Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Taylored Expressions March Studio Challenge! 8-)

Hi All & a Very Happy Tuesday to you! 8-) It's time for the Baker's Dozen Studio Challenge.  This is a monthly opportunity for the Taylored Expressions team to share what makes our stamping studios hum.  Each month we  have a fun, crafty question so we can share our favorites, some tips and tricks, stamping advice and more.
The question for March is:
You oughta be in pictures!! 


We all love to share our completed projects with others on our blogs and in on-line galleries.  So, when the stamping ends, the photography begins.  This is a fun step for some and a frustrating one for others.  How is it for you? 
Tell us how you get those beautiful project photos.

OMGoodness what a Super Question! For me, sometimes it's a breeze and sometimes not so much, lol ;-) I actually had a heck of a time with the above photo, lol and after futzing and adjusting it's still not quite as sharp as I'd like,  So, I'm actually really excited to see what my Fellow Baker's Dozen Team mates photo process and tips are, as I really don't consider myself "All that and a bag of chips" when it comes to photographing my projects, lol... In fact, Quite the Opposite! 8-)  I just try to keep it as simple as possible for me, and hope like heck that the pics look good to you guys out there! lol... ;-)

Here are a couple of pics of my Ultra Deluxe Photo studio set up ;-)...
LOL, Seriously though, nothing Super Fancy here..:-) This is actually the other side of our home office I share with my Darling Hubby, It's actually his desk that I use to set up my lights with their little diffuser covers. Two of them are , set up on his desk and the third is set up on one of our dinning room chairs, that I drag in each time I take pics, lol Pretty Fancy Shmancy, huh... 8-)
And here you can see I use the chair to my Crafting Table covered with an Ivory pillow case for my backdrop for photographing my Sweet little Basket Full Easter cards.. In a pinch I will use a file box and the same pillow case draped over it, right on our kitchen table if the sun is shinning thru just right,that is lol... But for the most part I think the pics taken with my little light set up turn out the best and it doesn't matter if the sun is shinning or not or even if it's 3:00am.. I can still take my pics! 8-) My light set came from OBN Photo, though I no longer see the set up I have in their online shop..It came with three lights, three diffusers for the lights & 2 different sizes of light boxes, one large & one small, but you know, I have never used them, lol.  To me it's just too many steps, and a bit of a hassle to have to take everything out, set it up and then turn around and put it all away, lol So I really do try to keep it as simple as possible. And I think the lights with their little diffuser covers do a pretty decent job all by themselves...;-)

Here are a few finished pics taken with my Photo set up shown above...
Believe it or not, the camera I use is my I-Phone 4s's Camera...It actually takes better pics than the little digital camera my Hubby gave me, and so many less steps to worry about too.. I just pull up a little stool to sit on and take my pics with my I-Phone and email them to myself as I go, no memory stick or uploading to my lap-top required.. LOVE that!! For me the less steps the better, lol...So When I am all finished putting away my lights, and the dinning room chair,lol, its pretty cool that my pics are already on my computer in my in-box. 
From my email, I just drop them into I-Photo( I have a Mac) and edit them from there..There is a cool little "enhance" feature in I-photo that I use, that does most of the work for me, and I just tweak the saturation and sharpness from there a little and crop of course.. Then it gets imported into Aperture to add my watermark, and that's really about it for me.. See, I really do try to keep it simple simple.. lol One tip I've found when taking pics with my I-Phone is that it helps to have something to stand you phone up on, to keep it still and steady rather than trying to hold the camera still in your hands while taking your pics.     
Oh and I've listed all the product I used for my Photography "Subject Project" below.. So If you have any questions on my Basket Full Easter card set's how to's, just email me or leave me your questions in the comments, and I'll be sure to get back to you... 8-)

Be sure to stop by and check out what the rest of the Baker's Dozen has whipped up for you today...
Here are the items I used for my project today...
 
Hope you all have a Fantastic day & Thanks so much for dropping in! 8-)
Thanks for stopping by!

25 comments:

  1. ADORABLE cards, Shannon and I loved reading about your "fancy schmancy setup"!! LOL You are too funny!

    ReplyDelete
  2. DANG GIRL!!! You went all pro on us! Look at those awesome lights - looooove that! No wonder you pictures always look so great! Your cards are completely adorable. Thanks for sharing your set up!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gorgeous cards! I cannot believe you used your iphone for those lol! They look better than anything coming from my camera. Maybe I'd have better luck trying that. Great tips.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sweet cards, Shannon! Loved seeing your setup and reading all about it - it works very well! And LOL about "all that and a bag of chips"!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Darling cards Shannon. Love the super cute image, the coloring... the clouds look awesome! The felt flowers are so pretty! I've been trying to find the perfect place for photo lamps... luckily I don't have to set them up every time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Super cute cards! Thanks for sharing your steps in how you get such great results in taking photos of your cards.

    ReplyDelete
  7. These are super cute! I love the darsling Easter images. You do a great job photographing your cards. :)


    Hugs~

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for sharing your fancy schmancy lighting set up, Shannon! I'll check on those lights, too, and see if they have something similar - do you use the bulbs that came with the lights? Or what type do you use? The cards are darling, of course. While I enjoy everything about them, my favorite part (are you ready?) my favorite part is the unexpected amazing lavender poke a dot layer behind the cloud panel - it adds just the right touch! hugs, de

    ReplyDelete
  9. Gorgeous set of cards! And are you serious? Your iphone? Wonderful pics every time!

    ReplyDelete
  10. We used the same set today:) Love your tips and I think your pictures look fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I really learned a lot from today's post! WOW! You use your I-phone to take pics?! They always turn out perfectly!! Great cards, great tips, thanks for all of it!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Adorable cards Shannon, and thanks so much for the photo taking tips! hugs, Kimberly

    ReplyDelete
  13. OMGoodness I LOVED this post! I think your photos are FABULOUS and I loved seeing and reading ho you do it! Also LOVED your Easter cards! That chocolate bunny looks good enough to eat!

    ReplyDelete
  14. These are way to cute Shannon with the darling images, your fab coloring and fun dps! Cool to see how you do your pics!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Gorgeous cards! And thank you for sharing how you photograph your cards!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your cards are so cute! What a great hop. Just what I needed so I can take better pictures of my cards.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Super fun Easter cards...so pretty! Thanks so much for the tutorial on how to take great photos!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Aww these are SO sweet Shannon! what cute images and I love your colouring.. the sky background is awesome! Love the pretty colours and layouts! :-)
    Love your photo studio set up!! it's interesting to see how other people photograph their cards… thanks for sharing your tips… your photos always look fab hun!!
    Big hugs
    Sue xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Shannon, I loved reading about your setup, your Ultimate Deluxe studio is perfect! :) Btw, I'm loving the purple polka dot border on your label stacklets! TFS, sweet momma!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love your Easter cards. This may be a stupid question but how did you put your clouds as a background for your card? Thanks Judy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Judy! Thanks for your inquiry! 8-) I use a templet created with my Cloud border die, tumbled glass distress ink, and a small stippling brush.. I mask with the template & Instead of sponging my tumbled glass distress ink, I brush it with light upward strokes darker in the "v's" of the clouds.. then slide the template down and do the next row, etc.. Hope that helps.. 8-)

      Delete
  21. These are adorable Shannon!! Your coloring is gorgeous and I love the fluffy clouds! Fantastic way to take pictures!!
    Hugs, Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  22. Shannon, that's so cool the way you take pictures of your cards - and they ALWAYS come out just fantastic looking! I'll have to try using my phone and see if I can get a better picture now. Love your light set up too.

    AND, last but not least........love your cards!! So spring-y and pretty! CUTE images and the perfect paper - as always. Loving those clouds again too.

    Lynn

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hihihi, great to see how you take your pictures!! I take mine by daylight on a Bookshelf, last year I bought a small photostudio but it didn't work so I returned it.
    Love your eastercards!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Absolutely the sweetest cards ever!! Love these bright colors….they are just too cute!

    ReplyDelete

I truly Love receiving your comments, they always make me smile... Thanks so much for taking the time to visit today... 8-)