Lynette :
I lay the quilt on a floor and stand on a chair for the overall picture. If you have a wide-angle lens it would be easier. then for the rest, I just zoom in on several areas and hope that four to seven pictures will capture the quilt adequately.
First I thought I wanted to play up the quilting, so I photographed them in strong sunlight. My design "wall" is portable, so I'd take it outside and pin my quilt to it. I'd position it so that the sun cast a strong shadow. The resulting photos showed the quilt and the quilting very well. However, the texture was sometimes TOO prominent. Not only did the quilting show up, but all the seam bumps and ridges, as well. I now use this setup only on quilts where I REALLY want to show off the texture. Either way, it needs to be done mid-day. Otherwise, a low sun gives your quilts a golden cast.
Next, I tried photographing my quilts outside on a sunny day, but with the quilts themselves in shadow. This has worked well, and is the setup I recommend. (Again, I use the design wall.) I always take at least 4 photos: 2 overall, and 2 detail shots.
The 3rd method is for when I'm lazy or in a hurry - although it works pretty well. This time I photograph my quilts inside, in a room with lots of natural light. Of course, I use a flash. This can wash things out. If that's a problem, I have to head outside once again.
I usually use 200 speed film. My camera has an autofocus. However, I find that I often need to focus it manually - especially on the detail shots.
I've been shooting mostly slide film lately. I've recently heard about a way to mask out the background (non-quilt portions) of the pictures. Apparently it can be maksed off with "opaque" tape. I haven't quite figured out what kind of tape this is. I'll have to research it with my local camera/photo shop. Does anyone know about it?
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