Friday, June 26, 2015

5 Tips for Better Pictures of your Work


Tide Pool

For every one of my photographs that you've seen published I’ve taken at least three and sometimes as many as 20 pictures. I’m very picky about the content and quality of my pictures, whether they’re high resolution product images, process photos, or cute puppy snapshots. Every picture has a specific purpose to clearly deliver an intended message to the viewer. There are some very simple things you can do to improve the quality and impact of your pictures. 

1 Crop it with the camera. The view finder is your friend. Use it. Before you press the button to take your picture, run your eye around the perimeter of the view finder. Make sure only the objects you want, the things that strengthen and support your subject, are included. Physically crop any distracting items from your photo. You may have to change your position or get closer to your subject. Do whatever it takes, but make it the cleanest shot possible right from the start.

Good: photo of kiln.
Better: cropped with the camera photo of kiln.
2 Background basics. One of the best backgrounds I’ve found for quick shots is a large piece of white foam-board. It’s light weight and easily moved from one lighting environment to another, such as from an indoor setting to an outdoor site. The smooth, shiny surface reflects light very well which enhances the object you’re photographing. While white cotton fabric, on the other hand, absorbs light and as a result, robs your artwork’s dazzle. 

Good: photo of Asian Poppy taken on white packing foam sheets. Notice how lifeless the glass looks.
Better: photo of Asian Poppy on smooth, reflective foam-board. WOW!
3 Take advantage of natural light. This is especially true when photographing glass, as natural light brings out the true color and depth of the material. This practice works best if the light source is off to one side of the object, as opposed to directly overhead, like a floodlight. Side illumination produces desirable contrast; it sets a mood and creates drama. It also emphasizes the three dimensional quality of your focal point. When taking photographs, I often stage my artwork beside a window or take it outside late in the day, when the sunlight is softer. 


Great: photo of Tide Pool with natural light and a colorful drop shadow. WAY COOL!
Bad: photo of Tide Pool. Without good lighting it looks flat and dull. BORING!
4 Alignment is key. Before snapping the shot make sure that all horizontal and vertical planes that appear in your photo are squared off; align them with the perimeter of your viewfinder. For example, if there's a window or shelf in the photo make sure the window casing in straight up and down. Make sure the shelf is level. This makes those lines visually blend into the background as opposed to stand out. There’s nothing more distracting than a random diagonal line running through an image. In fact, it will usually cause your viewer’s eye to stray from your subject, to follow the line right off your photo. 
 
Bad: photo of Milky Way with distracting background with an odd angle.
Great: photo of Milky Way cropped in the camera. Dazzling!
5 Give your artwork a lift. If you’re taking pictures of a plate, bowl or vase prop your piece up on a stack of 2” x 2” clear glass squares, or with a clear acrylic stand. This allows light to pass through the glass creating a drop shadow made of reflected color from the artwork. The shadow emphasizes the beautiful transparency of the medium you’re working in, plus it shows off the unique shape and color of your piece. 

Set up shot of Zebra Palm on acrylic stand.

Glam shot of Tiger Palm and Zebra Palm on acrylic stands taken with natural light on foam-board.
I keep these tips in mind when taking process pictures of projects for tutorial articles, photos for my website and images for presentations. These low-cost methods produce good quality images quickly.  When taking high resolution product images, my set up is much more elaborate. My gallery quality pieces of art are photographed inside a photo-cube that’s lit with professional quality studio lights. The bulky equipment takes time to set up, it takes up a lot of room and it’s a sizable investment. The advantage to venturing into that level of madness is image quality. Your picture literally sells your work. It has to make a strong enough impression to make someone act to buy. 

Ah, but enough for now. We’ll explore that lengthy subject in another post… 
  
Happy snapping,
Lisa



Please visit my YouTube channel for more tips, tricks and tutorials



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2 comments:

  1. great tips. I love your white foam board and the shadows. Will work with them more in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Petra I'm glad the tips were helpful.

    ReplyDelete