Photos

[hdflred]

Just a thought and I really don't want to patronise anyone if you are all doing already, but I am sat here busy tweeking my photos for my new Valentines range.

And thought, "I have read many posts where people have said they are unhappy with the quality of their pics."

Do you use photo editors? I only ask this as I had awful photos until I started using a free one from photoserif and then I was able to lighten and brighten and chop and all sorts of stuff and it made such a big difference. I'm not saying my pics are perfect, but at least now I am happy to put them on my site.

Anyway like I say just a thought..........

[Trixie]

I don't think anyone would think that you are patronising them, after all not everyone is great with computers so for those it is handy to know and may help them, Personaly I use Jasc photo shop pro which is pretty old now but does the job.

[krafty1]

Mine really are terrible and I often wonder how you all manage to get such great close up pictures, especially on all the lovely jewellery.

I use Adobe Photoshop and although it can lighten, brighten crop etc it's pretty basic so I am always on the lookout for another programme that people can recommend. I'll go and have a look at photoserif and see if it's better. Thank you

[beadsbydesign]

even professional photographers use photo editing techniques.
I use paintshop pro 6 and love the freedom it gives me with it's functions.

[silvermaid]

I agree photos do make a big difference if you are hoping to sell online.
I think one of the main things is to try and start with the clearest photo's possible. There is nothing more off-putting than seeing fuzzy photos on a website, especially as a photo is generally a poor substitute to seeing something handmade 'in the flesh'.
By this I mean using a camera with the highest number of pixels as you can and using the macro setting to your best advantage. You don't need a really expensive camera, my camera (Samsung Digimax D103) cost just over £100 and takes far better photos than my sister and BIL's cameras which both cost £300+. If camera you have doesn't take decent pictures you could always ask your friends if they will let you borrow their camera for a day if theirs is better.
Once you have clear photo's then you can play about with the colours, tones and brightness with a picture editor but if you start with fuzzy pictures no amount of tweaking will make them clearer.

Melanie

[snowgoose]

id agree with Mel on this, iv got a new camera and bits all costing about £150 but you need to know how to take good pictures before you can edit them to make them better

[SaraStamper]

Mine really are terrible and I often wonder how you all manage to get such great close up pictures, especially on all the lovely jewellery.

I use Adobe Photoshop and although it can lighten, brighten crop etc it's pretty basic so I am always on the lookout for another programme that people can recommend. I'll go and have a look at photoserif and see if it's better. Thank you

Photoshop is a top quality package that the professional photographers use for editing - it shouldn't be basic unless perhaps it's a very old version? You might find something simpler to use (it's so powerful that it can be difficult to find your way around) but really you can't get much better than Photoshop. As others have said though you still need a reasonably good pic in the first place to be able to edit it.

I use Photoshop a fair bit so I'd be happy to try and answer questions if you have any.

Sara

[krafty1]

Photoshop is a top quality package that the professional photographers use for editing - it shouldn't be basic unless perhaps it's a very old version? You might find something simpler to use (it's so powerful that it can be difficult to find your way around) but really you can't get much better than Photoshop. As others have said though you still need a reasonably good pic in the first place to be able to edit it.

I use Photoshop a fair bit so I'd be happy to try and answer questions if you have any.

Sara

It's Adobe Photoshop 2.0 so it probably is an old version. Although I've found it one of the more comlicated programmes to conquer, I have worked (most) everything out and actually have no bother working my way round it and have done some pretty neat stuff with it but thanks for the offer anyway, that's kind

My camera is a Fujifilm A350 and normally takes really great pics but I just can't seem to get the close up details. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.
Do you all take from further away and crop?
I try and take closer but end up all blurry

[Recycled Bag Lady]

To get a good close up you will need to use the macro setting (often a little tulip icon). Use the best lighting you can - I try to use soft daylight wherever possible. I don't like to use the flash as it bleaches out detail. I find if the basics of focus and light are right (plus a good, neutral background) then I rarely see the need to edit them further (although even that is open to opinion! ).

[snowgoose]

yeah, macro is a must for close up good pictures, also try using the camera further away and using the optical zoom on the camera. The images may be blurry due to camera shake so try setting it down on something and then taking the picture.

[krafty1]

Thank you both, that's very helpful

I know I have that little tulipy icon cos I've seen it on my camera before, just need to figure out how to get it back now


edit.... ok have tried it, was really simple cos there's actaully a button with the tulip icon on it

Wow you're not kidding about the detail you can pick up, thank you both very much, that's been so helpful

[Recycled Bag Lady]

Yay! Well done, glad you found it!
I find I get better pics from getting close up and using macro, rather than using the zoom facility, especially if the light is good. If the light is poor and you need to use flash, then stand further back and use zoom, but use a tripod or at the very least, steady your arms on something.

[SaraStamper]

Glad you've found it.

There's a minimum distance that you need to be away from whatever you're focusing, for the autofocus to work properly. The macro function helps set this at the smallest distance possible. Don't forget to switch it back again if you use your camera for other things otherwise you might also have problems (things near to you in focus but further away are blurry).

If you have to use flash then you'll probably need to move further back again (otherwise the flash floods the photo) but then you can either zoom in (if you have a zoom) or crop the picture in editing software.

[beadsbydesign]

there have been some interesting and informative information on photographing craft objects on this forum over the past year. at one stage we had a photographer called Ian beckerton on the forum. You'll be able to find some advice using the search button on the top blue bar.

[silvermaid]

If anyone is still having problems with their macro setting it may be because you need to focus the camera before you take the picture by pressing the shutter button halfway and waiting a few seconds for the camera to focus before you take the photo.

Melanie