When I set up a photo shoot for the cover image on a new pattern I take lots and lots of photos, sometimes close to 100. There are so many variables in a shoot like this: the child has to have their eyes open and look happily engaged, the toy has to be facing forward, the right parts need to be in focus, the lighting has to be perfect so that the colors are vibrant and true.
If all goes well, I'll get one shot that works. Often, though, in order to get better lighting or find a child in a good mood I have to set up more than one photo shoot on different days.
It's great to have a lot of product photos anyway. I use them as alternate views on Etsy and Craftsy listings. Generally I save lots of shots just in case.
Here are some of the best of my outtakes:
Topsy Turvy Doll. The baby is in focus, but the doll isn't. Look at that baby face, though!
Scooter the Turtle. You can't really see his body, but he's so cute up there! This was taken at Morses Pond in Wellesley, MA.
Beastie Bags. She got distracted by a neighbor's dog. And her shirt is…rather dirty.
Squeaky Snake. Scaring someone, but whom?
Cute Critters. I love this shot, but the white is too washed out.
Animal Neck Pillows. The blues here are so rich, but I had a better shot with my older daughter and the pig pillow.
Animal Rattles. This one is going into her baby book. Sadly, the duck was blurry.
Lovey Dovey 2nd Edition. I snuck into her room at naptime to set this up. You can see her real lovey, Mr. Purples, underneath.
Hobby Horse. I lent my friend, Carolyn, the hobby horses for the weekend. She took this shot of her son and his expression is so great here, but you just can't see the horse's face.
Jungle Puppets. Looking awfully sneaky with the zebra puppet for some reason. Sneaky and blurry. Great fall colors, though.
Rabbit in a Hat Puppet. Black is so hard to photograph. I ended up shooting this guy inside with no model. But I love how the bunny looks so alive here.
Jeremy Giraffe. In the end I found the red plant distracting. We did have a good shoot at the greenhouse, though. Winter in New England makes you creative.
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Do you take lots of photos when you are trying to get a good product shot? Are you ever surprised in the end by the one that makes the final cut? Do you save the outshots?
these are just ridiculously adorable! I personally love the dirty shirt (as an outtake), it screams childhood. I take lots of pictures but probably not enough judging by your numbers. But, I save them all, which is ridiculous and unwieldy. I agree, though, they tend to come in handy at some point down the line.
Exactly. Every time I've deleted the extras I've regretted it. I now have my iPhoto all organized in albums and folders. Recently I created a "sewing supplies" folder and a "head shots" folder. It's worth the time to get this stuff organized. Otherwise it's just a mess trying to retrieve the perfect photo when you need it!
This post makes me feel better about the fact that I took ~25 pictures of some bracelets I’m working on, and didn’t get one where the colors look quite right…just need 75 more, yes?
Yep! It's frustrating when you don't get a single good shot. But selling online is really a photo contest. It's worth it to keep going.
My sister worked as a landscape architect for a well known nature photographer and and her three instructions were 1) if you need one good picture take as many as you can (until your subject flies or runs away…again, nature photographer), 2) play with your camera (never leave it in manual mode!), figure out iso and f-stop and shutter speed, and 3) learn the ‘rules’ and then learn that it’s ok to break them because those can be your best photos. I am super guilty of taking one picture and thinking ‘eh, you can tell what it is’ and not waiting for a really good picture…I think it’s growing up with a film camera, it made us conserve; there was no delete button! But I’m working on doing better about it…and if you have a bunch of printed photos that are REALLY bad, there is a ton of fun stuff you can do with them, like let your kids…or you…cut them up and do collages!