Tips for Taking Great Reference Photos for Quilts

When creating pictorial and landscape quilts, photographs make great reference sources. Try these tips to make sure you get the shot!

One Main Light Source: Try to have one obvious light source. If you are outside, the sun could fill that role, but inside, you may need to remove multiple light sources, or add a main one.
Position: Consider the positioning of the light source and the resulting effect. Move the light source, or the subject, to see if the results are improved.
Contrast: When snapping that perfect picture, be sure to have a strong contrast between light and dark. When your subject has less contrast, things tend to get muddy and grayed out.
Values: Use light to increase the range of colors and values.
Highlights & Shadows: Snap a few photos and take a look. Pay special attention to the highlights and shadows. Are the highlights focusing the viewer’s attention in the right areas?

Keep focused: A complex background takes attention away from the main subject. Take a moment to look at the background. Is it competing with the subject of the photo?
Declutter: Take away object cluttering up the background.
Cover it up: If you can declutter, try covering the background by draping it with cloth or repositioning the subject.

Wide shots: Don’t forget to take a few wide shots for context. Be careful about changing the perspective.
Change views: Take a collection of photos from one position including wide and zoomed in on the subject. Then try a new position and see if it catches your attention better. Keep moving until you find the view that gets you excited!
Lose the color: Switch over to black and white for a few photos to evaluate contrast, identify any problem shadows, and overexposure.