How I Photograph my Cards and Layouts - And YOU can too!

I've been asked several times how I photograph my cards and layouts, so I thought I'd share a quick tutorial on how I do my photographing.  Nothing fancy for me.  I usually do my scrapping/cardmaking in the evening, and don't always have time to take a picture of it in natural sunlight, which is really the best way to take a photo of your work.  So...looking for a low cost way to remedy the problem, I devised my own "light box" of sorts.  I've tried scanning my cards, but I find that scanning usually give the card a washed out look and the true colors can't be determined (nor have I ever been able to tweak it in Photoshop to make it look right!)

As you can see I've used a large cardboard box (approximately 12 inches wide) for my "light box".  I covered the inside lower portion with 12 x 12 sheets of white cardstock.  I'll probably cover all of the inside eventually, but for my purposes right now, the 12 x 12 sheets work just fine.  I turned the box on end and adhered the white cardstock to the sides, the bottom, and the back of the box.  The teal paper you see in the box is just pushed in the back and on the bottom and not adhered.  I change the color of that paper depending on what color card/or layout I'm photographing.  A white card will not photograph well with an all white background, so always use something with color behind and below the object you're photographing leaving the sides covered with the white paper.   

Then I turn my Ott light (which clips to the edge of my table) around and twist it so that the light is shining directly on the card/layout.  I just adjust the light until I have the least amount of shadow behind or beside my card.  For a layout, if you're working on a 12 x 12 size layout, it will just slide right into the back of the box and you can adjust the lamp accordingly.  If I had two lights, I would direct them on the subject from either side.  The white sides seem to be a great reflective surface and help to get a truer color in the photo.

 

 

But...it doesn't end there.  I use Photoshop Elements 8 (but I've done the same thing in Picasa which is a free program you can find here).  Using your photo editing program, adjust the levels of white balance.  In Photoshop Elements you can use the Auto Smart Fix button and in Picasa you can use the "I'm feeling lucky" button.  Picasa  and Photoshop Elements also give you the option to crop your photo to get rid of unnecessary background. 

I don't usually zoom in really close on my card, I use the crop tool to cut out the area I want to show, and doing that makes it look larger.  Don't crop too close to the card...it's good to leave a little area around it.

You do need to take a photo of the card/layout from a position below the light source because you don't want to get a picture of the lamp!

Hope this tutorial is helpful for you.  I've also given my blog a "facelift" to try to make it not look so crowded...still trying to decide if I like the new look! LOL!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Until next time....

Hugs!