Photographing Your Makes with Kayla of KaylaSmithSews

June 02, 2022 1 Comment

Hello fellow creators! I am going to share a little something different on the blog today and talk about taking great pictures of your Raspberry Creek makes- specifically using a phone. I often say I am a pro phone photographer. What is a pro phone photographer? Well I don’t use an actual camera, nor am I any sort of a pro photographer, but I have found some tricks and tips that help me take the best phone photos possible. To show you my tips I was thrilled to pick out this simple and stunning sun print on double brushed poly (link here). I paired it with the mustard solid (link here). I picked this print because of the sun which is the key in my opinion to taking great pictures on a phone. 

My single biggest tip is to take pictures outside when at all possible. I have one spot in my house that is decent for taking pictures but only in the late afternoon when the sun is shining. I try to work around the weather and head outside. 

Tip number two- avoid direct sunlight. Find an area with complete shade or shoot for taking pictures on a bright but overcast day. Why? The phone camera can do a lot of things, but generally the flash is not great and it will struggle to fill in the shadows on your make. As you can see in this picture the shading on my make is just off (plus I am squinting) as the sun is too bright. 

I have found a few spots in my town that work well. I like going to a county park that happens to be just around the corner of my house and I use a huge tree as a sun avoidance technique. This area is shaded most of the day so it really helps being able to head over at anytime. I took all of these pictures in this spot. Another great place is an alley for the same reason- no direct sun most of the day- just avoid the time of the day when the sun is directly overhead. An alley picture with one of my favorite makes is Here. 

There are individual features some phones have that may help produce great photos. For example my phone  has a portrait mode which can help blur the background to focus attention on the make. Your phone may have an editing feature that you find useful. My advice here is just to try different features. 

One last tip is to use a tripod. I use the delayed timer on my phone and my tripod for nearly all of my pictures. Using a tripod means I do not need to wait for a family member to take pictures and the phone is always held nice and steady. My tripod is really old and does not hold phones, so I bought a cheap phone holder to attach to the tripod off amazon. It works great! 

Keep in mind taking pictures of your makes really builds confidence in your sewing and can help someone else.  I am often inspired by a make I see in the RCF Facebook group and on Instagram. So please don’t be afraid to take pictures to share your gift of sewing with others! Hopefully a few of these tips will help you become a “professional phone photographer”. 

Details of my make- the top is the cachet top from Sinclair patterns (affiliate link here) and the Sinclair lounge pants (affiliate link here). I highly recommend both patterns and love how they pair with double brushed poly from the shop! I am thrilled to have a new lounge set for the summer!

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