Christa Snaps

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August 5th, 2011

It’s been a VERY busy, but very good summer. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Seed Savers conference in Decorah to teach a garden photography workshop.

When I first got there, I walked around the display gardens. Really beautiful.

On Saturday night, before dinner, I got to wander around Diane’s garden and spend time enjoying the light. While thinking about the things I would teach at the workshop, I saw a little garden detail which exemplified my favorite garden photo advice. Look at things from all sides.

Shot from above, but the Love-In-A-Mist was distracting:

Moved the camera lower, now the shot is more about the plants:

Thought to myself, “what detail might the reader want from a photo like this?” The way it is woven?

Or maybe what it looks like from the other side?

Naturally, I got distracted by the same Love-in-a-mist that got in the way of my other shot, and gave it some time in the spotlight.

It was a busy two days. In addition to the workshop, I photographed a feature and a department for 2012, and met a lot of really fun and interesting people. (And I’m not just saying that because Tom and Jess helped me do a photo shoot in a heat wave.) It’s too bad we couldn’t spend a week in Decorah. I’d like to go back and see the isolation gardens and spend more time with everyone.

photo by Tom from Seed Savers

Old seed packet stamps in the Seed Savers store.

Lastly, here’s a bit of exciting (to me, and I hope to you) news–this year our book division made a 2012 Organic Gardening planner, featuring my photography. We had a box of them sent out to the conference. (They even had them out with the actual author’s books for their book signing. Whoa.) The planner won’t be sold in stores, but I got the link to share with you (especially all of you readers who are related to me.)  Buy me, I’m pretty.

Tags: garden, Iowa, photography, summer, workshop

March 24th, 2011

Katie Walker (our editorial assistant and The Green Earth Girl blogger) asked me to help her take better photos for her blog. My first impulse was to have her come to one of the food shoots, to see behind the scenes. (We will do that in future blog entries, I promise. But the reality is this: Most of you bloggers won’t have professional photographers, art directors, assistants, and prop and food stylists  in your kitchens.)

Katie brought a sandwich from the Rodale cafeteria and her point-and-shoot camera to the studio. I had her set things up for her photo the way she would at home. Then we worked together to get better photos from her camera. Here are some things you can do right now, with your point-and-shoot camera, to get better photos for your blogs.

1. Keep your props simple.

This shot is an exaggeration—Katie loves this plate, and I love this glass. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the cool dishes and glassware, but remember what my photo professor always asked, “What are you taking the photo of?”

2. Watch your backgrounds.

Take a look in the background of your photo. Are there distracting people walking by? Can you see electrical cords, appliances that have nothing to do with the photo? Clear away the clutter; it helps emphasize what you want the focus of the picture to be. Less really is more.

3. Take your object out of  harsh shadows.

Yes, high contrast can create a mood, but you don’t want your sandwich to look like it’s being served in prison. Look for even lighting in your kitchen. In the future, we’ll do a post about color balance and reflectors. For now, just drag your food away from the dungeon.

4: Keep your subject out of harsh sunlight.

Watch out for bright sun. Even with the miracle of Photoshop or other photo-editing software, it’s tough to add information to a blown-out photo. It’s so much simpler to move your subject out of the sun and make the image nicer in your camera. Those blasted highlights also wash the color out of your photos.

5. Look at things from all sides.

Move around, zoom in, stand back, get up tall, get low. Katie asked me if there were any recommended angles for food photos. I think the key is to mix it up—if you move the camera around, you can sometimes eliminate distracting backgrounds. If you shoot overhead, you can get a nice graphic shot. If you have multiple photos in a blog entry, sometimes taking it from different angles makes a more interesting pace.

In the end, I showed Katie how I would shoot the same sandwich with a digital SLR.
In my shot, I used the rule of thirds in my composition. I also changed the camera angle to eliminate the background completely. You don’t have to have a fancy camera to do either of those things. You improve your photos by keeping it simple, watching your backgrounds and lighting and mixing up your angles. You’ll know your photo is effective when people stop by your office to talk about art and keep getting distracted by wanting to eat the sandwich on your screen.

Katie blogged about our day here.

Tags: behind the scenes, blog, editorial, Emmaus, photo, photography, technique, tip