Photographing your craft | Tips for taking great sewing photos

Do you have a sewing/craft business? Interested in improving your photos? Today we'll be demonstrating how to improve your photos- particularly if you need to do a lot of sewing shots.

It's always important to have great lighting when taking photos. Have your machine positioned near the window so you get lots of natural lighting. If you need more easy, at home, lighting tips you can read about them here. Stay away from overhead lights and harsh, direct light. These will cast shadows over your work. Set up a white cork board on the opposite side of the window to reflect light back onto your item.

Make sure your sewing machine is clean, finger print and dust-free! Remove any distracting background bits and pieces. Remember, you are trying to sell your pattern/tutorial/ product- we don't want to see all of your fabric scraps and mess in the photo.

Can you take photos of the fabric you are using in your tutorial? Often, similar fabric grouped together can look quite pretty in a photo. Place these stacks of fabric in the background of a photo. They will look neater and add a point of interest. It might give your reader ideas for fabric choices or decorating tips.

Same for embroidery floss. What colours did you use to make your product? Designers spend a lot of time carefully selecting colours that match- they've done the hard work for you. Group the embroidery floss together and take a photo. Again, it will help sell your final product.

If you are using fabric as a background, make sure your fabric has been freshly ironed so there are no creases. Another handy tip for removing creases and getting the fabric to look nice and smooth is to add a layer of good quality, thick felt under your fabric background. The "roughness" of the felt provides extra grip for the fabric to cling to and will help your background look crease-free.

If you are taking a photo of the project you are sewing on your machine, a great tip is to switch off your sewing machine light before taking the photo. The sewing machine light casts shadows and a yellow colour onto your sewing and makes it look dark and unnatural. Next time, just switch the light off and then take your photo.

Consider the angle of your camera. Try to take your photos in a slightly downward angle. This will move any shadows, if there are any, behind your product. Experiment with different camera angles. That's the great thing about digital photography- you can take as many photos as you like. If you are selling a gorgeous, handmade craft item, include shots of your product from different angles. Experiment, experiment, experiment! You'll work it out after lots of practise what angles work best for you.

Lastly, always look out for little interesting sewing notions and props you can add to your photos. We've discussed the use of props before, but having little sewing bits and pieces near-by when taking your photos can be very handy if you just need to add a little "oomph" to your photo.

Try and use a new photography tip each time you take a photo. Always keep on trying to improve your shots- you spend a lot of time making your gorgeous produc, you should spend almost as much time photographing it.