Awesome Online Class for Craft Photography

This post is brought to you by CreativeLive. I took the class for free. As always, all opinions are mine!

One thing I am CONSTANTLY trying to improve is my photography. I have learned a ton about photography through the last 6 years of blogging and a million + photos taken, but I feel like there is just so much to learn. Lately I’ve really been working on improving my photo staging skills. I am in the middle of taking the Craft Photography class by Candice Stringham on CreativeLive. Here is a photo I took recently that I felt was staged well.

Craft Photography Online Class

free-printable-christmas-utensil-holder

This image of my Printable Christmas Utensil Holders uses the Rule of Thirds and has a leading line that guides the eye to the subject. The use of aperture and blur keeps the image interesting and gives perspective. It also has a foreground, center, and background layers that add interest. The red plaid adds tone and texture to the image. The utensil holders don’t have much color, so adding a colorful background really makes them pop.

I loved Candice’s advice on photo props. She said to invest in a few expensive pieces and use cheaper items for the basics. And to avoid buying pops from popular stores, because they will be identifiable by your audience. So what I took from this was,go to the Thrift Store or Antique stores to find interesting, one of a kind pieces to use in your photos, like a vintage fan, then shop Target for those basic white plates.

Another tip that I loved, was to take the picture, really look at it, and then step away. I know some of my best shoots are ones that I redo. It happens all the time! I’ll do a photoshoot one day, edit the pics that night and then redo the photo shoot the next day.The second time around I’m able to work quicker and get better images. Sometimes I don’t have that luxury to do multiple photoshoots, so I go slower and take longer on them.

Here’s an image that I never really liked and after listening to Candice, I figured out why.

boy-room-

The reason this image isn’t quite right is the composition. I was photographing the stripes on the wall for a post and that would have been the subject of the image, but it turned out that the stuffed dog became the subject. Another thing Candice said to watch out for, is to make sure all horizontal lines are straight. The headboard is not straight in this image. I know I really need to be careful with my horizontal lines! I will have to be more careful with those lines in the future.

ruffled-burlap-curtain

This is a fun image from my new Craft Room that I never published. I feel like it is staged well and leads the eye through the image well. The subject for this photo was the ruffled burlap skirt/curtain I made for my craft desk to hide the storage underneath. The craft paints in the background tell you where the curtain is located and the industrial stool ads character and also shows how it is used. One thing Candace stresses is to show how the product {or for me, as a blogger, the subject} will make the viewer’s life better or solve a problem.

I love how the videos and class content shows hands on of actual staging and photo taking as well as the end results. Candice explains herself well and shows the principle in action. There is a lot of tips and tricks that are helpful and great product recommendations. Candice definitely knows what she’s talking about. She’s the Marketing Director for My Mind’s Eye and founder/editor of the Handmade Mood blog. That girl is oozing with talent!

I am still working my way through the class’s 38 videos. Yes, THIRTY EIGHT videos! Plus several slides shows. I have taken online craft classes before, but I’ve never taken one with so much awesome content! I was seriously blown away with how much I got for just one class. So if you are looking for online craft classes, I highly recommend CreativeLive!

If you have an online shop, handmade shop, or blog, you will definitely want to check out the Craft Photography classCandice will have you taking amazing pictures and understand how to create and stage that perfect image! All CreativeLive classes are on sale right now up to 40% off! So now is a great time to sign up for some classes or to gift them to someone on your list!

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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