In this installment on photographing handmade works, we'll talk with Candy Glendening of Candied Fabrics.  We'll hear a little bit about her personal experiences and she'll also share with us how she made her own small lightbox.

Tell us about your experience with photography.

I am definitely not a professional photographer.  I'd rather spend time making my textile art than spend taking a million photos all in the hopes of getting one good shot. 

What kind of camera do you use?

A Nikon D40.  It's their entry level digital SLR and I love it!

Do you rely on any other equipment?

Just my tripod, which is easily purchased and inexpensive.

What kind of photo editing software do you use?

I recently upgraded from an old version of Photoshop Elements to Photoshop CS4.  Totally worth it!  They've improved it with a lot of new features.

How important do you think photography is when selling online?

I'm a textile artist, creating art quilts and everyday art with fabric that I dye. After 2 years of successfully selling at local craft fairs, I decided to branch out online -- to keep connecting with my current clients as well as finding new ones.  My art is visual so I need great pictures to show people what I do.  And if people are going to spend their hard-earned money on something I create, I want them to see exactly what they're getting when they open the package.

Just looking at the photos of your work, I can easily see that getting the color and saturation accurate has to be of monumental importance.  What's been your process?

In addition to having a decent camera and using a tripod, I shoot at a high-resolution and use lots of diffused light (to avoid using a flash, which gives harsh shadows).  Finding diffused light is a challenge, though, when you work primarily in the evening.  My daytime is filled with kids and a job so I did a lot of research and learned about using lightboxes.  I've successfully made 2 of them: a small one (for objects under 12" square) and a large one (for objects up to 24" tall and 36" wide). 

How did you make the small lightbox?

Quite simply, my small lightbox is a big Rubbermaid-type plastic box (18" x 22" x 17") with a long piece of white paper draped along the top, back and bottom.  You could use posterboard in lieu of the paper, too.  For lighting, I have 2 clip lamps perched precariously shining through the sides of the box.  I diffused this light a bit by putting a piece of tissue paper between the light and the box. The lights are huge, “trumpet top” daylight CFLs (# 5000k # Lumens 2100 # CRI >84). I purchased them here.

Can you share a couple of your pictures, with and without the lightbox?

Absolutely! I'll share pictures of my journal covers.  For the one I took without the lightbox, I relied on light coming in through a window.  You can tell I've lost the detail in the shadowy areas.  For the one in the lightbox, I made sure to turn off my flash and set my white balance.  I much prefer the picture of the journals using the lightbox.  I still had a little to tweak in Photoshop, but considerably less than had I not used the lightbox.  (Kathy Mack has some awesome tips about tweaking digital photos on her blog.  I recommend the post about levels, but they're all worth a read.  And they're written by a sewist, not a photographer, in language we all can understand.)

Thanks Candy, for sharing the great tips on photography and using a lightbox!  Next week, Candy will share with us how she made a large lightbox.