Easier Said Than Done

What's the first thing people say when asked about the #1 Thing To Do when it comes to selling crafts online?

It's a no-brainer, of course:  Take Great Pictures.
Hence the title of this post!

I have found effective photography to be one of the biggest learning experiences of this whole Quilting Violinist adventure.  Of course, the more you do something, the more you learn about it.

My cutting table has a light butcher block top, so small things like placemats can be photographed there.  And my studio (A.K.A my bedroom) has fantastic morning light.  So that's worked out pretty well.

Contrast really helps make the colors pop.  So these placemats looked better against the dark walnut finish of the sewing machine table.

This quilt was a STRUGGLE to photograph.  The parts in the sun are overexposed; the parts in the shade are gray.

Yuck.  Drab and gray.

Brighter, and the colors are warmer.  But it's overexposed; you really can't see that the main fabric is a pretty floral.

These pictures were part of the listing for this quilt in my Etsy shop for several months.  I hated them every time I looked at them.
So the other day I decided to photograph it again, this time inside in a bright room (my family room, which is very bright, although not with direct sunlight)

Better.  It's maybe still a little dark.  But the colors are truly shown, at last.

YES.  Success!  I was thrilled with this picture.  You can finally see the detail of the light blue floral.  The colors are bright but not overexposed.

So maybe indoor photography is the way to go, after all?

I tried the same thing with this quilt.  Here's the original picture, taken outside several months ago.  It's not horrible, but it's not great either.

Not as dramatic a difference as with the previous quilt, but I think the contrast of the floor tile makes the colors pop a little more.

Everything seems to look good draped over that chair!

Here's another nice picture of a newly compeleted Office Lunch Set.







And of course, one of my favorite picture subjects:

It's impossible to take a bad picture of Nemo!