Photographing Needlework |
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First, I'd like to thank Terrie and CameoRoze for the informative email they sent me to include in this article about photographing our needlework. :-)
In both Class Act Chats last week, we discussed photographing our needlework. Because this hostie is far from a pro photographer, I learned as much as everyone else. :-) I'd like to state at the beginning of this article that several products are mentioned below by brand name. My doing so does not indicate I endorse any of them.
The first question was, "Why would anyone want to photograph their needlework in the first place?" Most of us who do so agreed that's the best way to keep memories of stitcheries we've either given away or sold. And of course, in this electronic age, many of the stitchers who have their own websites like to put photos of their needlework where everyone can see it. :-)
We spent most of each chat talking about how to solve some of the problems associated with photographing needlework. Among the difficulties listed were lighting, reducing glare, getting good detail in the photo, kinds of backgrounds against which needlework is placed for photography, and how we keep our photographs once they're taken.
Our first subject was lighting the needlework so it will photograph well. This can be handled in several different ways, depending upon what you want and what kind of camera you own. Many chatters agreed that a 35 mm single lens reflex camera is a good way to go because most will accommodate films of varying speed. Most easily found film is between 100 and 1000 speed. I use 400 speed film because I think it's a good all-purpose film for just about everything I photograph. Many of the 35-mm-camera users at chat agreed. I also understand Kodak has out a new variable speed film, which may work for this kind of photography. You can check it out at Kodak's website: http://www.kodak.com. Terrie wasn't able to join us for the chats last week, but she sent the following info via email:
I can't find that original Email was sent to you, so will repeat that husband photographed and son-in-law proccessed (developed) in professional lab. Put 8x10's in albums for Mom (her work photographed) for Mother's Day gift. Stitchers still have time to do this for Christmas/birthdays.........
Photos taken:
Auto Focusing camera (like instamatic)
35mm SLR (single lens reflex) camera
My own personal preference is to use natural light when I can. Because my house is darker than the apartment in which I used to live, it's hard to take good photos of needlework indoors without a flash attachment. One way I've solved this, as have many of the other chat participants, is to take my photos outdoors. If you would prefer to take photographs indoors, one solution is a flash attachment. You'll run into some problems with the flash causing glare if you use glass in your completed work, so that has to be a consideration. Several stitchers have come up with creative ways to add indoor light so they don't have to use flash photography. You may want to check out your dh's workshop if he has one for an especially bright work light. Taking it to the room in which you'll be doing your photographs and setting it for maximum effect can certainly help you avoid using a flash. So can adding other sources of light during the day--things like moving some of your lamps into the room. I really want to experiment with this, and I'll probably remove the lamp shades before I try it. I've noticed, as have other stitchers than even outdoor photography can have its problems, and photos can indeed be overexposed. I've noticed this particularly on a sunny day when I'm taking pictures of a piece done on white fabric. What I try to do to get at least one good photo is to take quite a few at different times of the day and with different exposure settings. Of course, if you have an auto-everything camera, you can't change settings, but you can experiment with locating the stitchery in different places for photographs.
Glare can be a problem wherever you choose to photograph your needlework if you use glass, which I always do. Because I do my own mounting and framing, I solve the problem by putting the entire picture together without the glass, take my photos, then take it apart and insert the glass. Some stitchers wondered what to do if they have their needlework professionally framed. One member mentioned her framer cooperates with her wish to photograph without glass by doing as I do. My suggestion is that you discuss with your framer whether he/she will work with you, letting you take your photos before glass is added. It was also noted if you already have glass in a picture you wish to photograph, you can try taking your photos at an angle to the left or right of the picture.
Clarity was another big concern. It seems hard for many of us to get close enough to our needlework to get good photos of the detail in it. One suggestion that was often made for those of us who use SLR 35 mm cameras is to use a macro lens, which allows one to take excellent closeup pictures of a variety of things, including needlework. If you have access to a scanner, you can scan small pieces and get excellent digitized images. And of course, there's now the digital camera, which will work with your computer. :-) CameoRoze kindly sent the following information about digital cameras:
What is a digital camera and how does it work?
A digital camera looks much like a "point and shoot" camera, but it is much lighter in weight. I don't know exactly how much mine cost, because it was a gift. But I'm told it is a mid-line camera in the $400-$600 range. There is likely lots of info about these cameras available on the web.
Digital cameras do not use film. Instead, the photos you take are stored digitally within the camera ... much like files are stored on your computer. The images can be seen and reviewed on the camera's built-in screen ... much like viewing a video tape right after you shoot by looking in the eyepiece. The cameras then can link up directly to your computer to upload the images. The camera came with all the software and connectors to do the upload.
About my camera
My camera is a Casio, model QV-10A. It has a nice feature in that the lens swivels 180 degrees. So if the camera is sitting on a tabletop, for example, you can turn the lens 90 degrees and photograph the ceiling -- great if you're in the Sistine Chapel! ;) But you can also easily take pictures of yourself if you swivel the lens 180 degrees. And this lens swivel feature goes wherever you set it, not just in 90 degree increments.
My camera holds up to 96 images at any time. You can delete unwanted images on the fly, instead of waiting until you upload them to the computer, if you like. The camera does not use a flash. You instead use available light, and change the aperture setting on the camera to accommodate inside lighting or outside full light. The instruction book is easy to read and the camera lets you know what setting to use.
The lens is built in and has two settings. The Normal setting is for portraits taken indoors or general outdoor images. The Macro setting is for close ups taken indoors and close-ups taken outdoors. As you might imagine, I try to use this Macro setting when photographing my needlework.
First, I should mention that I've only had the camera since Christmas, 1996, and so I'm still learning to use it and discovering what it can do. My primary use for this camera is to take photos that are good enough in quality to post on my website. Images saved as .jpg files are good for this purpose, and do not need to be of high resolution. These images can also be attached to e-mail to send to family members far away.
I can also save the photos at a higher resolution, and then print them to paper with a color printer. If you have a good quality image, and the right kind of high resolution paper, the printed images are quite nice ... like a good color copy of a photograph.
One thing I learned quickly ... the camera needs to be extremely steady to get a good shot. It is so lightweight that it is very difficult to hold it in my hand and get a shot that's not fuzzy, because the act of pushing the shutter causes the camera to shake.
When I first tried photographing my needlework, I found that it was best to place the camera on a table or other flat surface, then prop my needlework up in front of it. I use the swivel lens to get a good angle on the shot. Then used the timer feature to take the photo so that the camera was very steady and didn't have a chance to get shaken by me pressing the shutter.
Next I found that because the camera only uses available lighting, I needed to augment the light to get a better shot. The instruction book has some good cautions against photographing under fluorescent lighting, too.
I used a portable "camp light" ... the kind with a clip on the back and a metal "shade". I tried holding the light at various angles while looking at the image screen (which is comparable to looking through the lens of a regular camera). When I found a good light angle, I'd hold the lamp steady, press the camera's timer, and let the camera take the picture after a 10 second countdown.
For Mother's Day this year, my husband bought me a tripod. I believe this was in the $30 - $45 range, bought at a discount store like Target or K-Mart. This particular tripod is very lightweight ... more so than the tripod I saw at Radio Shack. Mine is full size, has telescoping legs, and a good clamp/screw for the camera to attach to it. This tripod has made a lot of difference in getting good, steady shots. And as a bonus, the tripod fits both my regular camera and my digital camera. I hear it will also hold a video camera.
After taking the photos, I attach the camera to the computer, open the camera's program, and transfer the images. The program that comes with the camera has some features that allow you to "tweak" the images to make the more clear, or to crop them. But I like to import the images from that program into a paint program that I'm more familiar with and work with the images there (I use PaintShop Pro). Once the image is tweaked to my satisfaction, I can then post it to my website.
I must admit this ... so far I've still gotten better results by photographing with my point and shoot 35mm camera, using magnifying filters than with my digital camera. The magnifying filters make ALL the difference in getting good, clear, detailed images. I then can scan the developed photos with a scanner. Of course, I've had much more practice with the 35mm camera than with the digital camera.
The digital camera takes some wonderful pictures outside in natural sunlight. I've been playing with photographing flowers, which when uploaded to the computer, can then be placed into a x-stitch graphing program and made into charts! And I have yet to attempt to take photos of completed stitchery using the digital camera outside. That may achieve good results. Time will tell.
The advantages to using the digital camera are these:
2. You can take lots and lots and lots of photos ... keeping the ones you like and deleting the yucky images.
3. You can take reasonably clear images that can be quickly uploaded to your computer as image files (with any number of file extensions ... .jpg, .gif, .tif, .pcx, etc.). This works wonderfully if you use the images on a website, as I do, or want to send the images as attached e-mail files.
4. Sometimes, for example if you are a designer, you only want to post a "reasonably clear" image rather than a clear, crisp image. You want your viewers to see what the finished stitched piece will look like, but not have it so clear that a knowledgeable computer user will copy your image, and then make their own x-stitch chart from it!
Like anything else, a digital camera is a tool. It's better for some applications than for others, and only by using the tool will you discover its strengths and weaknesses.
Next, we talked about backgrounds. When you take a photo of needlework, you want the needlework to show up well against its background. I find for a piece stitched on dark fabric, a light background is usually best. If the stitchery is done on light colored fabric with a light frame, a darker background does wonders. I've paid close attention to some of the patterns I've purchased in chart packs, which usually contain a photo of the finished piece. Lavender & Lace photos, I've noticed, are generally taken against a darker background which sometimes has a very tiny print (wallpaper, I assume). If you've ever noticed, Marilyn usually uses a lighter color fabric and ornate gold frames, so they show very well with the backgrounds.
Another problem can be trying to get a photo that doesn't show the needlework at an angle but head on. What I've done to prevent this is to hang the picture at MY eye level or just below. If I'm photographing outdoors, I try to place the stitched item or picture so if I sit down (either on a chair or on the ground), it will be at my eye level. One chatter told us she places her pictures face-up on the floor and does her photos that way.
Finally, we discussed that nasty word, "organization." I asked how stitchers store their needlework photos. ;-) This question was met with some comments stating that they're with all the other family photos. There are probably as many ways to store our stitchery photographs as there are people receiving this newsletter. :-) My favorite way is to put them in a large photo album. Under each photo is a label containing the information I want to keep about that particular project. I note the title of the pattern, the designer, the year it was stitched, fabric used, special fibers, changes I made to the original pattern, and any awards I've won with the needlework. Because I do some stitching for pay, this makes a great catalogue to show potential customers.
I wanted to add some information to the question about the color in
photographs. The quality of the film used could affect color but the two
major factors are how the photograph was taken and how it was developed.
The way the light is exposed on the film via the shutter speed and the
opening through the lens (the f stop) can greatly affect photographs
including what kind of light source is used. The developing process
basically encompasses the control of 4 variables (3 for the color and one
for darkness) which is not exact and can also be varied by whoever controls
the developing process and what assumptions they have made in how the
photographs are going to look. This would also apply to digital cameras
because even with that, certain variables are set by the camera and the
software.
--Linda
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