withmyhandsdream.com/2019/01/24/photography-tips-for-a-sewist/