Experimenting with Photography - Day 20

February 11, 2019

Looking for inspiration comes naturally to most people in the world of making and crafting. Every turn of the head can bring new and fresh ideas of what you can possibly make - that is what you really want to make. Have you ever gone into a store and looked at some of their items and think to yourself, "I can make that?"

It happens all so often to me but by the time I get home, I have forgotten most of the details of what I had just seen. In comes photography, probably not what you were thinking when you saw the title of this article.

Photography is great when you want to remember the details of something that caught your eye or imagination. Smartphones have certainly made this much easier! Initially, when I started snapping pictures in a store I felt guilty of stealing ideas but that soon faded when I realized I could gain more insights into what was selling than I would by just searching around the internet.

Now there are some tips and tricks on getting good photography you can actually use when you download the images to your computer. The key is in focus, angle, and background.

Don't feel bad if you take something off the shelf in a store and place it where the lighting, background, and focus will be much easier. It is better to take a good photo you can use rather than just any old pic.

I visited our local bookstore which sells home decor items, games, kitchenware, and even books. Over the holidays they had some magnificent displays of items to buy. These displays made it easy to take photos. Often, great displays are not in place as items can be placed on a shelf and that is about it. If you take the item of interest off the shelf, find a place in the store where you can get a good angle to actually make the photo like a product shot for a listing in an online store. This way you will have something useable.

I have photographed crochet items where I love the color combinations and pattern stitches and I have photographed store windows where the display brought attention to a few items. All of these images have helped with my mood boards and color palettes. Nothing is left to chance when I take pictures of inspiring ideas.

You do not need to be a professional photographer to get good images with your SmartPhone or other devices, you just need to know what will turn out and be of use to you later on.

Even outdoor images of birds, butterflies, and flowers can be great for inspiration and designs. You can use so many different materials to make items from a photo image. Just think Washi Tape, Illustrator SVGs, Crochet Patterns, Creating designs for bolts of cloth, and the list goes on.

Here are some of my photos from both nature and stores.