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Post by maryinkentucky on Jul 12, 2010 21:37:12 GMT
I just finished Jenna's quilt! (almost a year in the making)
I'll post a picture when I get one.
Which leads to my question....... How do you take a really nice picture of a quilt?
I've read:
1. use a tripod
2. hang it vertically so as not to get perspective distortion
3. use outdoor light
My problem.......how do I hang it outside? Anyone else tried this? I don't have a clothes line, and it's not always convenient to have my 6'3" son-in-law here. Most of my pictures have been indoors where I stand on a chair looking down on the quilt. But for a queen-sized quilt, I can't get all of it in the photo.
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maeve
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Post by maeve on Jul 12, 2010 22:38:20 GMT
Wonderful, Mary! I'm eager to see it.
Some folks find a large outside wall, and fasten the quilt temporarily. I'd use a long dowel or long piece of trim, laid on top of 2-3 finish nails (just deep enough in the siding to hold the weight of the quilt), with the quilt fastened to the piece of wood using pushpins, clothespins, bullclips, etc. You could always baste a pocket to the back, slipping a dowel or similar through for hanging. Visit a school and get permission to hang it across a chalkboard, or clip it to swing set chains on a playground.
Good luck!
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Jul 13, 2010 0:36:55 GMT
Mary, I'm looking forward to seeing Jenna's quilt, too!
Maeve's suggestion sounds like the best one.
If you can't use that, do you have two trees or other vertical structures that you could string a rope or wire across between?
What about a small step ladder that you could photograph down from instead of a chair?
rags
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Post by sandrainsydney on Jul 13, 2010 8:11:11 GMT
The best I could do in my apartment with no balcony or yard when a friend visited once with her new quilt was to stand on tippy toes & try to photograph it on the bed - naturally it was distorted
Doll quilts are soooo much easier to photograph.
sandra (patiently awaiting Mary's pics)
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Post by maryinkentucky on Jul 13, 2010 17:17:28 GMT
ta....da............ Here's the first photo. It's raining, so I had to take it indoors, and the flash wouldn't go far enough........but I think I may have figured out how to do it.
I have a design wall which is just felt-covered styrofoam. Since the ceilings in my house are only 10 feet tall, I had to place the board on a radiator horizontally. Maeve, I tried your suggestion about the push pins, but they are too short. It seems that plain old straight pins work better, but I have to remember how many I put in the board! Also, I need some weights on the bottom of the quilt to make it hang correctly (there is no board at the bottom). I used a ladder in place of a tripod. Then I had to lighten the picture a lot and rotate it a bit and crop it. But.......I think this is doable. I'll take my design board outside on a sunny day, maybe have to balance it on some chairs or ladders, then see what happens.
I can't wait for y'all to see a better picture. The quilting detail is really fine.
Rags, if I try to take some indoor closeups, do I need some light reflectors or something? (I once saw a professional photographer use some tinfoil covered cardboard strategically placed.) I can take decent pictures with the flash and the up-close adjustment. But I'm not very happy with my indoor pictures.
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Post by sandrainsydney on Jul 14, 2010 2:22:52 GMT
wow! it looks good.
lucky Jenna.
What's your next project?
sandra
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Jul 15, 2010 8:10:25 GMT
Mary, it's gorgeous! You do such beautiful work. You did well improvising on photo equipment. Rags, if I try to take some indoor closeups, do I need some light reflectors or something? (I once saw a professional photographer use some tinfoil covered cardboard strategically placed.) I can take decent pictures with the flash and the up-close adjustment. But I'm not very happy with my indoor pictures. I usually improvise on indoor photography. For flash close ups, I have a diffuser made from three styrofoam soup bowls nested and stapled together (for added thickness with a lens size hole cut in the bottom. I slip it over the lens. It rests in front of the flash and somehow directs the light evenly over the subject. When I'm too lazy to use the diffuser, I stand far enough back that the flash won't white out my subject then use the camera zoom to get closer. For table top photos of small objects I have about two yards of black felt that I use for a backdrop, draped over anything that's handy. It makes the subject appear to have nothing behind it. This is a light tent that I made for a project in one the Flickr groups I belong to: www.flickr.com/photos/diffuse/462384437/ It's okay for lighting small items so there isn't a nasty shadow behind them. Here's another of my high-tech setups for indoor close ups at night: www.flickr.com/photos/diffuse/4297503044/rags
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Post by maryinkentucky on Jul 15, 2010 16:34:03 GMT
Good ideas. Today it's not raining, but it's the hottest day of the year so far (maybe three years). If I try another indoor shot, I may fool around with the settings so I don't have to use a flash. I like my digital camera because it's a point and shoot, but lately I've been disappointed with the quality of the indoor pictures.
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Post by jennieg on Jul 18, 2010 23:20:26 GMT
Mary, that's great!
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Post by maryinkentucky on Aug 3, 2010 1:33:51 GMT
I'm working on the border for Laura's orange quilt now. Then I need to go back to Nancy's green Irish Chain - she'll get married in May! Still waiting for decent weather to take some outdoor pictures.
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ragdall
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Post by ragdall on Aug 8, 2010 11:25:59 GMT
Mary, you're amazing. How do you find time for quilting when you're also working in the garden, pickling, etc.?
I hope that you'll be able to get those pictures soon.
rags
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Post by maryinkentucky on Aug 8, 2010 21:43:00 GMT
Here is Jenna's quilt. She is getting married in October; I'll give her the quilt at a shower later this month. (gotta get a label on it - and hopefully I won't misspell any words THIS TIME)
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Post by maryinkentucky on Aug 8, 2010 21:44:54 GMT
Here is Laura's orange quilt. I suspect she'll get married this year. It's not finished, but you can see the markings where I'm quilting a rope design in the border. I'll probably bind it in orange.
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Post by maryinkentucky on Aug 8, 2010 21:46:00 GMT
Here is Nancy's quilt. This was the first one I started, and then I got distracted with 3 nephew quilts and 4 baby quilts. Nancy will get married in May, and this quilt is ~3/4 done.
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Post by maryinkentucky on Aug 8, 2010 21:49:27 GMT
This is Beth's qult. She's not engaged, but is in her second year of medical school. This quilt is pieced and basted, but no hand quilting yet. The back is blue and quite stunning.
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