Weavie Business || My 6 Rules to Taking Better Photos

So you just spent a large amount of time and effort making your weave and you’re so proud of how it looks, but when you take a picture to share it the picture makes your weave look a little blah. Well today I wanted to share with you how to take better pictures of your weaves!

Normally for my pictures, I have a Nikon D90 and use Photoshop (thanks to my husband being a graphic designer), but you don’t need all that to get a nice photo. To be honest, the phones that most of us have these days have a really great camera inside them! So for this post I will only be sharing pictures that I took using my iPhone.

Alright, so here are my rules for taking better pictures:

Rule #1 || Natural Light!!!!

I really can’t stress this enough. Natural light is the photographer’s best friend. Lamp light dulls your picture and throws your colors off, which leads to…

Rule #2 || All light bulbs must be turned off while taking your pictures

See rule #1 (I know you just read it, wink). It is best to turn off all light bulbs when taking your picture, even if you are somewhat far away from the bulb. This is because the bulb can cast a yellow tint on your photo or cause unwanted shadowing. The exception to this rule is if you have a light box or photography lights which are filtered and soften, but if you have those then you don’t need this post.

Rule #3 || Set up your pictures next to a window

You can take pictures anytime of the year using natural light, you just need to be by a window.

If you haven’t already noticed I like to take pictures of my weaves laying flat, because I can assure I’ll get the best light on the “face” of my weave. But if you get great indirect light on your walls, take your weave pictures there.

I am extremely lucky to have a bay window in my house (pictured above), which I use to take most my pictures. But a normal window works just as well for natural light pictures. I’ll explain more in the next rule.

Rule #4 || Choose a complimentary background

For the picture above, I used a desk by the window with a piece of white poster board paper. I like to use white as my background because it helps my weaves be the main focus of the picture. That doesn’t mean everyone should use white, trust your instincts and use what you find visually appealing.

If you like colors then use a colored background. You can also add photo props that will compliment your weave. I’ve seen beautiful pictures that include a plant, cut flowers, or even a lovely bowel. Do whatever makes most sense to you, let your pictures be as creative as you are. Also keep in mind what the purpose of your picture is. If you’re sharing it for fun, then props and wild backgrounds are fun. If you’re taking a picture to sell it, then it is better to keep your weave as the focus, so a solid background would be better.

Rule #5 || Direct sunlight is your enemy, use indirect sunlight only

I know, I just said natural light is the best thing ever and it is, but…direct sunlight is going to mess up your picture by putting heavy shadows on it. So to get a more even lit picture you need indirect sunlight. Usually when taking pictures inside next to a window, you will have indirect sunlight. However if the sun is shining in then try to move to a different window, wait for a different time of day, or try to filter the light using thin window curtains or blinds.

If you’re taking pictures outside, it’s better to take them in the shade.  See how in the above picture, my indirect sunlight weave picture looks brighter and there are no distracting shadows compared to my direct sunlight picture.

Rule #6 || Take advantage of the magic hour and overcast days

If you don’t already know, the magic hour happens twice a day about an hour after sunrise or before sunset. At this time the light is extremely soft and indirect which makes it a perfect time to take pictures. Overcast days have this same soft, indirect lighting too! I’ve taken some of my best pictures on stormy, overcast days next to the window.

I hope this is helpful to at least some of you! Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll continue this topic with some photo editing tips using free software on your phone.

Happy Weaving!

Kate

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