Photographing Layouts

I am often asked how I photograph my layouts so I thought I would share with you, some of what works for me. Please know that there are many ways to make this work, I am just going to share my way with some tips I've learned over time.

Many people I know lay their layout on the floor and then use a bird's eye view to take a shot of their page. The reason this doesn't work very well is that you have to be directly over the layout or you end up skewing your image.

In my experience, what works better is to tape the layout to a wall and stand directly in front of it. You need to make sure the layout is at eye-level so that you can take the shot straight on.

The kind of light you have also matters. What works best for me is indirect light coming from the side. Ideally, a lot of light. In my house, I have a large window by my staircase and I use that side light to take my photos. Here's a look at my setup:

It's pretty hard to see but right next to the framed image on the right there's a small piece of tape on the wall, I stick my layout on that tape (I happen to use double-sided dimensional tape. There are some kinds of tape that might ruin the paint on your wall so experiment if you're worried about the paint. I think masking tape might not damage the paint but I am not sure.) I stick my layout on it gently and then I stand with my back to the other wall (where the light is shining.) This window is very large so it gives a lot of light which makes my photo clear and crisp.

It's best to not take photos of layouts in direct sunlight because the dimensional elements on your page will cast shadows on the rest of your page. So find a shade which gets a lot of indirect light.

(For those of you with more advanced cameras: I open my shutter all the way when I take photos because mine don't tend to be very dimensional, however, if yours are, beware. A wide-open shutter will create a very shallow depth of field which basically means only parts of your layout will be in focus. So if you have a lot of dimensional elements, make sure to close your aperture as much as the light will allow.)

I generally take several shots straight-on and then a few from different angles. I then open mine in Photoshop (but you can use any editing software for this step) and make sure the photo is bright and sharp.

And that's it. The biggest trick, really, is to make sure you have indirect light and that you place the layout at eye-level so you can take a straight forward shot instead of at any angle. These two steps will improve your layout photos drastically.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I will do my best to respond.

 

Comments

[EFI]

Thank you sooooo much for your tips!!! These are so helpful!!!

[Michelle]

Yes pointing straight ahead is a great way to do it but not possible in my teeny tiny apartment. I get no direct sunlight at all. I have to go out into my fire escape to get direct light early in the morning- it works- but we need to move- the shot of your stairwell made me dizzy with envy. :) One thing I know a lot of people want help with- shooting during rainy or snowy weather when light is weak.

[Christa uttley]

Super helpful!!!