Welcome back, I posted a well received post about Photographing Your Cards a while back, and this is part 2! For today I thought I’d share with you some common problems I see with photographs of cards and other paper craft projects, along with some tips on how to fix them!
These are things I commonly see when I organize blog hops, tutorial bundles, and virtual swaps. While I’m not perfect and my photos aren’t always the greatest, these are some things to keep an eye out that will improve your photos and make your projects more appealing on social media, tutorials, wherever you share them!
The card I used for my examples is from this month’s Paper Pumpkin kit, which featured two designs of love themed cards perfect for Valentine’s day! Check back on Saturday to see the other card, as well as my alternative project when I’ll be participating in a blog hop featuring the Sending Hearts kit. Here’s a look at two examples of photos I would be happy to post on social media!
I won’t be going over specific camera settings or how to change them as this will be different for everyone. If I talk about changing a setting and you’re not sure how, type your camera model into Google (for example mine is a Canon PowerShot SX240HS) and the setting you’re looking to learn about. You can also consult your manual for detailed instructions.
The first is taken flat on my desk with an overhead ring light. I usually tilt my card a bit when I take a photo from this angle so that it’s not as flat and boring.
The second photo I’ve added a couple more lights to ensure even lighting, and stood the card up on a background that has a ‘sweep’ or curve up to create the seamless backdrop.
One common problem I see is over or under exposure. This basically means that the image is too bright or too dark. While most cameras do fairly well in automatic mode, they can be confused if the project or background is very dark or very light. You can tweak the exposure in all cameras (including phone cameras) so learning how to do it on the camera you use can save you a lot of work editing after the fact. While exposure can be corrected to some degree, it always gives a better result to get it right in the camera!
Another common problem that’s an easy fix in camera is color balance, sometimes also called white balance. This is the color cast of the overall photo. Like with exposure the camera will try to make this even and neutral, so if there’s an overwhelming color in your project it may adjust too far. Like with exposure, this can be corrected during editing to some extent, but it’s better to get it right!
One common problem that can’t be fixed after the fact is resolution. A low resolution image is blurry and details are lost, and there’s no fixing that. There are several ways that you can end up with a low resolution photo. The most common, and the easiest to fix, is that the camera you’re using is not capable of capturing a higher resolution image (which hasn’t been a concern unless you’re using a camera that’s from the 90s) or is set to capture a lower resolution image. Some people do this in order to be able to take more photos on a memory card, but it results in lower quality images.
You can also lower the resolution of your image inadvertently by cropping excessively or using digital zoom. Digital zoom is the same as cropping, and happens any time you’re zooming in without a physical lens moving. Most phone cameras are using digital zoom when you zoom in, so be aware of that!
OK, moving on from the technical! Backgrounds can be very tricky. Here’s an example of a photo that’s just taken on my desk, with a cluttered background that’s not very appealing (man I need to clean my desk…)
It’s easy enough to just block out the clutter though! Here I used the backing from a package of DSP. While this is better, The card is close to the background, which makes the line between the ‘wall’ and the ‘floor’ a bit distracting and it doesn’t give much dimension to the image. This image could be improved by moving the card and camera further away from the background, but that increases the amount of space you need.
One solution to this is to use a background that ‘sweeps’ up without a harsh divide. This photo I’ve used such a background, but the camera is still too close to the project. The lighting is uneven too, which I’ll talk about in a second. Stepping back and zooming in will vastly improve this, and in fact is exactly what I did to take the photo at the top of this post! Just be aware of your digital zoom and image resolution.
So I mentioned uneven lighting… the most common thing I see here is when the camera, or the photographer, comes between the light and the project, resulting in a shadow like in this photo. This is an easy fix though, just be aware of shadows and make sure you’re not coming between your light source and your project!
That photo also illustrated another common problem I see, and that’s the angle of the project in relation to the camera. I’ve exaggerated the problem for these examples, but even a subtle change like in the photo above can be distorting. While these angles can be great for showing texture, detail, and dimension, it’s always best to include at least one photo where the project is square on to the camera as those feature your project the best and give the viewer the best overview of the card. The other angles can then fill in the details within that context if that makes sense. This is as important with standing cards as it is with flat laying cards!
The last thing I wanted to show you is a flat lay with props. I’m not great at these, but I love the look and it can add some great interest and detail to your photos. Just make sure that the props aren’t overwhelming, are relevant to your project, and make sense in the context of the over all photo!
These photos are also a great start for a graphic! Here I just added some text to my photo which makes it a great lead in to this blog post when I post it on social media. Pinterest especially LOVES these types of graphics and I know I need to get better at making and posting them as it increases engagement on Pinterest and other platforms.
Thank you for hearing me out with some tips on photographing your cards and paper craft projects. Feel free to comment or email me your questions to Stefanie@TheCraftyMedic.com, and I’ll be posting a part 3 for sure! You can also join my Facebook group Crafty Collaborations to join in on tutorial bundles and blog hops. I’ll be offering a weekly photo critique there as well where you can post your photos and I’ll help you improve them.
Anytime you place an order in my online store and use the host code on the right, you will also get a free mail & make class automatically mailed to you! Just place your order with the host code on your right, then join us for the Facebook live near the end of the month on my Facebook group “Creating with The Crafty Medic” where you can also take part in regular creative challenges, complete with prizes!
Great post Stefanie, thanks for sharing. I know I try to avoid some of these, but need to experiment with flat lays too.x
Wow, lots of good information. This makes me take a good look at my photography and it really needs to improve. I'm always in awe of shots on Instagram that are done well, and always trying to work and improve on my own. Appreciate all the work you put into both posts.
awesome details!