Photography

I've been a keen photographer for many years, since I was a teen really.  I don't have a spectacular camera, although I will one day!  The camera I use for photographing my crochet is my my trusty iPhone 4.  I have another point-and-shoot digital camera but it doesn't take very good close ups, they are too grainy.  A little bit tragic that the best camera I own is in my phone (yeah yeah, first world problems *lol*).

When I first started making amigurumi, I would photograph them in my bedroom.  It had good natural light, although I did have to time it around when the sun was shining into the room, otherwise I'd end up with over-exposed shots.  I used to use our doona cover as the background, not having anything else at hand.  After a while I started using a neutral coloured sheet as the backdrop when I realised I had a sheet set that doesn't get used.  If I did a very close shot, you could see the threads of the fabric which I didn't really like.

Very recently I made my own light tent.  I'm so pleased with it because now I don't have to photograph in the daytime, I can takes pics whenever I want and for the most part they turn out pretty good.  It was ridiculously cheap to make, the only thing I had to buy was a sheet of white cardboard.

I used an old cardboard box from when we moved house a few months ago and cut windows out of 3 sides.  At the front, I cut away all the cardboard except for a small strip along the bottom.  I use cheap pillows for stuffing my ami's and for some reason I hung on to the fabric the stuffing was in.  It turns out it's really good as a light diffuser!  The piece across the top is fixed on with blu-tack and sticky tape and the side pieces are just stuck on with blu-tack at the top so I can add side lighting if I want.

DIY light tent waiting patiently to serve it's purpose :)

As you can see it sits on a dining chair with a flexible reading light above it.   Very low budget here (as happens when you don't have a paying job)!  Sometimes I grab another reading light to help things along if the shadows are too pronounced.  I love this little thing, it has improved my photo quality a lot.  Now I have visions of another 2 lights on the sides and different coloured backgrounds to show of my crochet goodies!

Photographing crochet can take ages.  Sometimes I can get the images I want with only a couple of shots, other times, it might be 30 or more before I give up in frustration and make the best of what I have.

Got a question or a comment?  I'd love to hear it!