photographing layouts

a few nights ago, on facebook, a fellow scrapper suggested that i do a tutorial-of-sorts on  photographing layouts. i thought it was a great idea. i have been asked quite a few times on tips and suggestions for getting great photos of layouts and projects. so, i thought i would show you how i take photos of my layouts. and then link you to a few friends of mine that have shared their ways, as well. since my way isn't necessarily the right way.

 

we had a super foggy and dreary day today. and i will tell you this. i can never get a decent shot of my layouts when it's dark and dreary. i'm always chatting with fellow designers and hearing "i'm waiting for the sun to take pics of my finished projects", "it's raining today, so i can't get pics of my project", "crud. i'm so last minute on this project, and now i don't have any sun left in my day to get a photo of it". lol! natural sunlight is key to a good photo. luckily, the sun came out in full force for about 15 minutes this afternoon. just long enough for me to grab a layout, and take a few shots for this post.

i always take photos of my projects in my scraproom. not because it's my scraproom. but because it's the one room in the house with good natural light. i have this large window at the front of the house, and i always have my layouts just to the side of this window, so that the lighting falls nicely on the layout. i crack open the blinds to let in as much sun as i can, without casting any shadows. 

 

i also have this smaller window, on the side wall of the room. i also open these blinds, to let in even more light.

 

when i'm ready to photograph a layout, i clear off the one end of my desk, since i'm taking the photo from the opposite side of the desk that i sit at. i grab this large jar of buttons. no particular reason. it just happens to sit right on the little drawer unit by that small window, so it's convienent. i also grab this piece of thick chipboard, that's just a tad bit smaller than 12x12 in size. btw: this is a much older layout of mine, that's been shared before. i had it out to mail to the mommy of this adorable cookie lover, and figured i would  use it for this post :)

 

i use the thick chipboard piece to back my layout, so that it stands up straight. and i prop the chipboard and layout up against the jar of buttons. i get it as straight up and down, as i possibly can. if it's tilted back at all, against the jar, then you'll get a warped look to your layout. you want it as straight as possible.

i bring my chair around to the other side of the desk, and as close to the window as i can get. i angle the layout, so that the sunlight from the front window is hitting the layout, but not causing any glares or anything. and i try not to place my layout in front of the smaller window. if that window is behind my layout, it messes with the lighting.

 

then i zoom in with my lens, until i get a shot that looks pretty much like this one here. i use my 28-135mm lens, since it's my everyday lens on my camera. you want to shoot straight on to the layout. not looking down, or tilting the lens down. i usually sink down into my chair, so that i'm at eye level with the layout. do your best to get it straight, so that the layout isn't tilted to the left or right either. although if it is a little crooked, you can adjust that in photoshop.

and don't just take one photo. take about 6-8 photos. if never fails, that only one of them will be totally in focus and straight. lol! better to have choices, then to have to go back and re-shoot the layout. this photo above is straight out of the camera. it's a little on the dark side, compared to what my layout looks like in real life.

 

that's when i go into photoshop and adjust it to look as close to my real layout as possible. i usually just need to do a "screen" layer, to lighten it up. although sometimes, the colors are a little dull as well. so i will adjust my coloring, if needed. i sharpen the layout, and then i'm ready to crop it.

 

this shows a screen shot that i took in photoshop. you see those little marching ant lines around the layout? that's where i'm cropping. personally, i leave a little space around the edges of my layouts. some people prefer to crop all the way to the edge of the layout, with nothing else showing. just personal preference.

 

this shows a screen shot of my final crop. i then resize it for the web. i usually do at least 9x9 (or up to 12x12), at 72 dpi.

 

and here is what you would see here on my blog, or in my galleries.

 

for detail shots, i just lay my layout right down on my cutting mats on the desk. nothing fancy. the difference in the detail shots, is that angles are good, and i tilt the lens like crazy. get down low, get at an angle, and tilt the lens to get a decent amount of that section of the layout as you can. this also helps show the textures, and dimension on your layout.

 

then i zoom in and take the shots. once again, i take several shots so that i have choices. and so that my chances improve for getting a shot that's in focus. this shot here was not cropped at all. just lightened up a little.

that's pretty much it. i stick to this same spot in my scraproom, usually at the same time of day. because i know it works. one think i should add. if i have a two page layout to photograph, i do the same steps. except i move my white embellishment box over from the side of my desk (you can kind of see it, in that first photo of my room). i use two pieces of thick chipboard, and prop them up up against that. the box is wide enough, that it supports both pages together. i photograph them together, side by side. and then i do each of the pages seperately.

and because my way isn't the only way. i thought i would pass on these links, to a few friends of mine that do it a little differently. in case their ideas work better for you.

lynn ghahary did a tutorial on how she photographs her layout. she takes her photos in the bathroom, of all places. you can see her post HERE.

maggie holmes did a great tutorial on how she photographs her layouts, on the studio calico blog a while back. check out THIS blog post of her's, where you will find the link to the tutorial.

Comments

[dawn]

Thank you so much for the great tips. I can't believe all the work you have to go thru to get a good picture. That is a great tip on how you get the layout to stand up and be straight. I also love love this layout, don't remember seeing it before and it's not in my laura binder. Love your picutres of her eating it though and the title.

[Joanna]

Thank you SO much for this. I read a TOTALLY different tutorial on this topic a few months ago and have been following its steps. But I'm not quite there. I haven't quite perfected the art yet. I'm going to try your method for a while I think.

[christy harris]

Thank you Laura! I have been wanting to ask you this exact question for a while now since my pictures of my layouts never quite come out right. I have had my husband looking for a scanner for me for this very reason but you might have just saved me some money! Thank you so much... I am going to practice now!

[angie blom]

wonderful.. this is what I do to mine but I have a piece of large canvas behind.. if my room looked a stunning as yours I would for sure hav it in my photo. Thanks.. love it.

[Warholette]

thanks for sharing! this looks awesome, I guess the camera makes a difference. I had a little compact and takes me way more than 6 shots to get it right...

[Vera Wirianta Yates]

Laura, this is such a great tutorial. I always had hard time taking layout pic. Also, thank you so much for your lovely Christmas card! I just saw it yesterday, when I came back from my trip. You have such good looking family! :)

[Andrea B.]

Thank you for this post- it was very helpful. I am also wondering how people print out those photobooth looking photos? The one's with 3-4 different photos lined up or even just wallet size photos without having to print 6 or more of the same shot. Right now I am still printing my pictures from Shutterfly or what have you but have been researching and looking to buy a good quality photo printer. If you have any advice in this area that would be great! Thanks again!

[Suzanne Sergi]

thanks for sharing Laura your process! That is still one of my favorite pages!!! Beautiful work!

[Amy]

What a great tutorial! I have found that photo's are so much better in natural light but I am never home durring the day unless it is a weekend. I am always o eager to share that I often end up taking photos in horrible lighting at night. You have inspired me to slow it down and wait for the natural lights when I can. So glad you also gave the tip with the chipboard as I am forever having my layouts look so slanted. I am participating in a crop and a craft day with friends over the weekend now I can't wait to take pics and share. Thanks! Oh and this page...O[reo] so cute!!! I do beleive I saw it the first time you blogged about it but it is just one that you can look at over and over again. :)

[Carla]

hey girl, I learned a few things...using chipboard behind the layout and resizing the pic...never thought of either of those ideas!!! Thanks so much for all the info.
And BTW, its hard to pick just one layout that I love of your the most but the oreo one is one of my very favs ;)

[Felicia Young]

Man! Thank you so much for the tutorial! I have never thought of any of those things. Thanks Laura :D

[Sara Rossi]

Great tips! I have tons of chipboard lying around too...will be trying it next time. I seem to always take my pics at night knowing full well that the lighting is bad but I know if I wait till the next day something else will come up. :(

[scrapenfolie2jen]

so funy i like ^^