Learn Quilt Photography Tips!
Hi Friends! I am Liza from Liza Taylor Handmade. I am so excited to be here sharing all of my photography tips and tricks. These will help take your photos to the next level! Don’t forget to snag my free photography cheat sheet at the end of this post. 🙂
Sharing beautiful photos on Instagram has been such a joy for me and I have learned a lot along the way. Read on to get all my tips, from styling indoor photos, to getting the best “quilts in the wild” shots!
Before we start, you don’t need any fancy equipment – I take all of my photos on my iphone! I also DIYed my photo board (more on that later) and thrifted most of my styling props. Finding inexpensive ways to make beautiful photos is what I love to do!
Photography Tips and Tricks with Liza Taylor Handmade
Quilt Photography tips: Indoor Photos
The key to beautiful indoor photos is good lighting! I take all of my photos right under my window, with all artificial lighting turned OFF.
Be conscious of what time of day the lighting is best in the room you take your photos in. For instance, I take all of my photos in the afternoon. That is when the sun is pouring in my window!
I avoid taking photos on gloomy days, but sometimes it is inevitable. In that case, editing will be your friend! I will share more about editing later on.
For all of my indoor photos I use a photo board that I made myself! You can buy photo boards online, but they get really expensive. But you do you! I really wanted a distressed white shiplap board, so I went to my local craft store and found all the supplies to make my own. And the best part was it cost me $22! You can find the full tutorial for that on my Instagram HERE.
Quilt Photography Tips: Styling indoor Photos
Do you like to post your fabric pulls for your upcoming makes, but feel like they look a little blah with just the fabric? Me too! This is where styling props make ALL the difference.
Some examples of props I regularly use are: mason jars filled with different things (fabric scraps, vintage spools filled with ribbon, etc.) little scissors, loose ribbon, and faux florals. Get creative and use whatever you find beautiful!
My number one tip for using props is to always group them in ODD numbers. Odd number groupings make for a more balanced photo. Take a look at the two photos below, one has been styled with my odd number rule and the other with even numbers.
See the difference? I usually group things in ones or threes. It really helps pull the eye around the photo!
Quilt Photography Tips: Outdoor Photos
Quilting photography tip: Outdoor photos are so much fun! I love a good #quiltsinthewild shot. The trick to getting a good photo is knowing where the sun is, and how to position your quilt depending on what time of day it is!
You always want to have the sun FACING your quilt, not behind it. In the two photos below, you can see the difference. The one with the sun behind it totally blows the quilt out, making it see through. You want the sun facing the quilt so that you can see your beautiful top and all the colors in it!
If you have a location where you want your quilt to be in a certain direction, I would recommend going to that place when the sun is opposite your focal point.
I love finding a good fence, or tree branch you can hang your quilt from. I think they make the prettiest photos, and really show the movement of the quilt. I usually go to local parks, lakes, or in the mountains.
Another item I like to bring on my outdoor photoshoots are binding clips! I only bring these if I’m photographing quilt tops though. I clip them to the bottom corners and it helps keep the top down, and not get blown in the wind!
Quilt Photography tip: Editing Your Photos
One of the funnest parts for me is editing my photos! I use the Lightroom app on my phone – and the best part is, it is free!
You never want to edit your photos so much that they don’t look real, I usually only play with the exposure, temperature, and saturation. I want to keep the overall look as natural as possible!
My favorite feature on the Lightroom app is the “brush”. You can use it to select certain parts of your photo, so you don’t have to do the same editing on everything! For example, sometimes my background needs a lot more exposure than my focal point, so it is super handy to be able to separate the two!
I like the temperature feature because it gives my photos warmth, and I use the saturation feature to make my colors pop if it was a gloomy day!
I hope you all enjoyed these tips! You can get a free cheat sheet with all of these tips by clicking here!
MORE FREE TUTORIALS
If you liked this tutorial, be sure to check out these other free quilting tutorials!