A while back we posted some snippets the sunshine strips quilt we were working on for Quilt Magazine and ran a give-away asking you for some name suggestions. Last month we went on a road trip to visit with our friends at Quilt Magazine on location at a photo shoot where they were actually taking pictures of our sunshine strips quilt. This fun little adventure was well worth the 5 a.m. start time and 2 hour drive. We knew a quilt magazine doing a shoot so close to our homes and actually shooting one of our quilts would probably never happen again and were thrilled to be invited.
The shoot was being done at a beach town called Seaside for two summer issues of the magazine – the irony that it was January and one of the coldest days we’d had so far wasn’t lost on us at all LOL!
While we watched everyone buzz around preening and primping the quilts we became painfully aware of the shortcomings our own quilt photographs suffer from. Compared to how the pros do it, our attempt to take styled photographs of our quilts really seams pathetic in comparison. The up side? It made us feel a little better about ourselves – no wonder our pictures don’t look like the ones in the magazines – I took booth pictures with my I phone, but one had professional lighting and styling, the other had my best effort. Can you imagine how good it’s going to look after the photographer with real skills and a proper camera has a crack at it?
The level of detail that went into preparing each quilt and shot was extensive and extremely subtle. The shoot as a well coordinated effort that involved an assortment of people. Kelly, the photographer, controlled the angles, points of view, light and ultimately the “feel” of the photo. She’s got to be some kind of miracle worker to make it look like it was the middle of summer instead of a cold winters day! The assistants basically run their butts getting props, picking up quilts from UPS (there were some still coming in the day of the shoot) changing lights, switching lenses, holding cell phones…. The art director conferenced in via phone and skype and would have them move picture on the wall up or down, remove something completely or move something as small as a seashell half an in counter clockwise (seriously!). Debbie Hearn, the editor, gracefully entertained us, answered all of our questions while still coordinating the shoot. How clever is she? Pictured below: really cool shot of a quilt featuring Camelot Cottons (sorry I don’t know who designed it) and Kelli Baxendale Photographer
There was a stylist, Elizabeth, who selected the locations, layouts, props and basically set everything up in that picture perfect way you always wish your house looked when your mother in law arrives. She told us she travels to the shoots by car and crams it full of anything and everything she thinks that might work with the quilts – you’ll see what I mean a little further on. Pictured below: Stylist Elizabeth Demos and Linda Smoker who was playing assistant, but she’s actually the technical editor.
What I learned a lot from watching true professionals work their magic will change the way I take my quilt photos from now on. Some of their tricks are beyond me, but there are a few pretty low tech, zero training clever things I caught onto that might be of interest to anyone taking pictures of their quilts.
Elizabeth used layers to build the cozy style she created, not only with the quilt, but also with the pillows. Under our quilt are two other layers – first is a feather duvet (comforter) and then a solid blue whole cloth quilt which is cleverly presented as the back of our quilt. If you look closely you’ll notice the quilting on the front of our quilt doesn’t match the “back”.
This wasn’t done because the back we picked was ugly, in fact it was a teal blue as well. Elizabeth “switched” the back so she could introduce the pretty matching shams, plus the extra layer gave the folded section more body. How clever is she?
The duvet held the shape of lumps and bumps that Elizabeth carefully scrupled into the layers so that the actual quilt looked warm and inviting rather than rigid or stiff (case in point – scroll back up and look at the photo I took).
No detail of the room was left un edited and even if you haven’t got a stylist with impeccable taste and a car load of killer props something as simple as removing every day clutter, power cords and family photo’s (I know, I know) can really help. We also learned from Debbie that quilts that have been washed seem to drape better which often leads to a better photo. When I took a class from Karen McTavish last year she said that wool or polyester batting tends to drop the wrinkles very quickly, hang better and have an easier drape to them. All things to consider if you plan on taking quilt pics.
The next big challenge for most of us is light, right? Kelly didn’t use any direct light, the flashes (and she used all kinds of gear) all flashed away from the quilt, either at the floor, wall or ceiling. Why she did which, when or where is something I’m sure she went to school for a long time to learn about and completely beyond my ability to reverse engineer. She also had a white sheet over the window which diffused the glare of the natural light into the room. How clever is she?
My highlight of the whole trip was the “magic tape” Elizabeth had. It’s metal and sticky on one side and traditionally used for AC duct work. Elizabeth would stick it where the camera couldn’t see it and get any fabric object to essentially do her bidding. No more saggy purses, pillows, quilts – too bad it doesn’t work human parts LOL. Pictured below: Linda Smoker, Elizabeth Demos and Debbie Hearn, Editor of Quilt Magazine
These ladies really looked at their shot before they “snapped”. We recently took some pictures of a quilt on Colleen’s pier and I took great pride in the fact that I actually noticed the seagull poop while taking the pictures (and could reposition accordingly). Normally we’d have been completely oblivious and would only notice when one of the Toadsters would point out after the photo had been in use for a year or so. How clever are we? LOL
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Blog Post written by Chloe Anderson © 2011 Toadusew Creative Concepts
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