Tutorial Tuesday: The 2 Minute Guide to Editing Your iPhone or iPad Product Pictures

The 2 Minute Guide to Editing Your iPhone or iPad Product Pictures

Good product pictures have always eluded me. I would take 100 snapshots of my jewellery to get a handful of useable photos. Natural light is best of course, but isn’t always an option. My father (bless his heart), built me an amazing lightbox (google DIY photo lightbox for ideas). I thought that would be the end of my photography woes, but as it turns out, the editing process has a bit of a learning curve all its own. 

Here are the tricks I (painfully) learned, as well as the step by step guide on how to edit your pictures right on your ipad/iphone without any special programs to get the results above. 
Tricks: 

1. Use the right bulbs. 
This is so important. At live craft sales soft lighting is my go to. White, halogen style bulbs are too harsh and don’t show off jewellery well. I naturally applied the same principles to my lightbox lamps. What I got were dozens of grey-ish photos. Terrible.

The camera sees light differently than the naked eye. The camera loves that stark white light! Halogen away! After some trial and error this was the brand/style that worked best in my set up:

This is the lightbox set up I use:

2. Eliminate as many competing light frequencies as possible. 
My next problem was these horrible wavy stripes or lines in the photos. What were those??

It took some digging online (and lots of clever wording in Google) to find out that those weird lines are caused by competing light frequencies… in other words: turn off all the 
overhead lamps, chandeliers etc in the room. They are interfering with what your lightbox lamps are trying to do. 
You may still have some wavy lines but don’t worry, we can fix that in editing! 

Now that you have a brighter picture let’s edit… 

Let’s start with this one:

I think we can all agree that this is not an Etsy quality photograph. It’s dark and greyish. It has those wavy frequency lines. Terrible. Even though it was taken in my lightbox this picture needs a 2 minute editing session. 

For this mini how-to I will be doing the editing on my ipad, but can just as easily be done on an iPhone. 

Step 1: 
Pull up your picture, and click on the “Edit” button in the top right hand corner. This is what will come up:

Take a look at the row of icons on the right hand side. Skip the “Magic Wand” icon on the top all together. This is for automatically enhancing the photo, and we’re going to be making our edits each manually. 

The second one down is for turning and cropping. Use this one now if there is anything in your photo you want to “crop” out. Make your subject as large as possible without taking it too close to the edge. Third icon down is where the magic happens!

Step 2: 
Let’s work our way down. Let’s start with “Light”. Ignore the sliding scale of mini photos to the right and click on the list icon underneath:

Step 3: 
This will bring up a more specific list. Again let’s work from top to bottom, starting with “Exposure”

Step 4: 
Click the list icon again and move on to “Highlights”. I usually move the red line just a bit lower on the scale, but it will really depend on the photo you’re working with. You will find as you play with this program, the more you practice with different photos, the better you will get at adjusting your specific photos. You will find different and better combinations of these variables that will work for you.

Step 6: 
“Brightness”. Just like in “Shadows”, playing with “Brightness” will add depth to the subject in your photo. 

Step 7: 
“Contrast” seems to sharpen the edges of your subject (or soften, depending on what look you are going for). 

Step 8: At this point I would move on to the “Color” icon.

Step 9: 
Again, once in “Color” I would move straight to the “list” icon at the bottom

Step 10: 
“Saturation” This is where you get your colors to really POP. By sliding the red line up, suddenly the crystal on my Peter Pan bracelet looks fantastically green! Much closer to what this dazzling piece looks like in real life.

Step 11: 
I’ve never had to use the other two tabs under “Color” but if you still feel like your photo background is too beige or grey, playing with the “Cast” can give you more of a clean white. 

BEWARE! Do not hit the third Icon under “Color” which is for changing your photo to Black and White. The reason I say this is because if you do, it will automatically change your beautiful picture to black and white with no way to reverse it without dumping all your hard work and starting over from step 1. Very irritating.

Step 12: 
Presto Chango!

In 2 minutes flat! 

You now have an Etsy worthy photo in the palm of your hand. Just make sure you hit “Done” in the top right hand corner to save your finished product. 

If you are using an iPhone, the look of the icons are the same and the principles are identical, however the icons show up along the bottom rather than the right side of the screen. 

Hope this tutorial was helpful, it took lots of blood sweat and tears to figure out some of this stuff. I know I could have used a similar how-to last year. 

Cheers! 

Post by: Angela Sawatzky 

To view some of the FABulous pictures she took and edited visit her Etsy shop byblackbirddesigns or website www.byblackbirddesigns.com 

WESTies spotted : MAWA event with PeriwinkleDzyns

MAWA (Mentoring Artists for Women's Art - 610 Main Street, Winnipeg) held an Artist Bootcamp just a few days ago, featuring WESTie captain Ruth of PeriwinkeDzyns, and Caitlin of RealSwanky behind the lens!

With a wonderful, large group of inquisitive creatives, Ruth lead a 2-hour session showing us the ropes on the who, what, where, when, how & why of setting up shop on our favourite seller's platform, Etsy.

Questions were answered, discussions were had - it was a bangin' time all around! Onto a few photos and a wee Instagram mash-up..

Tutorial Tuesday: eReader Cover

Since I made the lovely Kobo cover (pictured below) for our wonderful WEST leader - Ruth from Periwinkle Dzyns, I thought I would share the How To with all the WEST fans. :D





Isn't this a terrific eReader cover? You may remember the one that I made not long ago for myself. I still love it, but I much prefer the opening along the side like this one has. But, I made this one as a gift, so I guess I'll have to follow my own instructions and make one for myself later.

Here is all the information you need to make your own.

Supplies needed:
- an eReader (for measurments)
- .25 meter of main cotton fabric or 2 fabrics if you want coordinating top flap.
- .25 meter of fleece for soft lining
- button
- coordinating thread



Time Needed:
- this took me about an hour. If you're better at math than I am, it could take you less time to figure out.

Skill Needed:
- Intermediate
- some machine sewing including buttonhole
- some math for drafting pattern


Step One:
- We're going to have to figure out the math for the pattern pieces. Take the measurements of your eReader across, length and thickness. For example: the Kobo is 4.75 inches across, 7.25 inches in length and 0.5 inches thick.
- the main panels will be:

length + thickness +1 (for the long sides)
and
Width across + thickness +1 (for short sides)

- You'll want to cut 2 main cotton panels and two fleece panels using this measurements. For the Kobo it was 7.25 +0.5+1 and 4.75+0.5+1 so 8.75 by 6.25 inches.
- For the flap panel:

length+1 by thickness+3.5

- You'll want to cut one piece with this measurement out of cotton and one piece out of fleece. For the Kobo it was 8.25 by 4.5 inches.


Step Two:
- take your two flap pieces, one cotton and one fleece and place them right sides together. Sew along short sides and one long side. Make sure if your fabric has a pattern that the long side you sew across is the bottom of the pattern. You can round off your flap like I did above. Clip corners and trim seams.


Step Three:
- Turn flap right side out and top stitch along the edge you just sewed. I used a fancy machine stitch, but a straight or zig zag stitch will work just as well.


Step Four:
- choose the main cotton panel that you want on the back of your cover. With right sides together, centre the flap piece onto a long side of your main cotton panel. Make sure the pattern on the panel is facing the proper way (with flap at the top). Baste it in place.


Step Five:
- place the remaining main cotton panel right sides together on top of the piece that you just stitched with the flap attached. Sew along both sides (not the long sides with the flap attached or the bottom long side!)


Step Six:
- Sew your lining fleece together in the same manner (right sides together, sew along both short sides).


Step Seven:
- turn your main cotton piece right side out and carefully place your fleece piece around it, right sides together. Make sure your flap panel is still facing inwards. Sew all the way around top edge.


Step Eight:
- Turn your project right side out and top stitch along the top, making sure not to catch your flap in the top stitching. Once again, I used a fancy stitch, but a straight or zig zag stitch will work just as well.


Step Nine:
- Turn your project inside out again. Stitch along bottom making sure to catch all layers in the stitching. Trim close to seam.


Step Ten:
- sew a buttonhole into the centre of your flap. And sew the corresponding button on the main panel to match up with the buttonhole.




And in 10 easy steps, you've got yourself and pretty sweet Kobo Kozy (or an "eReader of your choice" Kozy). As always, you are allowed to use this pattern however you see fit. Use it to make Kozies for yourself, your husband, cousin, local town crier, whoever. Make them for gifts, to sell, whatever floats your boat.






This How To was originally posted on my blog - The L-T Experience on May 24, 2011

Tutorial Tuesday: Aged Paper

I spent last week devouring Jane Eyre. I am not a big fan of cutesy Valentine’s Day romance, but tragic, gothic victorian love affairs are definitely my style. This week, I’ll show you how to create the base for your own gothic love letter: aged paper.

This method involves first thoroughly soaking the paper, then drying it in a warm oven. I like baking the paper after staining it because it adds great texture and a fragile quality. It’s important to have your paper cut to the desired size, otherwise you’ll end up with an undyed edge where the cut is made. The paper will curl when first removed from the oven, but pressing it for a day or two under a heavy book will fix this problem.

For this project you can use either tea or coffee. Using tea will result in a fairly subtle light brown or beige colour, while coffee creates a darker, greener stain. If using coffee, I suggest adding a bit of vanilla extract to the soaking liquid to offset the weird smell.

This aged paper works wonderfully for any project! I made some tags using this method (with coffee) and screen printed little rabbits on them with my gocco. I think this would also be great for creating a treasure map for your kids (or pirate-obsessed grown-ups).

Skill level: Very easy

Materials:

a pot of strong black tea or coffee, hot or cold

paper (white or patterned) cut to desired size

flat bottomed glass cake pan (8” x 8”, or 13” x 9”, depending on the quantity of paper)

foil lined cookie sheet

an oven

Instructions:

Heat oven to around 250 degrees F and brew your tea (or coffee) if you don’t already have some cold stuff ready.

Pour your tea (or coffee) into the cake pan and submerge your paper. Allow them to soak for about 5 minutes, or until completely permeated by the liquid.

Carefully remove the paper from the pan. Arrange the pieces on the foil lined cookie sheet. Make sure that the pieces do not touch each other. Let them sit for a couple of minutes.

Bake in the oven for about two minutes. Keep a close eye on them and USE CAUTION! They will dry out quickly, and I certainly don’t want you to have a fire! Take the cookie sheet out and gently lift the paper off the foil . This allows the bottom to dry evenly. Return baking sheet to the oven until the tags are completely dry, about one to three minutes more.

Remove the aged paper from the oven. Allow it to dry for an hour or two, then press under a heavy book to flatten.

You can embellish the paper with stamps, burns and ink splotches. Use a calligraphy pen to write your note. If you’re really enthusiastic, seal the letter with a wax seal, or tie it up with a ribbon and drop it into an old bottle. Your gothic Valentine’s Day love letter is ready to give to your beloved.