This week I had my third “photo shoot” with my ceramic pieces. A good idea, which I came up with much too late, was to READ THE CAMERA MANUAL. After two frustrating photo shoots, I finally dug out the camera manual and took it with me for my volunteer shift at the 2015 MMOCA holiday art fair. Because I worked the first volunteer shift, before the fair even opened, I had plenty of spare time to read. I learned that I should be shooting my photos in the macro mode, that I needed to change the focus, and that I didn’t need a bright, sunny day. The room I photograph in is plenty bright enough without direct sunlight. And a lamp with a white light helps, as well. I also decided that the tripod was more hinderance than help.
I set the white poster board up on the floor and set the camera either directly on the floor or set up off the floor on a dvd case, depending on the size of the piece. I did have to lie down on the floor to see through the viewfinder, but I know that at my age, getting up and down off the floor is good for my body!
Here are a couple photos of three carved cups I made. I see that in the photo on the right, the sun decided to come our from behind the clouds for a moment! As always, clicking on each image will bring up a larger version.
Rachel Imsland, Artist 