carolinequilts Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Does anyone have any secrets for taking digital photos of their quilts? I have a Fujifilm digital camera (S1000) and before that a Canon, but I just don't seem to be able to take a good picture with either. This leads me to believe it is the photographer, not the equipment! My pictures never have the detail I would like to see (i.e. quilting texture, or fabric/print detail), and my colours are always wrong and washed out looking. Any help would be appreciated. I would love to be able to post better pictures of my work. I do not have a fancy camera, but these ones were over $200 and I would expect that they should do the trick. I do not plan to purchase another camera anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cblevins Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Caroline, I have gotten great pictures of my quilts with an inexpensive camera. I put the quilt on my bedroom floor...stand on the bed and snap away. There is a ceiling fan that I have to duck under:P I have gotten the best pictures this way. I don't know if it is because of "looking down" or what but it works for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 To get the quilting detail turn the flash off. Also, if you can get some kind of side lighting, and it doesn't need to be much, but some lighting from the side will show the detail. Now, the professional quilt picture takers will tell you to hang your quilt for the very best picture. For me, I lay mine on my couch and let it flow down onto the floor. Then I open the blinds in the living room window and turn off the flash on my camera. I takes lots and lots of pictures because I have found that when the flash is off, so is the anti shake feature. I try to put my camera on something that will hold my camera steady so I know I am getting a few good shots. Then I weed out the bad, fuzzy pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltlover03 Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Caroline I use a Canon rebel Ti SLR on a Tripot and try to take pictures with the flash off with as much natural light as possible. I use a Photo editor like Picasa (Free) and highlight each picture and then add just a touch of shadow. This does not distort the color (very important for my store) and shows the detail. Picasa is free from Google. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted March 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Thanks everyone- sounds like 'flashless' is the way to go! Monika - I am going to download Picasso. Do you hang your quilt or lay on the floor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Sparrow Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I agree with the 'NO FLASH' For great detail of the quilting, place your quilt on the floor between you and a sunny window. I wait till the sun is shining directly in the window everyday and rush to get all the quilts photographed. Works like a charm. This is also a great way to see detail on the back of the quilt when you normally can't see the matching thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Originally posted by carolinequilts Do you hang your quilt or lay on the floor? Not Monika here, but when I hang I stand in front with side lights and flash off...and when the quilt lays on the floor I get a ladder and get above it and shoot down onto it...also can use side lights and again no flash. Also I try to do a very close up with the 4-12 inch lense as well. That is usually the tulip image on your camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltlover03 Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Bonnie is right, I forgot to mention I always use the "Tulip" macro on my cameras for indoor shots or closeups. Since I mostly take pictures for my store, i fold my Quilts and take a closeup picture of the details for the customers to see. for the overall I try to shoot them on the bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparkle Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 Hi Caroline, I prefer to take pictures outdoors. But indoors I have certain times of the day in particular spots in the house near large windows---no bright sun, just normal light, and get some pretty good shots-- This pic of Dawn Rameriz's Dwirling technique on a string quilt was taken at about 10:00 am with light from eastern exposure through a large window in our bedroom with the quilt placed across the bed. Camera: Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18 No flash. I do some editing with Mac photo editing software (iPhoto or Pixlmator) when needed. No editing on this particular photo. If you don't already have some type of photo editing software, you might want to invest in such a program to edit or enhance your photos. Most of these types of programs offer the ability to sharpen images, increase or decrease shadow, contrast and definition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meg_marsh Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I too have gone through several cameras. For color - the best I have found is the Panasonic Lumix group - turn the flash off! When I went shopping for my last camera, I went to the camera store and started taking pictures with each camera looking specifically for color - Panasonic won hands down!!! It has a great macro - not the best on the market (Sony's and Canon's are better) but it is definitely good enough for the quilting details you are looking for. I found that I was always tweaking the colors using the programs on my computer with my past cameras - with the Panasonic, I do very little tweaking!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAQuilts Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 No Flash and natural light is the best. In the rooms I usually take photos of my quilts I have daylight lightbulbs in the fixtures. Regular light bulbs will add more of a gray, yellow or blue cast to your photo. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjtinkle Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 I typically turn OFF the lights in the room if there is a window and I have to take a quilt picture inside. Even though I have daylight fluorescents, the color comes out true but the quilting detail is lost. You'll need a tripod though, and should use the timer function on your camera when shooting in low light. I usually set my film speed to 400. I snapped this one today (my first quilt on my Milly by the way, woohoo!) and it's cloudy outside, with no lights on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 8, 2010 Report Share Posted March 8, 2010 What I try to do is hang the quilt on a wall and then brace the camera on the back of a roller chair or something else solid. That helps to keep the camera still and no blurry photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fineseams Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 Here's a good web site with info on how to take good pix of quilts. Check it out. http://hollyknott.com/stq/index.htm Bonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carolinequilts Posted March 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 Thank you everybody for all of these great ideas! And what a beautiful quilt Angie. You can really see the texture in there. And yours too CJ. I can see you got your Circle Lord up and functioning! Good job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted March 9, 2010 Report Share Posted March 9, 2010 I adjusted my digital camera for maximum resolution and it works great. I'm only able to take about 12 photos before the camera is full and I have to down load, but that is plenty for one quilt. I also use the 'close-up' function (for 30 inches or closer) for the close-ups. I have a Kodak EasyShare. Natural light and position seem to be key, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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