Taking Pictures of Quilts

[suzeyg43]

How do most of you take your quilt pictures? I guess what I mean is do you hang them up? How do you hand them up, what do you hang them on or from? Looking for ideas:)

[LadyLake]

I set my camera on the highest resolution possible to get the quilting detail and take one full and one close up photo of each customer quilt. I devised an 8' dowel with plaster tie backs that the dowel goes thru, but find it is too time intensive to hang. Instead, I take close-ups while the quilt is still on the machine, trying for shadows to highlight the quilting. I drape the full quilt over the machine rails and stand on a chair to get the full photo. Others have better hanging systems that I'm sure will post, but I've started liking the draping because it gives more life to the quilt.

[Dave-Jane]

If you've seen any of mine I like to have them laid out on my inspection/ thread pulling and final once over table to show the detail, seems to show up better when laying out. I take close ups while they are hanging, it doesn't give that angle look and shows the stitching as it really is. So I use both depending on the quilt and what I'm gonna take the picture of. Take Care--Dave B

[barbm]

Suzey,

I found a "photographer's backdrop stand" on Craigslist a couple years ago, which I use to hang a quilt for taking pictures. That way I can hang it up in my living room (slightly higher ceiling) and perpendicular to my living room window, so better shadow lighting.

Since then I have bought three more of these stands through various e-bay stores - I use them in my show booth to hang quilts for my booth backdrop and side walls. Some stands are heavier and able to hold up the really heavy quilts, but if you're using it just to temporarily hang a customer quilt for a photo session, pretty much any of them would work. Holler if you want a link to the e-bay stores I have used.

Good luck!

[Mrs.A]

Suzey:

You didn't tell us the purpose of the photographs...are you building a portfolio of your quilting work or do you intend to use these photographs to enter quilt shows? Most of the larger shows require two photos (one detail shot and one shot of the entire quilt including all edges). The detail shots are much easier to get. Side lighting will highlight your quilting.

Full shots of larger quilts can be difficult. My design wall is large enough to handle most of them. You can also use those photographer's stands or you can set up one wall with a long curtain rod mounted high on the wall. I think I saw that in a longarmer's workroom...she has the quilts hanging when customers come to pick them up. There were rings on the curtain rod with clips attached (since these quilts don't yet have binding or a sleeve). Another longarmer friend of mine has a row of inexpensive carpentry clamps mounted along one wall of her studio just beneath the ceiling. She often photographs customer quilts before they're picked up.

I got a lot of helpful information on this subject by googling 'quilt photography'. Some tips I learned were to use a tripod for the camera and the highest resolution setting. To avoid distortion, the camera should be centered on the quilt. Enhanced indoor lighting is preferable to outdoor... I have two simple clamp-on lights from the hardware store. I clamp them to chairs placed on either side of the camera (at about camera height).

Now if I could only learn how to post a photo on this forum...

Well, that's another subject entirely. Good luck with your photos, Nancy in Tucson

[suzeyg43]

thanks for all the great ideas! You have given me some things to think about, and I am just taking pics for my own records (bragging rights I supose you would say) or maybe like a memory backup system, age is not kind to my brain...