The Quilt Photography Workshop

Taught by:   YOU!!!!!

As you probably know, I have decided to retire the weekly Let's Get Acquainted Link Up and instead host a themed monthly link up.  And after thinking about it, I decided to focus the themes on photography.  From recent discussions, I know many of us agree that photography is one of the first things we notice on quilt blogs and one of the factors that determine whether we are going to keep reading.  Therefore, I thought maybe you would all like to join me in improving our blog photography -the quality of our photos, the composition, the use of lighting, the variety, limiting the amount of post-editing  - basically whatever you want to work on.

I definitely know a lot more about photography now than I did when I started my blog 1.5 years ago.  I know the relevance of aperture, shutter speed,  ISO, and even white balance.  I have read numerous photography tutorials on both sewing and other types of blogs.  I even upgraded to a "fancy" camera about 6 months ago (it is an entry-level DSLR but fancy to me!)   But I think what has really helped me improve my photos is well, taking lots of pictures!  And really experimenting when I do - taking pictures indoors and outdoors, taking them from various angles, taking both close-ups and um, not close-ups, changing the settings on my camera - you see what I mean.  Learning by doing!  

Are you still with me?  So, the idea is that every month, I will post a photography challenge --- involving fabric/handmade items!  Quilts, bags, pillows, knits, crocheted items, cross-stitch, clothing - whatever you are working on.  You'll take lots of photos of your project and then write a blog post about the photos - about what worked, what didn't, what you learned, what you are going to try next time.  Some months will have a very general theme while others might be a more specific challenge.

And this workshop/link up is not just for sewing bloggers who want to improve their blog photos but also for those of you who take absolutely beautiful pictures (you know who you are!!!) - we would love it if you participated and shared your tips and techniques with the rest of us!

August Challenge:  This is an easy one!  Take photos of fabric.  Yep, that's it - we'll start with a very general challenge.  Your choice - photos of your stash, photos of your favorite fabrics, photos of fabrics you are about to sew together, photos of fabric combinations you love - all of the above?!!?  Just remember take lots of photos (we are all using digital, right?!?!)  And then come back here on August 25th to link up your post.