Profile & Review: The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos
Posted by Rena Tom · Thursday, January 26, 2012 · 5 Comments
I am very pleased to be part of the blog tour for Heidi Adnum’s new book, The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos
(Interweave). Heidi is a professional photographer who lives in Australia. She also is a crafter who sells on Etsy. She’s offered photography tips on Etsy and was approached to write a book to help makers learn more about what makes a good product and marketing photos.
First, the review. I think this book is going to be a godsend for many makers who take their own photos for their promotional materials and websites. Besides basic overviews of photographic terms (and how to achieve them in the camera, or with post-processing), the book has chapters devoted to specific categories of objects. It’s interesting to learn that certain kinds of backgrounds or lighting work best for different products like jewelry, children’s toys, prints or handbags.
Almost every photo in this book is an actual product shot by a different small designer, so it’s wonderful to connect the dots and recognize your favorite makers, if you are a fan and follower of handmade. In addition, each shot lists camera body, lens used, aperture, exposure and shutter speed. This is great information if you are trying to duplicate a shot, and also is reassuring if you are on a point-and-shoot budget. Not all photos in the book are from fancy SLRs; it’s great encouragement for creative business owners who by necessity are doing everything themselves.
In summary: I wish this book was around when I was shooting my own jewelry for my website, almost 10 years ago. It’s a great handbook if you want to up your game this year with more professional and creative photography.
This is Heidi. How cute is this picture?
And now…since I normally run creative entrepreneur profiles today, Heidi has graciously agreed to be interviewed about starting her own business. Thank you Heidi and Jaime from Interweave for this opportunity. Read on!
The Start
In 2006, Will, my husband, and I moved from Australia to London to work and travel. Initially, we planned to stay there for one year but that quickly turned into two, then three, four and it wasn’t until the end of the fifth year that we did actually move back home. In our third year (2008) I quit my job returned home to Australia for a family emergency and then again, a couple of months later, for Christmas. When I returned to London in 2009 and started looking for a job, we were right in the middle of the global economic recession and the role that I was looking for just didn’t come up. I realise now that I lived those five years in one-to-twelve month lots – I still wasn’t sure if 2009 was going to be our final year in London. By this point I figured that if I was going to spend fairly short periods of time doing one thing – like a year or two in a day-job – it had to be interesting and enjoyable. With encouragement from Will and my closest friends, I looked into the possibility of turning my interest and skills with photography into more of a professional pursuit.
Despite the recession, people still wanted photographs taken. The difference seemed to be that they wanted a more modern, relaxed, and affordable service, and I could offer that. Within a few months, I was travelling all over London working as a photographer. I found Etsy a year or so later and decided to open my own shop to sell prints. I started making Good Will Bunting in 2010. I wanted to spend more time being creative and I found cheerful fabric bunting to be the perfect solution. I loved it so much that I decided to develop a range and add it to my shop, too. This step allowed me to combine the two things that I was enjoying most, photography and crafting, and the foundations of my business were set.
Challenges
I’d say there were three main obstacles – responsibility, approval and negativity – and I’ve needed to deal with them all in a similar way.
Firstly, I think I underestimated how stressful being responsible for absolutely everything would be. I always work hard to ensure my clients receive an excellent product and service but occasionally things just don’t go to plan. In a typical workplace, when you need guidance and help to problem-solve, you can approach colleagues and upper-level management. When you do everything – from making the tea to signing the cheques – and you don’t have any colleagues, you can feel burdened with large decisions and worries. I’m eternally grateful to my nearest and dearest who offered me support and a friendly ear when I needed it. Ultimately, however, when the buck stops with you, it can be isolating and frightening.
Secondly, approval. I’m not the type of person who cares too much about what people think about me and gaining approval, nor am I easily embarrassed and I’m certainly not shy. However, when you start your own business, it becomes clear that the opinion of others is directly linked to your livelihood. You work hard to earn, promote and maintain a stellar reputation. In other words, you spend a lot of time working for the approval of others, which, I think, at times can be exhausting.
And thirdly, negativity. When I started my business, I was – and still am – so grateful for all of the positivity, support and helpful guidance that I received from friends and family. Then as things grew, it was great to meet my wonderful clients and listen to what they wanted more or less of. What I found odd, though, was in the very beginning the occasional negative reaction that some people that I had known for some time had to me actually starting the business. Thankfully this only happened a few times and it was only in the early days, but when I did hear it, it upset me, especially if it was from a friend.
I’m not sure if these three things are ever really entirely overcome, but for me, it has become easier to deal with them. I always try my best and that has to be good enough. I try to produce work and a service that I am happy with and would love to receive if I was my own client. I focus on the positives, look for opportunities and try to learn as much as I can from every situation. As for the naysayers, I try to find something constructive in their comments, but if I can’t see that they’re really coming from a place of love, I have to spend less time with them.
Good Advice
In addition to the Good Business Practice advice shard in the book, I would suggest starting off the way you want to continue. I have found that certain things that don’t get done in the early days can still remain undone years later. I think this is linked to identifying our weaknesses; it’s easy to get done the things we’re good at but less so when we find that particular thing challenging or boring. It might help to develop a plan to improve your weakest points. For example, if, like me, one of your weaknesses is keeping up-to-date records, set aside one day every month that is dedicated to updating things like your balance sheet, filing, tax, etc.. I would also suggest spending some time researching small business grants and/or competitions that might be locally available. These often come from government but occasionally also the private sector.
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What a great interview. Thanks for sharing this and the review.
Just purchased! Can’t wait to learn the ins and outs of taking great photos. As of now, I seem to have happy accidents and unfortunate ones as well.
Sounds like a great book! I’m going to definitely check it out further!
We are always looking for ways to improve the photos of our work. This sounds like a great resource. Thank you for sharing the interview and resource tip.
Oh WOW !! I just ordered this book last week and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. Cool, I need major help with the product photos. My pieces tend to be larger, and so many articles are written with jewelery in mind.