If you’ve ever browsed photographic inspiration on sites like ffffound! and WeHeartIt, you’ve probably seen and admired pictures with the dramatic colors and contrast characteristic of cross processing and Lomography.
While you could achieve these effects using expensive photography equipment or by making multiple adjustments in Photoshop, there’s an easier way: Phixr. It’s free, it’s fast, and the results look pretty good!
Original photo
Upload your photo at Phixr.com. You don’t have to register–just click the green “Get started” arrow and start your upload from your computer or via a link to a photo online.
Once your photo is uploaded, select the Color Effects button, then choose Cross Process. Check the preview and adjust brightness, contrast and opacity as needed. Click Execute when it looks the way you want.
To add the Lomo effect, select Camera and Lens Effects from the left-hand menu, then choose Lomo effect. Adjust the intensity, saturation, brightness, and opacity until it looks the way you want, then click Execute.
How very Mad Men!
When you’re finished, just download your stylized picture et voila! Let us know if you try it!
Whether you’re on eBay or etsy, if you’re selling online, good product photography is one of the most important aspects of product sales. In the case of fashion items especially, looks matter–people are more likely to shell out their hard-earned dough for items they can’t test in person if the merchandise looks good on the screen.
So, what’s the secret to beautiful product photography? Lighting. Luckily, it’s easier to create and control light in the small spaces suited to items like jewelry and accessories. Here are a few tips:
Camera
You don’t necessarily need a fancy camera to take good product photos. Sure, a nice camera helps, but an inexpensive point-and-shoot can be just as effective as a DSLR if used properly.
Quick tip: Most cameras will adjust the focus if you half-press the shutter button. Repeat this technique until the image is as sharp as possible and the camera won’t focus any further, then take the picture.
For honest, thorough camera reviews from a pro, check out KenRockwell.com
Settings
If your camera allows, try adjusting the aperture, the size of the hole through which light comes through the camera (commonly known as the f-stop or f-number). Small aperture settings are useful in product photography because smaller apertures provide more depth of field. A shorter depth of field is great when you’re trying to emphasize the foreground and blur out the background.
Quick tip: Get to know your camera’s macro setting. It’s usually denoted with a picture of a flower, and is specifically for taking close-up pictures with fine detail.
This is when keeping (and reading) the camera’s manual comes in handy!
Lighting
When it comes to lighting, natural light is best. If you’re indoors, shoot near a large window with indirect light when possible. If you’re using a lamp, you’ll probably need to increase the size of the light source by using a diffuser. You can also use a reflector to add light to the shadowed side of the product.
Quick tip: Avoid using the flash when shooting indoors– it usually results in overexposed areas and uneven light. However, you will want to use a flash outside. It sounds backwards, but the flash will “fill in” the shadows caused by sunlight.
There are plenty of online tutorials on setting up your own macro studio–most are really simple and can be made using inexpensive materials. There’s even a Flickr group dedicated to homemade light boxes and the results they produce!
As the focus of the photo, the object (earrings, headband, craft item, etc.) should take up most of the frame. When you’re taking the picture, use the viewfinder to crop in tight on the object, leaving a bit of space around the edge of the image to allow for blurring.
Variety is important here: try different angles, zoom in and out, move closer and further away–the more options you have to choose from when you’re selecting the final photo, the better!
Accessories
Use a tripod. A tripod will hold the camera still so you can take pictures with longer exposure times–a must for shooting in low light. A decent tripod costs as little as $25, and most digital cameras have a standard tripod socket on the bottom.
If you’re taking extreme close-up shots, you may want to invest in a remote control to avoid the vibration that occurs when the shutter button is pressed. It sounds picky, but high magnification makes camera vibration even more obvious, and your images can look blurry. If you don’t have a remote, try using the camera’s self-timer.
Post production
If you need to make adjustments, use a free photo editing site or a program like The Gimp or Photoshop to correct the coloring and exposure, and crop, rotate, or sharpen your pictures.
Online images don’t need to be high-resolution (72 ppi is standard web resolution), so save your pictures as JPEGs and you’re ready to upload!
Keep in mind that a really beautiful photo is usually the result of a lot of crappy ones. Keep shooting and practicing your technique, and you’ll get better!
When I first started blogging I quickly found out the importance of great/fun photos. Photos are the key to your blog, they help pull viewers in and keep them entertained for the time they spend on your site. Sometimes your photos keep readers coming back to see more fun and sometimes inspiring pictures!
After being bored by my own pictures I went on the hunt for some great free online photo editing sites that would help me dress my photos up! Here are three of my favorites:
I use Photoshop whenever I edit my photos. Its interface is so easy that it makes editing photos incredibly simple. You do have to sign up for an account, but it’s free and your images can be stored online for family and friends to view. I love that you can preview how the image will look just by scrolling over the edit options. I also love the pop color feature on this site. Make sure you have a fast connection–it sometimes takes a while to load the photos.
DrPic is a great site if you need to do a quick edit or crop your photos. There are some fun options you can use to add frames or a Polaroid effect to your images, and I love the grayscale feature on this site. You don’t need an account–just load a picture, edit, and then save to your computer. Simple! One minor annoyance: the Google ad bar at the top of the picture while you edit photos.
FlauntR has some great editing features and frames you can add. The main reason I use this site is for the text feature–I love that there are so many fonts available. I have never seen so many different fonts offered on a free editing site, and you can move and rotate the text anyway you choose. You do have to create an account to use this site-but it’s free!
Get animated
I remember the first time I saw an animated graphic. I was awe-struck, then jealous because I wanted my own! Soon I was off on an internet hunt for sites to help me create animated graphics. There are a few sites out there, but I always turn to one site to help me create my own animated images.
Gickr is free and easy to use–no account needed. You can select up to 10 images at once, the size of the image, how fast the image will move, then hit create. That’s it! Wait for your image to load and you should see the animated image. (I often hit create a few times trying out different image speeds to get the right one.) There are many ways to save it, but I always right click on the image and click “Save Image As”.
Now, loading the image on your blog can be tricky. You first have to upload your animated image to a hosting site like tinypic.com (it’s free). Once you’ve uploaded it to the site you can select the “HTML code for Websites” or “Direct Link for Layouts” code. You’ll then have to put the code into your post via the html/edit page. I’d be happy to help if you ever have any questions!
About the author: Tiffany is a professional day dreamer, budding photographer, and fashion lover. Living in a small town she needed a place to express her love for fashion and life- that’s when her blog “I’m a Shoe Whore” was born.
The easiest and most efficient way to take self-portraits would be to purchase some sort of remote for your camera. They can run fairly cheap to mid-range, and depending on the brand, they can work up to 300 ft away. I currently use a Phottix wireless remote that I bought on Ebay for about $40.
For those who don’t have remotes, there are a few tricks I’ve learned to help better my self-portraits:
1. Set up your tripod and figure out where you want to stand in the photo in relation to the framing of the camera.
2. Once you’ve picked the spot find some sort of found object such as a rock, a stick or even line up your camera to a crack in the sidewalk and focus your camera on that object.
3. This works best if you focus your camera on that spot and then switch your camera over to manual focus so the focus doesn’t change with each shot.
4. Set your self-timer and go stand next to your found object. The photo should be in focus each time.
Lighting
I tend to stick to only natural light so I don’t have to worry about lighting and shadows when I can’t really see the overall effect in self-portraits.
To create better interest and better photos, the most important factor to remember is the time of the day when you’re shooting. For even and attractive lighting to better highlight your look, I suggest shooting a little later in the evening or early morning. The mid-day sun usually provides a harsh light that does weird things to colors and is just difficult to shoot in overall.
Posing
When you have a remote I think it makes posing a little easier just because it’s easier to capture continuous motion. I tend to do small turns or movements to show off the clothing and just press the shutter button several times throughout the movement until I get that one ideal capture.
Move it, baby!
For people who use timers it’s a bit more difficult but not impossible. To avoid looking stiff I just have to emphasize the importance of moving!
It doesn’t even need to be anything drastic, even just a slight shoulder/hip shake to keep things from looking forced. I usually count down until I get to that last couple of seconds to do my movement so it doesn’t look like I’ve been holding the pose for a lengthy period of time.
Walking across the view of the camera provides a natural pose that can often times show off the clothes nicely.
Varying your head position can change up a pose so experiment.
If the pose looks funny just change it up slightly and try again! Self-portraits are all about trial and error.
In the beginning to have a few poses that you can perform in just a few seconds. There are some simple things you can do to make the pose look more casual such as a lift of a leg, looking at the camera from over a shoulder etc. that don’t require much thought and from there just move around.
Shutter speed
It’s important that you keep your camera’s shutter speed on a mid-range speed to fast to capture these movements. If you have a camera where you can control the shutter I would suggest using a minimum of 1/50 speed for motion photos otherwise blurring might occur.
If you’re a fashion blogger, chances are you’ve experimented with taking self portraits. Let’s face it, even if someone else usually takes your pictures, it’s likely that they’re not always around when you need them.
Self portraits can be fun because you can be as creative and goofy as you want sans embarrassment, you have plenty of freedom to practice your Tyra-approved Top Model poses, and they’re a great way to learn to direct other people. On the other hand, running back and forth to re-set the camera mode and hit the shutter while maintaining enough composure to take a decent photo can be a bit of a pain. Here are a few tips to help you get through it:
1. Use a tripod
They’re invaluable for maintaining a steady yet adjustable base for the camera. They’re not that expensive either, and can usually be picked up for around $25-$30.
2. Use a remote
If you have a camera with a remote option, pick up a remote. It’s so much easier than running back and forth from the camera to your photo spot.
3. Pay attention to your background
A neutral background means the focus will be on you, a busier background adds interest but also means you have to share the spotlight.
4. Take a test or two
Take a few test shots with different settings. Check the images and note the settings that make you look the best (because really, that’s the main concern, right?). Use those settings for your remaining photographs–it’s easier to keep going if you know your lighting and composition are on point.
5. Experiment
Shoot from different angles and position the camera above, below, or to the side. Include a prop that helps your photo tell a story. Over- or underexpose the image. Try something different!
6. Relax!
No one expects you to be Demarchelier on the first try. Play some music, do a little dance, get a little silly, and have fun with your pictures!
CJ Johnson, the Executive Director of Fashion Benefiting Youth Artists, walks us through the stages of setting up a photo shoot. Here’s their Secret Garden story:
When I first had the brainchild of an intern-produced monthly photo shoot, the people I initially shared this idea with just nodded their heads and said “Hmmm” with a smile and quickly moved onto the next subject, or asked,“Well, where are you going to post these pics?,” in a very “duh” manner. However, I knew that it would be a viable idea and give young creatives the opportunity to perfect their craft. If anything, we’d just post it on our blog. Heck, that’s publishing isn’t it?
Here’s how everything was put together: Early September 2009: Post on our website that we are seeking a Fashion Editor Intern, responsible for creating and executing a monthly photo shoot for organization’s blog.
Late September 2009: Haley Githens is selected to be our Fashion Editor Intern. She comes to her interview with a story board that painted a vivid picture of her ideal photo shoot and the aesthetic. I was stoked and equally impressed!
Late September 2009: Begin marketing a model casting call.
Late September 2009: Began pitching this endeavor to local boutiques to agree for them to loan clothes from the shoot. We got many “Are you nuts?” facial expressions, fake smiles, and “Who are you again?” responses.
October 10, 2009: Casting Call held at my dear friend’s vintage boutique, Parkerhawn Vintage. The casting call was attended by Haley, our marketing interns, and student make-up artist. We had over 15 real models attend and we were only looking for two! After the casting call, Haley selected her top three.
October 13, 2009: Selected models were notified. They were thrilled, to say the least!
Mid October 2009: Began mini-marketing campaign to announce the upcoming “The Secret Garden” intern produced photo shoot on Facebook, Twitter, and in our monthly newsletter. Mid October 2009: After more explanation, several gracious boutiques agreed to provide clothes on loan for the shoot!
Mid October 2009: I visited and scouted a wonderful area of our local nature park for the site. An awesome photographer agrees to shoot “The Secret Garden” for free!
October 22, 2009: Starting early, I drove all over town to pick up the loaned apparel from participating boutiques. Then Haley, the models, our student make-up artist, myself, and my PR firm’s staff met at Parkerhawn Vintage for a styling session to curate the “looks” for the models and do fittings.
That experience was thrilling and complete mayhem! We were not as organized as we thought we were. We found that when you are styling three models and have so much to choose from, it can be really time consuming. We only had an hour and a half for this session. Talk about a time crunch!
October 24, 2009: I am making mad dashes and looking through my mother’s garage for props we can use for the shoot.
October 25, 2009: Shoot Day! Models and their wonderful mothers and our crew assemble to make this a reality.
We were a little more organized and had an intern or staff member responsible for each different model. The models had to change outside; their only privacy was held-up blankets! Haley dressed/styled each model for her first look, then the model sat for her hair and make-up, then she shot her set with the photographer, and that was our rotation for three sets for each model.
Post production was tough! The photographer took over 840 shots, so it took a while to clean up the photos and for Haley to select our top 20! So, to anyone looking to organize their own photo shoot (which you should), here’s my advice: Be prepared, have alternatives, be organized, have fun, and most importantly, believe in your vision!
As a big fan of people-watching, it goes without saying that I am also an avid lover of street style and of course, the sites that are dedicated to it. Although I love the sites that have become popular amongst the fashion masses, I wanted to delve a little deeper to see what other city-specific street fashion blogs had to offer. Here are some of my newfound faves:
Hel-looks Inspiration abounds in Finland’s capital, Helsinki, after which this stylish site, Hel-looks, was named. I love the way this site showcases the most fashionable of the Finnish, but jazzes up their images by noting their style inspiration, crediting where each piece was found/purchased, and acknowledging sentimental fashion attachments.
Style-arena.jp I’m always drawn to anything that pushes the envelope of the everyday norm, so naturally I gravitated to the city streets of Tokyo. These streets seem to never play it safe, and I believe that great fashion always keeps you on your toes.
On the Corner Fashion capitals are great, but I like to see a place that doesn’t always have quite so much notoriety. On the Corner highlights the great personal style that lurks within Buenos Aires–although it may not often be seen by the masses, it’s intriguing in its own right.
Just Glitter Lust Beautiful shots or shots of beauty, these may be one in the same on the streets of Estonia. If you’re a fan of unconventional cool, look no further; you’ll find plenty of inspiration here. And if your curiosity itches to know more, each posted photo offers a mini ‘style-bio’ of the featured fashionista.
Pregnant Goldfish Montreal’s pregnant goldfish? If this blog’s name doesn’t catch your eye, then its style shots certainly will! I chose this site for the simple fact that I love what these ladies are rockin–they make me want to cross the border to see more!
In the current issue of Style Sample Magazine, Maddie of Sprinkle Diary gives us some great photography tips. If you’d like more information on how to take amazing pictures for your blog, check out the following:
Here’s a quick tip for taking outdoor portraits, which comes in handy when taking pictures of your outfits:
“One of the great hidden features on digital cameras is the fill flash or flash on mode. By taking control of the flash so it goes on when you want it to, not when the camera deems it appropriate, you’ve just taken an important step toward capturing great outdoor portraits.
In flash on mode, the camera exposes for the background first, then adds just enough flash to illuminate your portrait subject. The result is a professional looking picture where everything in the composition looks good. Wedding photographers have been using this technique for years!
Another good technique is to put the model in the shade under a tree, then use the flash to illuminate the subject. This keeps the model comfortable and cool with no squinty eyes from the harsh sun, and this often results in a more relaxed looking portrait. Remember, though, that most built-in camera flashes only have a range of 10 feet (or even less!), so make sure you don’t stand too far away when using fill flash outdoors.” From MacDevCenter
How very Mad Men!
Overheard