You spend a lot of time making your quilts and, whether you enter them in juried shows, send them to galleries or simply want to keep a photographic record in the form of a quilt journal, it is important to take as much care with your pictures as with your quilts.
The Big Photography “No-Nos”
Holding up the quilt and letting your head, hands and feet show around the perimeter of the quilt.
With the average lens, you have to get too far back from the picture—so far back that all your furniture and accessories show!
Inadequate lighting, resulting in colors that are not true.
Parallax problems resulting from lying the quilt on the floor. The front of the quilt looks wider than the back.
The use of simple flash lighting, which causes overexposure at the center of your picture and underexposure at the outside edges.
Glare reflecting off any shiny surfaces of the quilt.
What Can Castle Path Quilting Do To Give You Quality Photographs?
We use a Canon SLR Digital Camera with a tripod to capture a crisp and clear image.
We use the most appropriate lens adjustment that allows us to get as close to your quilt as possible while avoiding the barrel distortion that occurs with a very wide angle lens.
We take the picture in our light-balanced studio to ensure that the true colors of your quilt show.
We use seamless backdrops appropriate to the quilt—white quilts need a black backdrop while an all-white surface is better for a dark quilt.
We work with you to be sure we adequately emphasize your quilting designs.
We use the sophisticated histogram features on our camera to ensure the best possible exposure.
When necessary, we use ancillary lighting and reflectors.
We transfer the digital image into the exact electronic format required for show submissions.
What About the Use of Photo Editing Software?
We are trained in and use Adobe Photoshop to produce the best, most authentic image possible. We understand that the purpose of a quilt photograph, especially in a competition, is to represent the quilt with integrity and honesty. Photoshop has features that allow corrections or additional sharpening of the image, without misrepresenting the actual item photographed. Unless prohibited by rules, we may use this software in our photography producing process.