This massive compilation of the web’s most useful articles and blog posts about photographing crafts has it all: backgrounds, cameras, lighting, tutorials, styling, composition – if it’s not here, it doesn’t exist! (Okay, we’re kidding on that one – if you know of a good resource we missed, tell us in the comments!! ) Here…
Simple Guide to the Best Smartphone Camera
Updated fall 2013. Not a techie? That’s okay – here’s our updated, plain English look at who’s making the best smartphone camera in fall 2013. Just a few years ago, a camera on a phone was a novelty, a way to take a small, rather grainy snapshot of whatever you pointed at. But every product cycle,…
Black Background Photography: The Secret… is Velvet
I’m fascinated by black background photography. Solid black backgrounds are so bold and beautiful, but they are rather difficult to achieve with amateur equipment. I bought a number of (what I thought were) black placemats, only to be disappointed as they turned out grey and pale in photos. PVC, polyester, cotton, felt, black paper –…
Free Inspiration: Etsy Shops with Great Photos #1
Ready to get inspired? Check out these three Etsy shops with great photos! Looking at the photos of successful Etsy shops is a great way to grow as a photographer and crafter. Far from “copying” or “stealing”, it’s more like studying and absorbing the best of the best. Just be careful not to get lost…
The Magic of Bounce Lighting
Have you heard of bounce lighting? Bounce lighting is a super easy, no-budget way of making your product photos look amaaaazing. Do your product photos have harsh shadows on one side? Are you taking photos next to a sunlit window? Is your lighting uneven? Does the shadow under your product blend into your product itself?…
Photoshop Tutorial: Fake a Background Blur
One major drawback of digital photography (and point and shoot cameras in general) is that everything is in focus! But what if you’d like parts of your photos (such as the backgrounds) to be blurry and out of focus? In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use Photoshop to fake a background blur. The…