Tips on Photographing Cards

Hey there, everyone!  Lea here again with another card using some of the fabulous Flourishes stamps!  I have read your comments about wanting some photography tips, so I decided that rather than doing a tutorial about my card, I would show you how I photographed it.

First up, let me give you a couple of details about this card.  I used Flourishes Wedded Bliss stamp set, which has lovely silhouette couples and beautiful matching sentiments.  By stamping the couple in a lighter color, I was able to overlap the sentiment on the bottom of them so that all of my stamping fit in the diecut label I wanted to use.  Don’t be afraid to stamp over the top of lighter color with a darker color…you will love the results!  Here is my card:

In order to tell you how I photographed this card, I thought it would be easiest if I took a photo of the set-up.  This is my very aqua, but also very messy crafting corner- you are lucky I am letting you see it like this.  Tee hee!

You will see a window to the right side of where I have placed the card.  This window faces north, and the sun pretty much never streams directly into this window except for at sunrise.  I don’t know about you…but I am not up and taking photos of cards at sunrise, so I don’t really have to worry about that!!  But this part is key- you do not want sunlight streaming directly in from your light source.  You want even and diffused light, which is why this window is perfect for capturing naturally lit images of my cards during the daylight hours.

You will also see that I don’t have my card positioned directly into the light source.  It is slightly angled towards it, so that I don’t blow out any highlight areas.  I photograph my cards on two pieces of matching patterned paper, which just gives it a nice and professional look.

Next I wanted to show you what equipment I use for photographing my cards.

You might be thinking right now, “Oh my gosh….I have both of these items, or ones like them anyways!!”  I use the very first DSLR that I ever owned, which is an entry level Nikon, with the model number of D50.  I also use my Thrifty 50mm lens, which I know many scrapbookers and crafters own…I believe it cost me $100.  I share this with you because while I do have professional level cameras, you do not have to have that equipment to take a crisp and clear image of your projects.  This camera and lens reside on my crafty desk, and are perfect for what I need.

So, now that I have shown you my set-up, and equipment used, I will give you a few shooting tips.  These tips are going to be tailored towards those shooting with a DSLR, as I haven’t shot with a point and shoot camera for a very long time.  Although, there are some P&S’s that allow you to manually change settings…so look in your manual.

• If you do not know how to shoot in manual mode, I would suggest learning to shoot in aperture priority mode.  For Nikon users, that is the A on your dial.  For Canon users, it is the AV on your dial.
• I shoot with an f-stop (or aperture) of 4.0.  Anything lower than that can cause items on your card to be out of focus, especially if you have a lot of layers.  Use your thumb dial to change your aperture setting.
• If you are shooting in aperture priority mode, it will pick a shutter speed for you.  I would suggest learning how to adjust your exposure compensation, and set it at either +0.3 or +0.7.  Take a shot with both, and see which one is better.  I say this because aperture priority is basically an average shutter speed based on all the lighting coming in your lens, and it might shoot a little dark. (If you know how to shoot in manual mode, here is what I do.  I meter off the whitest part of my card, and set my shutter at +1.0.  In my room it is typically 1/50 of a second…but your room might be different.)
• If you don’t have a room that gets nicely diffused lighting, then you can take it outside.  Just be sure to shoot in open shade, so that you don’t get dark shadows or blown out highlights on your project.

I am making the assumption here that you all might have a small understanding of photography and its terms…but if any of this is flying over your head, be sure to post your questions, and I will try to answer them as best I can in my next post.  Just an FYI…your camera manual will become your best friend when learning about all the buttons.  I know that mine even has a little glossary of terms, so I assume that yours will too.  Take it out and look over it…I bet you will learn something about your camera that you might not have known!!   Next week I will do one more photography tip session on the other part of shooting that is extremely important…white balance.

Until next time,

~Lea L.

Limelight Designer |