Hello! How is this week treating you so far? Life is busy as always over here but I've been chipping away at checking off some smaller goals I have in motion to bring this blog and the launch of A Handcrafted Affair as a business into full swing. I will share more details soon on the business side of things but if you are looking for styling and crafting services for your wedding, parties, boutique displays or photo shoots, I might just be the gal for you!
Ok, back to the blog! I have this idea to start a new column sharing behind the scenes details for what goes into some of my DIY projects, styled shoots, Instagram posts and anything else you might wonder "how'd she do that?!?!"
I thought I'd start today's post by sharing some of the outtakes for an image I posted a couple weeks ago on Instagram. I had received several compliments on the image but I found it comical that in order to get that ONE pretty picture, I took 182 takes of it. Seriously?! Let me preface this by stating I am not a professional photographer by any means but I am a perfectionist so perhaps 182 shots might be a little excessive.
The above collage is just a snapshot of the many takes and the center image was the selected hero shot. Here are the two key factors I was looking for in the shot - lighting and composition. I always try to shoot with natural light if I can. For this image, I stood with the window to the left of me and it was taken in the early evening. I either try to take images in the morning or the early evening to get the best lighting. In photography, this is referred to as the golden or magic hour. I also stood about 4 feet away from the wall so that helped to create a sense of depth in the picture especially with how the shadows were cast on the wall behind my hand and the paper bloom.
I think hands can look weird when photographing so I think that's one reason it took me 182 takes to get a composition that I didn't see my hand as looking awkward, uncomfortable, too shaded or too tense. I was aiming for what APPEARED to be a natural pose but when you are holding a paper bloom that doesn't really have much of a tip to grasp onto in one hand and then the iPhone 6 that is almost too big for me to take a one-handed picture in my other hand, it get's a little tricky to take that perfect photo! I know there are gadgets out there like selfie sticks and iPhone tripods but I haven't invested in those yet so sometimes you just gotta work with what you have on hand (literally).
In the final photo, I had managed to get a sliver of lighting through my thumb and forefinger and the posture of the rest of my hand looked pretty relaxed and I was happy with the lighting and positioning of the flower itself so this session was finally wrapped! Which was a good thing because my kiddos were running circles around me while I was shooting and asking me every two minutes when dinner was going to be ready, ha!
For retouching images I take with the iPhone, I first use Afterlight and then a final tweak in Instagram. I mainly adjust the exposure, brightness, contrast, highlights and shadows. Occasionally, I tweak the saturation or warmth of the image as well. Honestly, it just takes some playing around with the tools in your photo editing app to get a feel for where that sweet spot is. It also helps to look at some of your favorite photographers and study their images for color balance, bright whites and perfect contrasts.
Like I said, 182 takes might be overkill but with practice I will continue to grow my iphonography skills and eventually I will get to a place in which getting that perfect shot can happen in a lot less takes and time.
I hope you enjoy the rest of your week! Cheers!
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