Tool Around

A few years ago at blogging conference I sat in on a panel of crafters who, among other things, discussed how having an online presence gave them an invaluable way to not only promote their work but also to sell it. Although I can be crafty, I am not a crafter but none the less saw great value and understood exactly what was being shared; the value and power of using the internet as a tool.

Of course having Amy Sedaris there didn’t hurt in making the panel totally entertaining and fun to be apart of—a la her hilarious stories of googly-eyes and cupcakes—but that’s beside the point.

I myself enjoy frequenting many of the craft blogs I have come to love online not only because of their lovely handmade offerings but also for their photography. These women are not only creating beautiful pieces of art they are also artfully capturing them in stunning photographs which for me is just the icing on cupcake, so to speak.

I was having this very discussing with my step-mom who has in the last year or so taken up making exquisite wire wrapped beaded jewelry. Her biggest challenge has been how to simply take better pictures to post over at her Etsy shop—to not only showcase her work but to help sell her one-of-a-kind pieces. We spent a morning together chatting and shooting and uploading and comparing snapshots to more mindful, deliberate, artistic images of people’s crafts.

A snapshot of something handmade is just a snapshot but a beautiful photograph of the same object elevates that object. A picture can be worth a thousand words so why not have it speak of the story of the craft? The process, the detail, the effort, the care, the texture, the color, the fabric, the size, the shape, the personality, the love can all be captured through the lens helping to tell a unique and compelling story of the subject and hand and what it took to create it.

I’ve been musing on how as creative beings our tool boxes are brimming with the tools we use everyday; to create our own unique masterpieces, to capture the world around us, to share what we do with others. Whether it’s wire, needles, buttons, a macro lens, light box, Photoshop, a blog, we are using invaluable tools each day to execute and share our work whatever it may be. Just as a recipe takes the right mix of ingredients to make the perfect cake, with no element being more important than the other. And it doesn’t necessarily stop there. After all, one wouldn’t dream of baking the cake without frosting it and then offering a fork, would they? Well, OK, there are cupcakes but my point is that to take our creativity from start to finish we need the right utensils to mix our own well-balanced artistic alchemy

Enlighten us with the tricks of your trade and the process it takes to make it happen. What tools are first and foremost in your arsenal?

Comments

[kosenrufu mama]

have a nice weekend!!!!
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23206424@N07/3257835834/

[Marcie]

Aaah - the tools of my trade. People are always asking about my 'processing' tricks.
My camera..my lenses...photoshop CS3..nik image software..and - of course - my all important eyes.
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=680

[Puna]

My mother is a talented and prolific knitter. Her sweaters are a hit with the family and with all of the charity auctions within a 100 miles of my home town! I would love to help her sell her wares...I would also love to knit like her! I just have to get the courage to start...

[Nancy New]

Great blog,,,And about tools of the trade. .. I thought it was just about round nose pliers, great silver wire and chasing hammers. But now I see it is about my camera.

[Rosa]

A window. It is my light source for capturing photos of my finished objects.

[shelli]

Well, this isn't something I made, but it may kind of go with what you're saying. I've been taking photos of some of the things in my house that I love, and one of them is the armoire that belonged to my great-grandmother and my father refinished it many years ago. I think I was told that she even made the armoire herself (or maybe another family member?), but I'm not sure about that. Anyway, I took this photo of the wooden peg in the armoire the other day, and perhaps here it can be a reminder of the tools that were once available to us. And that people have always been resourceful and managed to live without things that we take for granted today.

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Site/The_Focal_Point/Entries/2009/2/6_Wooden_Peg.html

[Meryl]

For me, it's all about the knitting needles. Oddly, I don't often have a hard time figuring out how to photograph that (see: www.mybitofearth.net/2009/02/toasty-armwarmers.html ). What was hard for me was when my Sweet Husband asked me to shoot some of his work last summer. Metal is just so much harder to capture than fabric and yarn. It took some trial and error, but ultimately I feel like I was able to show his work as beautifully as it is in person: http://www.blaineallmond.com/

[Charlane]

I wish I was crafty

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

I believe that I possesses a keen eye for the often overlooked and unexamined everyday details, it doesn't matter what other tools I have available to me. That's all I need :o)

~WW
http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com

[spread your wings]

I visit etsy most every day and find that it is the photography that makes a product look exquisite and well-crafted or just plain ordinary. I believe the photographing and styling of the products can make or break the shop itself. And even though I know this I feel I have failed to make the products in my shop look the best they can. I need to work on this.
Just recently I tried to photograph a new piece I made in metalsmithing. I didn't get any good photos. I plan to work on that more this weekend.

http://spreadingwings08.blogspot.com/2009/02/ripples-ruffles.html

[Stacy]

I think sharing my work with others had spurred me to create more. My blog has definitely been a catalyst for my creativity. There's nothing like getting positive feedback on my work to make me want to do more.

I have a flickr set on the clothes I've made:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/sets/72157594269413929/

Taking photographs of them is always a challenge. Especially in the wintertime. I don't get very good ones then. The summer, though...those I really like how they turned out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/2289715823/in/set-72157594269413929/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kraft/2767401110/in/set-72157594269413929/


Here are a few of my favorites on my little model:

[tonya]

for me, everything is fair game, be it old, new, traditional, modern, digital etc. they're all tools.
but the real magic happens somewhere between eyes, head, heart and hands.
great post!
tonya

[hi kooky]

First and foremost, my camera, my eyes, and the right side of my brain. Once I'm behind the camera, I stop thinking and start doing. I just follow what I like. I know what works when I see it, but I'd be hard pressed to explain why. I don't know if it's technically the right side of my brain that's hard at work, but it's something intangible, for sure. I don't like to talk when I'm shooting. (Obviously, I'm not a portrait photographer! Unless it's my kids... they understand what my grunts and gestures mean :)) Then, of course, there's Levels and/or a touch of Curves in Photoshop. And that's it! I like to frame it the way I want it when I shoot it. I don't like to mess with much else. I really believe that artful photography starts in the mind.

http://hikooky.blogspot.com/2009/02/today.html

[Kelly]

I always need light. Sun or moon or flash or candle or light bulbs or headlights or whatever. Light and story - I must always have a story to love the photo I take. I need breathtaking, I need feeling, I need innocence. I need curious and hopeful and interesting. I use lines and layers and planning and impulse. Sometimes, I need a click before I see what the picture will become, sometimes I need a picture before I see where the click must be. I retouch my images in Photoshop. Sometimes I need more color. Sometimes I need more contrast. Sometimes more black, more light, more shadow. And sometimes, I need less of everything - sharpness, contrast, light. As long as I can see, I have what I need to create. If I can't see, I can hear. And if I can't hear, I can feel, and if I lose that, I'm probably dead, and I pray that what I leave behind will be enough for someone else to see and feel and create.

Wonderful post!

[Toni]

The tools in my arsenal, photography-wise, are my Canon XTi, Lightroom, Photoshop CS4 and a couple of lenses, my favorite of which is a Lensbaby Composer. I'm finding that I use Lightroom much more than Photoshop and it has saved me a bunch of time, as does shooting in RAW. I coincidently posted my process today - it goes something like this:

http://dailyvignette.com/2009/02/06/my-process/

[Shalet]

First you need needles:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peculiarmomma/2179789448/

And some yarn:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peculiarmomma/2910258424/in/set-72157594517281595/

Then a work in progress:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peculiarmomma/2365882012/in/set-72157594517281595/

Then a final product:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/peculiarmomma/2175894548/in/set-72157594517281595/

Couple this with a sprinkling of natural light, a Nikon D70s, an occasional duaflex and a bit of photoshop love ... and there you have it. Crafty (or at least the appearance of). :o)

[Julie Alvarez]

I make lots of things. Some of them, I've been posting in a set of mine. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/sets/72157603241865935/)
I realize that my photography has changed in these last years, because I am paying much more attention to everything, the composition, the light, the details.
My tools are always light (it doesn't have to be perfect), and most of all my EYES.
Then, outside photography, there are so many favorite tools... Needles, yarn, sewing machine, embroidery floss and hoops, color pencils, black thin markers, paper, and pretty much anything that keeps me going with my ideas.