The Basics of Quilt Photography
- A guide to setting up a budget photo studio and taking professional photos with a camera or phone.
We are living in a digital age. Whether we want to share our artwork on Instagram, enter an art show, or have our creation reprinted on a poster, photographs are an absolute requirement.
Part of having artwork recognized as fine art is having high-quality, professional photographs. But having a professional take a photograph of every new artwork we make is pretty expensive, right? It requires training, an expensive camera, and a full-blown studio.
Not so fast! I am here to tell you what kind of camera you need, exactly what settings to use, and how to build a a professional-quality studio in your own home for less than $250 (camera not included). This presentation is a how-to describing the exact set-up my dad and I use to photograph my quilts at home. You will learn:
- How to build a budget photo studio and what materials are required
- What camera settings to use and what they do
- What remote camera operation is and why it’s important
- Why balancing light is important
- Why camera positioning is important
- How to manage glare
- What resolution is
- What Photomerge is and how it’s beneficial
- Why RAW files are a good thing
The photographs my dad and I take, using all the info listed above, are full-size at 300 dpi (this means they’re suitable for reprinting at 100% life-size.)
