Friday, July 16, 2010

Photographically inept!

  
   I know a good photograph when I see it. That's why it's such a frustration to me that I can't look through my camera lens and take one!! Look at this fabulous To pluck down justice from your awful bench a fine art travel photography print (10x10) photo done by Raceytay on Etsy . It makes you want to find out where this bench is, just so you can sit in it and say you'd been there!
   Every since I opened my shop on Etsy me and the camera have been mortal enemies! It started with me trying to take good photos of my 'Wuglyee' scarves . This is what I thought was a good photo of my Wine Me Winter Too Scarf  back then...
   Pitiful!!!...I look at it now and I just feel sad. Sad because I can see all of the bad shadows, the bad setting, the lack of detail, and Oh! the mannequin!...*shaking my head*...But also sad because I DON'T WANT TO TAKE THEM OVER AGAIN!!! LOL I'm almost tempted to take all of the scarves out of my shop rather than photograph them again!...The only help for this photo, which I did using Picassa, was cropping...
    Okay, so it's not much better...Who would even know from looking at this scarf that it's actually quite fabulous! It's soft, has wood beads sewn on the ends, and I put a lot of work into the detailing. I think nobody's bought it yet because they can't really see it! And my photography isn't helping them!
   I tried to look around and take some clues from some of the great photographers on Etsy like Raceytay whose photograph is my header picture today. I learned a lot just looking through her shop. And believe me, anybody really wanting some good photographs for a room in their house or as a gift for a friend, can't go wrong with her photos! I mean, just check out this Hydrangea, the Umpossible fine art flower photography print (10x10)
   In fact, she's not alone. I'm always roaming around Montagyoo . It's another Etsy shop with fabulous photos! This is one. It's a 4x6 Dogwood print .
  You can almost smell the clean fragrant air while you're sitting in the faint morning sun, can't you?! It's so inviting...Not like the photo of my Candy Corn Look Scarf ...
       ...The faint morning sun in this photo just makes you wonder why that mannequin is so close to that window! And is that a tree out the window? What is that on the windowsill?....UGH! I tried cropping it...
...Does it look any better?!....I know it doesn't look as good as this "Vintage Filigree Necklace ..." in this excellent photo by Vintage Filigree .
   She has a beautiful shop, with the most stunningly beautiful photos of her jewelry that I've ever seen. Hers was one of the very first shops that gave me a hint of the 'Photo Jealousy Monster'! I was only jealous for a hot second though. That's how long it took me to figure out that the reason her photos are so great is because of her hard work on them!...Now, it's just a matter of how hard do I want to work on mine!
   So, I lightened this Baby Blue Jay Scarf ...
...I did a little somethin' somethin' to my Red And Black Stylish Scarf ...from this...
...to this...
    Okay, so it still doesn't look that great! :-) But, rest assured that because of all of the good examples I've seen, I do know what a good photograph looks like. I've even taken a couple here and there myself that I've been happy with! Like my Purple And White Beetle Button Two Painted Seasons Necklace
   I love that you can not only see the detail in the button, but you can also see the threads so clearly! I had a good day with this one! Clearly I haven't had a lot of good days strung all together!! LOL I'm going to continue to work on it though....against my will!!! And thankfully there's tips to help me in this forum thread about taking photos.

 My Inside Is Not Out

On the inside, I am skinny,
and my clothes all fit just right.
I wear shorts 'Just like a trooper',
and my shoes don't fit too tight.

On the inside, I feel great
when we go out to a restaurant.
I can slide right in a booth,
and I can eat just what I want.

On the inside, I love shopping,
and just walking through the Mall.
I can exercise for hours,
and my breath's not short at all.

On the inside, there's no diet
filling my head with shame and doubt;
Words like 'Atkins' and 'Weight Watchers'
are things I don't know about.

But- My Inside Is Not Out!!

On the outside, I am heavy,
and my clothes don't  fit me right.
I wear skirts , instead of pants,
and my bra's always too tight.

On the outside, when I'm smiling,
its because of stomach gas;
Not because I'm just so happy
to be eating soy and grass.

On the outside, I hate shopping,
except through the catalog.
I get winded when I walk,
and I don't  even try to jog!

No, But on the outside, there's  no diet
that would change what I'm about;
I'd look different, but I'd  be
happy, loving, plump and stout-
Just the same-Just inside out! 

11 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for including my photo here! I have to say though, I'm not too good at "item" photos either... just see my vintage kitchenware section. :/ Best of luck working on your photos! Beautiful shop, by the way. :)

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  2. Montagyoo, I had never even seen your vintage dishes...and I've been in your shop a lot!! And FYI, they still look better than mine!! :-))...And thanks for the complement on the shop. I'm trying!!!

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  3. Anonymous7/16/2010

    Lovely blog...You know I think your photos look beautiful (it's even more difficult at least for me to try photographing large items)
    you are a sweet heart, best of luck with your photos and if I can help in anyway, please just ask thru Etsy :)
    Thanks a million,
    Federikas VintageFiligree.etsy.com

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  4. Anonymous, Thank you! I'm going to keep on plugging away at them! You may be hearing from me!! :-)

    Thanks again for letting me share your work. :-)

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  5. You make me laugh & I think you may be a bit hard on yourself. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  6. Diane, You're not the first person that's told me that, but then they see my scarf photos...and are stunned into complete silence!!! LOL

    Thank you! Have a great weekend yourself!

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  7. OMG, you must be a mind reader! I was just looking at my etsy shop with my scarves and thought I should just take it all down - the photos are so bad! That is the most frustrating part for me in all of this - taking good photos! If you figure something out, let me know... Hugs, Silke

    P.S. I really like your photos, by the way!!

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  8. Photography is so personal and it is a learning process. I think my pics are horrible. But I take good candid pics of our reenactment group. It's an eye and some of it is just plain luck!! Keep on keepin on. That's what I keep telling myself :-)

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  9. Maritime, I think you're right about sometime it's being random, catching a good shot I mean. As to keepin' on, that's what I'm going to do...whether I want to or not!!! LOL Thanks for the encouragement too!

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  10. Hi Poet,

    I had a very large learning curve on the photography when I started. Some of my items still need re-shooting but you can tell which ones were taken after I figured out some of the key elements. Much has to do with your camera and settings but I have the best luck when I shoot outside on a sunny day-in the shade. I still use a flash most often but have very little editing to do once the photo is in picasa. It took me a year to figure out the distance from object to camera on close-ups but that was the next biggest key for me. Best of luck to you!

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  11. Silke, Ha! Ha! I guess great minds DO think alike!...If I figure it out, I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath! :-))

    Pynk,
    You sound like a real pro! Oh if only I could have your brain and camera sense for a couple of days....but that's not going to happen. So, I'll keep at it.

    By the way, I have some photos of my necklaces outside on a sunny day-in the shade....BLECH!! Looked all washed out! UGH! I think I need to read the camera manual again...and again...and again! LOL

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