Yeshen's Photography+Website Tips
Product Photographer and Squarespace Specialist Yeshen Venema recently offered a free ‘Ask me Anything’ webinar for JUST A CARD which you can watch as a reply here (in 2 parts). This is very popular with over 300 of you watching so far!
As promised, the answers to your questions follow below with links included where appropriate for more info, purchase of kit/software, discounts and more. There are tips on everything from managing reflections and aperture setttings to which tripod to use for flatlays and editing ‘cutouts’.
The 50% discount of Yeshen’s Shoot and Squarespace guides has ended, but you can still get 10% off everything in the shop with the code JUSTACARD. These guides are full of actionable tips from Yeshen with inspirational images and case studies.
How do you make backgrounds white?
Shoot on white paper with even, bright, light (ideally from above and sides with white relfector boards to bounce light in from the front.
Then you can edit in Photoshop but I would high recommned using my editing contact info@saivionindia.com
They charge £0.40-£0.80 per image depending on complexity and can also supply the edited files as a PNG with a transparency layer if that’s useful for you.
See https://www.yeshen.uk/cutoutswww.yeshen.uk/cutouts for some examples.
What app would you recommend to defocus the background? More about Fstop / Aperture?
The iPhone has a ‘Portrait’ mode on more recent models that creates the effect of a blured background by using two of it’s lenses but for a true depth of field blur on background you need to reduce the fStop (try different settings depending on the size of your product). Anything from f2.8 - f5.6 would work, the effect is also dependant on how much seperation you have from the background. Keep in mind the more telephoto the lens, the more extreme the effect, for example a 100mm macro lens at 2.8 will have a lot less in focus then a 24mm at same setting.
How do I photographing items (esp framed pictures) to show scale?
Hanging or leaning frames pictures on wall, mantelk or desk is a great way to do this. See my work for James Brown Prints for example and this gallery on my site: www.yeshen.uk/prints
I have a specific problem with photographing fabric cushions. How do I avoid the strobing effect I get on plain linen fabric? I photograph indoors with natural window light.
Make sure you diffuse the light using tracing paper or muslin material, hard light on fabric is more likely to increase reflection/strobing on fibres. You will be able to capture more realistic colour and greater detail with diffused light. The odd stripes and patterns that appear in your images is called a moiré effect.
How do I reduce reflection of room in glazed framed artwork?
Light from sides not front or back, diffuse the light with tracing paper or muslin and hang large black cloth behind the camera. You can also shoot from a soide angle and hold a white/black cloth on the opposite angle to control the reflection.
Could you recommend an app or a way I can use my DLSR (it’s a Nikon) to help me determine the best light?
I would say just observe the way light falls from different windows/skylights/doorways in your home, take ref images on your phone and make notes before taking any ‘proper’ photos. You can get apps that act as light meters (Such as Lumar and Light Mete see some reviews here) but you need to understand Fstops/shutter speed settings in order to use them properly - so brush up those skills first.
Would you say that the the south facing windows would bring the best light?
In general a large north-facing window or skylight is best, it’s softer and more consistent in colour temperature.
Can I take decent photos indoors without any special lights ? I have an SLR and tripod . Is an ISO of 400 ok or likely to produce grainy results?
Best to use natural light only unless you want to learn how to use flash or LED (continous) lighting which is quite a steep learning curve and requires more space/investment in equipment. Alwayts turn off ALL artifical lights in your home before taking any photos.
Photo sizing - both dimensions and info size (web use and hi res) - how do you go about achieving the two different sizes? Is it set on the camera or do you adjust during editing?
Always shoot on the highest quality setting on your camera either RAW or JPG Fine/full size.
See post on my blog:
www.yeshen.uk/blog/dpi-and-mb-size-sorted
I make jewellery with lots of textures, I am finding it difficult to get the detail of the textures into my photos.
Use diffusion - tracing paper/muslin to soften light and white foamboard to bounce in.
lifestyle shots. I design and make embroidery hoops and I'm happy with close up and flat lay photos. My hoops don't necessarily suit my house decor and anyway I have 2 small children so it is always a mess. I've actually just started looking at stock photos to find something that suits the particular style of a particular collection, but they don't exactly look natural
I would not advise editing into stock images, with the possible exception of prints. Spend time finding the right angle, background and always use a tripod to you can reposition the products. Also very important for any moving objects you need to shoot at min 1/125 shutter speed to eliminate motion blur - this means you need more light.
My question is what are some tips you have for photographing work in progress shots or shots showing a tutorial or how-to’s? And can they be done well with a phone?
Use a tripod with ‘Horizontal column mechanism ‘ or a iPhone mount attached to cross bar/clamp onto wall bracket to shoot overhead. use the timelapse mode on phone, consider a remote control for your phone and/or camera.
LINKS:
Manfrotto Universal Smartphone Clamp
Manfrotto MT055CXPRO4 Carbon Fibre Tripod
What are ideal sizes for banners, web use images and hi res images?
1500px wide for most images
2500px wide for full bleed/full width banners
How best to optimise SEO - are there particular places on a Squarespace website that key words should be entered? Is it important to label images for SEO?
See guide here.
For more tips see Yeshen’s Squarespace guide.
Link buttons for pinning on Squarespace?
Social Sharing buttons - make sure they are enabled and also enable Rich Pins for Pinterest (Advanced plans only). Pinterest is seriously underused and can be very powerful for generating inbound links/sales.
Extra Tips from Yeshen.
Camera controls/editing for iPhone/Android: VSCO, Moment, Darkroom
Creating graphics for social/web: Over, Canva, Unfold (for Instagram Stories)
Alternatives to Adobe Photoshop/Lightroom: Luminar or Afinity Photo
Image size optimise: JPG MINI: www.jpegmini.com (20% off)
See review and discounts: https://shotkit.com/jpegmini/
Scheduling for Instagram: Later.com
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