Tuesday, October 18, 2016

My Journey to Improve My Photography - Soda Stitch Harvest of Love

Hey everyone, I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that the week is off to a very creative start.Today's post features a cross stitch finish that has appeared on my blog before. I am re-posting it because I was always unhappy with the photographs I used. In fact there are a number of finishes and WIP's which require new pictures. So the first of the re-photographed finishes I want to share is, Soda Stitch Harvest of Love.

Soda Stitch Cross Stitch Harvest of Love Finish handmade embroidery
Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - New Photo Shoot

Soda Stitch Cross Stitch Harvest of Love Finish handmade embroidery
Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - Original Photo Shoot

The first picture is from a recent photo session, the second is the original I posted. As you can see the second picture has a blue tint, which doesn't represent the piece correctly. This is because the light at the time I took the picture had a blue cast to it that came through in the photo. This probably could have been corrected if I had changed the white balance setting on my camera but alas I still haven't quite gotten the hang of that, although I am learning.

Soda Stitch Cross Stitch Harvest of Love Finish handmade embroidery
Recent Photo Shoot
Soda Stitch Cross Stitch Harvest of Love Finish handmade embroidery
Original Photo Shoot

While the original pictures give a good idea of what the finish looks like, the blue tint doesn't show the colours correctly. The new pictures are more accurate and I am much happier with the results. Seeing these photos together, I am actually fairly surprised by the difference between the old and the new. I hadn't realised how significant the blue cast was on the originals.

Soda Stitch Harvest of Love - Love that big grin!

There are lots more projects that will be re-photographed in the near future, however there are some that I don't have access to as they were gifts. Hopefully my photographs will continue to improve as I learn more about my camera, photography in general and of course get in that all important, practise!

What do you think of the new photos? Is there a big difference between them and the originals? Let me know in the comments below.

That's all for now!

36 comments:

  1. Yes, I think there is a big difference. Much nicer!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I really amazed at the difference between them.

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  2. There's definitely a difference, and nice job getting it to look similar to reality. That's always a struggle with digital images. I've found with hand-dyed fabrics or certain colours, if I put a piece of white paper in frame, my white balance is much easier to get correct, and then I can easily crop the white paper out of the final photo. Good luck!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment and tip. I usually use a piece of white foam core to photograph my pieces on so I can sometimes use that for white balance.

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  3. it's so pretty! The colors are more vibrant. I have the same problem, I'm not really good at taking photos, and I see there's big difference in the colors. Keep it up!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. My pictures still aren't amazing but hopefully with plenty of practise I will gradually get better. Thanks for the encouragement.

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  4. Much better now! I find it very difficult to take good photos. I think you did a great job! Definitely worth another look at this cutie.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I'm really happy I decided to re-photograph some of these pieces as the new pictures look much better.

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  5. Interesting to see the differences--yes, light can play such a key role in whether or not a photo turns out. Very cute piece!!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I never realised just how crucial light is for photos! It really does change the whole picture.

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  6. It's amazing how much difference there is in the photos. This is really cute and so bright and cheery.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I knew the original pictures of this piece were off but didn't realise just how much until I posted these together. So happy I did them again.

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  7. Definitely worth doing new pictures..such a pretty design:)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I do love this piece and the new pictures really show the colours much better

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  8. I love all the pictures, though I am a bit biased because it's a Soda pattern and there can be no wrong picture haha. But I agree, the new one is much more lovely with the cheery colors. I have a hard time being satisfied with my pictures taken via a cell phone camera. I do a minimal color correction on my computer but otherwise am fairly lazy. I also do what Tiff says, a piece of white paper. If it's a nice day, sunlight also does wonders for color, especially those pesky hand-dyed fabrics!

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. Soda Stitch are amazing aren't they? I really must do some more of the ones I have in my stash. I used to take all my photos with my phone because I had no idea how to use my SLR camera but I am slowly learning and it does make a big difference.

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  9. The pics look fabulous! Lovely stitching.

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    1. Thanks so much Angela. I really enjoyed stitching this project and I'm glad to be able to show it in all its glory.

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  10. Definitely worth showing the new photo - what a difference!
    I always have problems taking good photos of my stitching....
    Such a gorgeous design by the way! :o)
    Hugs xx

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I'm still amazed at the difference in these. Taking a good photo is really difficult, it's good to know others struggle with it.

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  11. New pictures look much better, for sure!!

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    1. Thanks so much Mii, I'm delighted with the new ones alright. Hope to have some others for you all soon.

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  12. Love your finish! I still struggle to get decent photos of my stitching.

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    1. Thanks so much for you comment Sally. It's good to know that there are other stitchers out there who struggle with their photography too.

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  13. Lovely job there =) Taking good photos is so hard, especially when you don't have enough natural light (in winter I feel like it's dark when I go to work and when I return, it's dark again, so no light for me...). But you did an excellent job! =)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I now only take photos at the weekend because there are only a few hours during the day that I get light that is good enough for photos.

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  14. Such a cute design, beautifully stitched. I love the colours.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. It does have such bright, fun colours. It made it good fun to stitch too.

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  15. I really need to take a leaf out of your book. I am so guilty of not learning the proper techniques with my camera. Look at the amazing difference!! Looking forward to your future re-shoots.
    xo Alicia

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. It has taken me so long to get myself in gear and try to learn some techniques to take better photos. For a long time I would use my phone over my proper camera for blog photos.

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  16. I also have difficulty in photographing my stitching. I often have shadows or the colour is not right. So I try and take lots of photos to try and get it just right. Like you, I can't go back and re photograph some of mine as they were gifts to friends and family. Also a lot of my earlier photos are not digital and not the best pics.

    It's a great idea of re photographing your stitching. The difference is amazing. Well done.

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I think that taking lots of photos is part of the trick with photography. I have watched a few videos and read some articles on it and that comes up a lot.

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  17. Wow, there really is a difference when you look at the photos next to each other. Nice work :)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I was really surprised at the difference when looking at them together. I had thought that the earlier ones weren't too bad but that blue cast is really startling

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  18. Oh yeah there's a huge difference! They look stunning! Wanna come do my pics? ;)

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    1. Thanks so much for your comment. I have enough trouble trying to find the time to get my own done :D

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Would love to read any comments you would like to leave. Thanks for brightening my day :)