From Mid To Masterful: How to Photograph Your Quilt Like A Pro
Here are ten tips to help you get a more interesting and professional photo of your favorite quilt without spending a dime. Make your pictures tell the real story of all the hard work and time that went into your creation.
I have been photographing quilts for a long time. I have also attended professional classes and demonstrations to improve my photos. Here is the skinny on everything I have learned over the years.
Important Things To Consider:
You will be able to improve your photos with only a few changes, and you don’t need a professional camera. Most of what you will find helpful is related to staging and perspective, but before you start, consider the following:
- What is the purpose of your photo?
- Can you easily remove distracting elements?
- Is there too much or too little light?
Your audience will affect your shots because you can decide if you want to add an element of intrigue, or a little extra “Wow” to your focus. Move the quilt off center, get a shot of the quilt on your machine, or fold it up into a nearly tidy rectangle.
Background matters. If you can’t change the background maybe you can temporarily cover it like they would in a studio. Duck tape is your friend. You can also make your quilt the main focus by framing out most of the background; take close up photos that don’t include the whole quilt.
You don’t want to wash out your pretty quilting stitches, but you want the colors to show in all their glory. When photographing outside make sure to go when the sun is low in the sky. Golden hour is a thing!
Fold And Drape Indoors
Sometimes you have the perfect colors and background for an indoor setting shot. Fold the quilt and let it hang to the floor. You can see that in the Tilda photograph lots of the quilt is on the floor, and part of the back is showing. This is not how it would be stored in real life, but it fills the frame and intentionally features the quilt.
In my photograph, I found that the blue and pink colors I already had added continuity to the composition. Without similar colors, your best bet it to keep the background neutral.
If you use a “portrait” setting you can also choose a focal point and slightly blur (like applying a vignette) the edges of the frame. Don’t over use this setting since you want to feature a large part (your quilt!) of the frame.
Drape Over A Fence
A fence is almost always a safe way to display a quilt. Just be careful to keep your quilt clean. Depending on your aim you can experiment with hanging the quilt flat or letting it drape diagonally, but the neutral and sometimes rustic background can add character without detracting from the beauty of your quilt.
In the photo above I liked the movement and natural feel of letting the quilt hang off center, and the folded over edge at the top let the backing fabric peek out slightly.
Fold And Stage
It’s ok that your whole quilt pattern isn’t visible in your photo. In fact, it can add a touch of mystery, and make your reader (or bff) want to see more!
I made sure to fold this quilt slightly off center so that multiple layers were visible, adding depth. Then I used up a lot of the frame with the quilt, but turned it on a diagonal. That kept it from being boring; especially because of the straight lines in the quilt design.
Hang On A Wall
I have used duct tape to hang my quilts for photos. You can’t leave the tape on the wall for long, but it’s strong enough to hold your quilt up for some nice shots. You can also use a Wooden Quilt Hanger Rack which uses a pretty wooden clamp to hold your quilt nice and straight.
In the photo above I played with the angle to show as much as the design as possible without having a straight-on shot. I liked using an angle perpendicular to my quilt’s colorful design. Take lots of photos and view them on your screen to determine which one you like most. You’ll end up deleting a LOT of photos.
Change The Angle
You can actually take a photo of your quilt by holding the camera upside down, and then turning the photo 180 degrees. This gives a surprising perspective and keeps your photographs interesting.
When I feel like my pictures are starting to look monotonous, I change the perspective. Then I rotate the photos to see where the interest is strongest.
Quilt On A Barn
Quilts look fabulous on a barn. You can still find quilts displayed on barns across the Midwest, but those quilts are created from painted wood.
I was lucky enough to have access to this little shed which looks like a barn. Hanging a quilt (with duct tape) made it so that a straight-on view was still interesting and even a little historic.
Lay On A Bed
In this photo the smaller quilt doesn’t quite cover the bed, but the surface is flat and uniform so it’s not what you notice with you look at this picture.
If you have a white blanket (or sheet) you can cover an area so that the background is uniform and does not distract from your gorgeous quilt. I like to have part of the quilt hang off the bed similarly to how draping over a couch shows some movement.
Use A Ladder
Use a ladder to hang your quilt. You can either fold it, or hang it from a corner. You might need to be creative with clips or rubber bands in order to ensure that you show off the parts of the quilt that you love. Clothes pins come in handy behind the quilt!
Remember that not every hanging photo is going to be perfect. You can see that the photo on the left isn’t as visually pleasing as the one on the right.
Your quilt does not have to hang symmetrically, but you should move it around and take several shots adjusting the perspective as you go. You will notice that some just look better than others. It’s good to be selective.
Focus On The Corner
Here is another example of leaving some of the quilt to the imagination. You can get a very nice photo of a smaller repeating design by capturing a large corner. You can clearly see the coordinating fabric, the quilt design, and even the quilting in this photograph.
Include the border and binding in your shot; it’s an important part of the framing. Slightly rotate the camera so that the edges are diagonal to the frame. Play with how much of an angle creates the most interesting shot.
Focus On Quilting
Do you like this closeup shot of the quilting process? Does it make you want to see more? Incomplete photographs can be creative and intriguing.
Whether you capture a large or small portion of your quilt in the frame will depend on your intent and your design. Try a few things and see what you like. The more you try, the more you will learn.
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