Fall color in a maturing garden install.

More in the life of a landscaper. It's been very wet these days as fall is coming on strong in the Northwest.

We are back at a clients garden we installed a few years ago to add a short doggie/baby fence. All of the gardens are carefully thought out to give great color year round and plenty of interest. This garden is one of my favorites. Someday hopefully, I want as much color in my own as yet unfinished garden.

Red door, yes please!

Another great thing about this one is the sweet smell it has. There are some great Daphne bushes in full blossom that smell wonderfully sweet, as well as a Katsura tree that smells like carmelizing sugar as the leaves turn and drop for the season. This garden has year round color that just brightens up the whole area!

I would sit out on the porch with the morning paper (laptop version) and a latte. As a bonus, they have a great local coffee shop just a few blocks away. What a lovely view to enjoy.
And for the full effect, above shows the after, and below is where we started...

Saturate me!

The world is just better in color. Technicolor understood this, and you should too. :) Of course at this point you are way past Technicolor and may have a TV bigger than most large dogs. So yes, you understand.

And because color alone is not enough, I always like to add texture and pattern. Eventually in this garden 2 large maple trees will need to be removed. It's okay because they are in really sad shape and have been hacked to bits by the electrical company. Why we plant trees under wires is beyond me. Why the wires are not underground to eliminate the need to alter our tree planting is even further beyond me. I mean save the trouble (trees falling, constant limb trimming, wind, downed lines) and just find a reasonable way to put them underground. Plus they are darn ugly and I could go on but I will step down because this post is about stucco :) So these trees will still be used in the garden, and as acknowledgment of their service to the world their leaves are being memorialized into the stucco texture. They will either be used as woodchips in the raised planter area, or the clients may have them made into furniture if they are able. There is a company called Urban Hardwoods that makes some great items out of "discarded" trees.

This is the stucco coat in progress. James goes along and presses it onto the wall, and I get to smooth it out to get the texture we are going for. I also press in leaves that were chosen from the maple trees. (There are 3 Ginkgo leaves in it as well because, it's what we do.) The leaves are carefully smoothed over and when the stucco has set just right, I pull them out and with some luck (technique) they come out perfect. I love how they make a matte texture in the wall.

But there you have the color, with the stone caps in place and all that fun stuff.

A fun find in the garden. In the process of working in a persons garden, we tend to watch plants. At a certain point we have to decide what stays, and what goes. In most gardens, things are at such a sad state that it all goes. This one is a little different. Clearly a plant lover has lived here in the past and has planted some really unusual species. Not necessarily rare, but different than the typical Northwest Rhododendron and Juniper combination.

Here is a plant we had been watching to see what the heck it was. The flower finally came out today and it is just so cool! I know you want one! Okay, so this plant has a secret. Well, it's a secret to those of you who don't already know what it is, or cannot smell it over the computer.

Look closely...

See the flies? Yeah, so it smells like doodie. Here we are trying to stucco and wondering how a dog got into the fenced garden...

However, despite that, I still want it! It's cool looking! I have enough space in our garden to plant it somewhere away from paths and things. And it will certainly stand out from there. Definetly not a courtyard plant though. It only stinks for a day, like a yearly event to mark on the calender. Like waiting for the first crocus of spring, right?

Dracunculus vulgaris, a phallic gothic stinking plant that I think is too cool! (Yeah, they call those kinda looking plants amorphophallus. Wanna see more?)

Oooh, nice pictures.... how do you do that?

Well, I'll tell ya.

(Send me your before and afters, and I will do an update with your shop link when I get a few, I would love to see them!)

First I must say this is just what I have learned for myself over the last year or so. I have not taken classes and don't know if there is a right or wrong way. So, if you disagree, that's cool and I am open to comments if you wish to leave them.

You don't need a brand new top of the line camera unless you are planning on really doing elaborate highly detailed work. My camera is a five year old Olympus Digital with 4 megapixels, and it works fine for what I need to do. Tricyrtis Hirta "Miyazaki" (ToadLily) taken from our garden.

First step, know your camera and its settings.

(I know, boring huh?) If you don't know what you are doing with the camera, most of your shots will be wasted, as well as your time. Get your manual that came with your camera. Don't know where your camera manual is? Google it, the information is bound to be somewhere.

Learn how to navigate the controls on the camera and mess around with the settings to see what they do. There are some important settings that I use every day, and some that I rarely even bother with. An important one is the MACRO setting. Using the camera in this mode will allow you to place the camera very closely to the subject so that you can get more detail.

Keep in mind that every little detail will show... even those you cannot see. I try to avoid taking photos of my hand in this setting. Dust, fuzz, lint, everything that is in your photo... will show up. For this reason, I keep a little lint roller around, and a polishing cloth. Even fingerprints on gemstones and beads will show up. But hey, this is what we want right? Details! It's the details that draw me to individual beads, and I love to be able to see them.

Another important setting is WHITE BALANCE. This setting tells the camera what kind of lighting you are dealing with. Cameras have an auto mode, but look around for your light settings and see what it offers in terms of customizing the settings based on what you are lighting with. If I take a photo on the auto setting, and I am using my daylight bulb, the photos turn out really yellow. If I adjust that to the "lightbulb" setting, they turn out much truer to color, which is what we are going for.

Mine has settings for daylight, indoor light, florescent lighting, overcast and the Auto setting. I use the indoor, and daylight settings most often. Occasionally if I am taking "food" photos I use the florescent one because of our kitchen lighting. (It's hard to make food photos look good!)

Lighting

This is probably the most important one of all to make sure you get the "top of the stack" photo that you are looking for. It definitely sets my photos apart from each other when I use "natural" lighting as opposed to my desk lamp. Natural lighting can be difficult to attain however.

TURN OFF the flash. Don't give your products red eye.

Here are a few examples of lighting:

First is a photo with regular room lighting, camera set on auto. This photo is fuzzy because the camera didn't have enough light for such a close up shot, it is also yellow toned because the camera was set on auto. I make sure and set for my lighting because sometimes it seems the camera needs to know.

This photo was taken using direct sunlight as a light source (with the camera set on sunlight setting). It gives the camera plenty of light but I dislike the harsh shadows and glare that show up. I think they detract from the item itself.

The third photo uses the same sunlight (and setting) behind a white sheer curtain. It cuts the glare and harsh shadows and I think it shows the item best. Another option I would use would to place a white paper behind the subject to catch the light and reflect it... but that is a little more detailed than I want to go into...

This was taken with my "daylight" bulb (camera set to indoor lighting). I think it flattens the subject and really does not express the true color of the subject. It is however the most reliable and controllable way for me to light my photos.

04/05/09 UPDATE: Most recently I splurged on an OttLite bulb and it really helps provide a nice clean white light that other bulbs I have used do not. If you are going to splurge on something, it might as well be something that helps the business grow, right? :)

Editing is something that may be controversial for many when it comes to items for sale. Keep in mind though, most digital cameras edit details while you are taking the photo anyway. I try to represent my items as accurately as possible. I do some minimal editing on a few of the photos if I feel the representation could be more accurate. Ultimately, the goal is to take shots well enough that I don't have to do anything to them.

This is how the last photo would look after editing.


04/04/09 Unedited OttLite photo (my new favorite). I made a new pair of earrings so you could get an idea of the difference. Sometimes I choose to filter the light a bit because of all the reflection. How? Tape a sheet of white velum over the bulb, far enough so ya don't burn the house down.
Focus

It is a great idea to practice with your depth of field when taking product shots. We have all seen those great close ups that fade off... they make me want to know what the rest of the product is... they make me want to click! That is what we are going for here.

When in the macro setting, use the little cross hairs that indicate the center of the photo to focus your camera on a particular spot of a larger object. Get up close and personal with the subject, decide what you want in focus, hold very still, and click. HOLD VERY STILL! Get a tripod if you have to. Use the table, desk, or wall to brace yourself from movement. This is very important when taking detailed shots.

Some cameras will allow you to focus by partially depressing the button. I do this to find where I like the focus to be, then I take the shot.

The first photo (of a fork) focuses near, on the tines (and I like it the best). The further away you focus, the more light the camera needs, the following shots were taken with the same lighting, and no adjustments.

This next photo focuses on the neck of the fork, while the rest is out of focus.


The next one focuses on the handle... this will show the most of your background.


Backgrounds

I take this opportunity in my photos to try to get a cohesive look when they are all viewed at once. It gives me a way to "set the mood" if you will. I chose a gray velvet mat for my items because it shows up both black and white and colors well. I have minimal other "props" because many times it only detracts from the subject that you want people to focus on.

Also keep in mind that having a unique background can make your products more recognizable. This is an important part of branding. The hard part for me is I change my mind quite often about how I want my photo backgrounds to look...

Try to include one shot of you holding, or wearing the item. It really helps if you are trying to sell it. Add measurements, but remember that there is no replacement for seeing something as it is worn, or held.

I also add my shop name to the photos when they are for sale. That way, if someone just sees the photos, they can find my items. I recommend that it be subtle so as not to dissuade possible space in treasuries or the front page of Etsy or other selling sites.

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I hope that these things I have learned will come in handy for you. Have fun taking your photos!

As the addiction developes...

I got some silver. I have been practicing with the plated silver and now I have the real silver and it is so pretty and shiney...

This is my practice:The next thing is to decide which gemstone looks best with it... I actually have some Swiss Blue topaz! That's fancy and so pretty...

Yes, I will be selling my practice. Then I will sell a sterling version of those that I really like. so stay tuned...

Choice of colors!

I had my choice of colors! There was even glow-in-the-dark and sparkles! I chose orange. Orange doesn't get enough credit. Everyone always likes blue. Blue this, blue that. The sky is blue, when it isn't gray... but when the leaves turn orange, that's the stuff. So anyway, I chose orange and a kitty cat! They even offered a choice of picture. Isn't it fun to be a kid!

It's not gross. Get over it.