Saturday Recap

Hello,

Today morning I took this photo of my makeshift photo booth. The morning light was just perfect today! Perfect day for photo session.

I found these block in my UFO bag and did a prep work. Now they are ready to quilt! I think diagonal grid line quilting will look good, what do you think?

Another prep work was cutting these batting for pillow covers. So excited for this project. It's simple wholecloth quilt kind of cushion like this one, which I think will be perfect for your summer decor. I will finish the quilting of all the front panels then will finish the cushion covers.

I finished quilting 4 tops for now. I  love this green chevron so I thought just following the gap in between each chevron print and loved how it turned out. The wonky lines turned out really good. I will take a better picture next time!

One happy mail! yes the Hex n More ruler from Jaybird Quilts. I wanted to make something like this and my friend, mbak Belly, suggested I get the ruler. 

and of course I had to try it! Jewel Hexagon - one block at a time!!

And this Nautical theme wallet is what I am currently working on. It's a single travel wallet! So excited to work with new fabric!! I hope to complete the orders before mid of next week

That's all for my Saturday Recap! Most are still in a WIP stage which hopefully I will be able to complete some of them tomorrow. The boys are going for another round of Avengers movie so I have a few hours undisturbed sewing time! 

What about you? What are you working on this week? If you completed something or have a new listing in your shop, do LINK UP in my new link up party Handmade Happiness!

Until next time!

{HOW TO} - How to Edit Instagram Photos that Sells - Simple Guide

Hello again, 

Everyone is on instagram nowadays. It's the best social network to share your photos, videos and now even life event. People love instagram more because we want to SEE. Yes visual is very important, especially if you are a  mompreneur  and running an online shop or selling via instagram but don't have time to edit photos from editing apps. You want your product to stand out, to be drool worthy. 

Most of us mompreneurs don't have time to go back and forth from editing apps to Instagram. And we are not quite happy with the stock filters too.  

Here's what I usually do before sending out my product photos to the world. 

1. Open your instagram and click your profile, and click that + sign at the bottom of the screen. 

2. Instead of using photos from the gallery, choose PHOTO.  Position your mobile camera in the angle that you you like best. This way, your photo is just perfect size for Instagram. Cropping your stock photos will (more often than not) make your photos size look odd for Instagram frame. 

Check my Simple Guide on How to Take Good Photos for your Online Shop

3. I know there are so many apps out there offering various of filters including instagram. Don't use that. Instead, click EDIT where you can adjust the photos to look bright and natural. 

4. What I am using most is  BRIGHTNESS. Adjust it so that it looks natural. If you set your phone brightness to Auto, change it. That way you know how the photos will look in reality. 

5. My next step usually CONTRAST. Especially if the object is dark or bright colors. Adjust it to look like the real color as much as possible. 

 6. Next is SHADOWS. Use this if your source of light is not evenly distributed. 

 You can see the difference here. 

7. I  use TILF SIFT if I want to focus on one part of the photos. It's perfect for highlighting your speciality, your new label, your perfect stichetes, etc. 

 8. You can experiment with the rest of the Editing taps. Now, you're ready to post your photos. Don't forget to add those #hastags. Use suggested popular hashtag. 

It's super easy right? I know many mompreneurs out there who don't have time to sit and edit every single photos before posting it. I hope this simple guide will help you improve your Instagram photos. Write your comment if you want more simple guide.

I will talk about #hashtag your post in my next post. Subscribe for my post at the top of this blog to get updates. 

Until then,

Happy Posting

Simple Guide - taking good photos for your online shop

When you are selling online, a GOOD, professional looking photography is a MUST. I've done a lot of reading {and I still do} on how to take a good product photography.

I follow these few simple guides:

1.Natural Light is the BEST

But not direct light. Which means, take your photos in the room which doesn't get direct sunlight. I have a small balcony adjacent to my room, which is has a good natural light. The balcony is facing North. The best time is before 11 am and around 3-4 pm. And you ask WHY? because indirect natural light will give you the best color of your product.

This is unedited, taken under indirect natural light

My sewing room has natural light most of the time, but it's facing East, so it gets direct light most of the time. When I took photo in my sewing room, the result is either too bright or too dark. 

Never take your photos at night, even with sufficient light

I took this photo at night with a poor background and I had a tough time editing it.

2. NO FLASH

NEVER use flash light. The best picture is the one which doesn't need much of editing. Whether you take with DSLR camera, pocket camera or your mobile camera. Flash will a harsh shadow on your product and you will have a hard time editing it. Especially if you are not expert in it. I don't know how to use photoshop, I love using picasa or photoscape which is easier.

with flash

without flash

3. BACKGROUND

Background is very important. Remember your product is the CENTER of attention. So, to many thing in the background will distract the buyer. Use minimal prop which can enhance your product. If your are not sure what prop you should use, white background always works best.

I'm using this inexpensive canvas board as my background. I put it on top of my trunk, and cover it with tablecloth when I don't need it. Since it's very dusty here I make sure to cover it.

As much as you can, try to convey the uniqueness of your product. Less is always better. I usually like to browse craft magazines and pinterest to get ideas  on how to use the prop.

Make sure the background is less busy or less colorful than your product. The FOCUS is on your product, not the green leaves or the Chrystal vase behind the product. 

Look at this photo, the idea was to show that you can use the mat for the chrystal vase. But the vase is too big that you cannot see the design of the mat

Compare to this one

The simple prop makes the mats pop out

4. Camera Setting 

It's always best to use camera with higher  resolution. At least 8 mega pixel and above for Android Phone. For iPhone 5 mp is sufficient to give an editable and clear picture. Why? because you need to crop your picture.  If you are using lower resolution camera, when you crop it, the picture will not give you a clear image and sometimes it breaks/grainy

The size of an image taken at different resolutions

Photo courtesy Morguefile

You can read more about Digital Camera Resolution HERE

If you have DSLR but not very familiar with it, go with the automatic setting. In my Canon its the P sign. When I am in a hurry, that's what I do. If I am using mobile camera I always turn OFF the flash. 

Always click many photos, try different angles, and different props. For one product I took around 15-20 pics.

Of course DSLR camera gives a better result, especially for close up pictures 

and it also can capture more natural color of the product. Especially for my fabric shop I try to always use my DSLR

But

some photos in my handmade ETSY shop was taken using my mobile camera. If the light is good, sometimes it gives a good natural color which doesn't need much editing.

It's as simple as that. All you need is an extra time and patience. 

I'm not an expert and I'm still learning. If you want to know more

Etsy has a good guide in its blog from Beginner's Guide to Smartphone Photography .You can check Etsy BLOG for complete list.

Happy Clicking