Taking good photos for websites

[sandytf]

Help!

I need some tips on taking good photos for our website. It's one of the things that's holding me back. I've been trying to get the content together for our floral only website (right now we're on the grocery store website and you can't hardly find us) and I'm having a hard time getting decent photos.

I really want to put our own stuff on there. There is no way we can afford to have a professional take photos every month when you want to change for seasonal/holiday specials-so I have to figure out how to do it on my own.

I have seen some nice photos on other websites. Do you take your own pics? Are you married to a photographer? How do you do it?

I would really appreciate anyone or everyone sharing their wisdom!

 

[BOSS]

First of all.... what kind of camera are you using? A quality camera makes a world of difference.

Second, what editing software?

It's really not that hard, but it does take some practice...

Here's a couple threads to peruse...

http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7743&highlight=images
http://www.flowerchat.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15910&highlight=images

 

[TGDragonfly]

The last company I headed we hired "Catalog Photographers". I can't begin to tell you the difference it makes. This is what they do.

So many people have told me how disappointed they were after spending so much money on prototypes for ad or webshots. They cut corners and called the cheapest photographer with the fancy camera, two totally different fields. Don't cut corners here. It's not worth crappy shots.

 

[santosdesigns]

When we showcase our weddings we use pics that the photographer took. They love us showing their pics plus we recommend them. Also a good digi camara helps!

 

[sandytf]

My camera is a Fuji S300 digital. It's older but does take quality pics. It has 3.2 megapixel capability.

The software is Adobe Photoshop 2.0 starter edition. Maybe that 's the problem.

thanks for the thread info-I tried searching but kept coming up with actual photos instead of information about them!

 

[alisonm1215]

I know I'm going to get slammed for this, but I think it is best to leave it to the professionals. Isn't that what we are always saying. I have made some good photographer friends through the years I was in advertising and with the event work that I do. I bet you could barter or set up a pretty reasonable shoot with one of them a couple of times a year.
As far as editing goes...it really depends on how far you want to take it. Adobe PS 2.0 is pretty dated and it is not robust enough to any real web work. There are other less expensive editors out there than the current Adobe CS
I have to disagree with the big boss on how easy it is though. Please bare with me boss. Cropping and resizing images is pretty simple, but color correction and cloning can get complicated and the tools can get overwhelming. I went through a degree program and many years as a professional graphic designer am not the guru on any Adobe product.

 

[SpringCity]

I have some John Henry and SAF images that I'm slowly trying to replace with my own. Ideally I'd hire someone but want to get this done now and have some of my own stuff on my site asap. Later maybe I'll have a photoshoot with a pro and of course get wedding photographers to give/sell me pics - I've been really bad about that and regret it. Anyway:

I use an 5 megapixel Casio digital camera and Microsoft Digital Image Pro. I use white foam core for a backdrop and try to have plenty of light.

I also keep taking test pics and then look for gaps and try to fill those in as I go, then retake. It's time consuming.

This is one I took recently so if you think this isn't good then disregard above advice!

lol

It works for me for now, not the ultimate ideal but at least it's mine. I can see that leaf to the left of the lily is causing a bit of a black spot but I can live with it (Have to, since the arrangement is long gone, heh)

 

[Mocha Rose]

Check out Adobe Lightbox as an alternative to Photoshop. It doesn't have the huge price tag and it is solely for photography.

Also a good camera makes a world of difference. SLR cameras are the best and usually start around $400 at the lower end. You cannot go wrong with a Nikon or SLR Canon.

Also get a tripod! It will make an amazing difference. Natural and artificial lighting is also important and if you are taking photos of every day arrangements, a Light Box would be worthwhile.

I studied Photo Journalism for 8 years so taking pictures comes naturally to me. However, I still rely on the pros. for some things. I've become good friends with a lot of the event photographers and they are more than willing to let me use photos as long as they get the proper credit.

However when you add up the costs of buying the great camera, the editing program, the tripod, the lighting, the hours spent staging, the hours spent editing... you may find it would actually be cheaper to hire that professional photographer. Try to barter your services for theirs. (Maybe provide floral for their table at a bridal show.) Or talk to the local art school and see if any students are looking to build their portfolio.

 

[Gigi]

In my experience from dating a photographer, most will do a shoot for an hour or two simply for word of mouth and advertising on your website/blog. You can put an add out on craiglist, you shoudn't have any difficulty finding someone now. If you wait till wedding season starts... good luck on finding someone for 'free'.

This gets me thinking, our wedding season is from May to Oct because of weather. For those of you who live in beautiful sunny locations with mild temperatures all year round, is there such a thing as 'wedding season' or do these happen every other weekend?

 

[Dorothy]

I have to disagree with the big boss on how easy it is though. Please bare with me boss. Cropping and resizing images is pretty simple, but color correction and cloning can get complicated and the tools can get overwhelming. I went through a degree program and many years as a professional graphic designer am not the guru on any Adobe product.

I'm not a "guru" on any graphic design programs either, but there are a few things that you catch on to and understand/remember or not that can make all the difference in the world to your photo.

1st - It's NOT as easy as it sounds! It can get easier once you grasp the logic and use of tools, etc., but you have to be a "detail" kind of person to really make the editing software work for you, not against you.

2nd - A Good Quality photo to work with in the first place is a must. You just can't make a "bad" photo look good, no matter how well you know the editing software. You can always downsize a larger, great quality photo and keep its quality but you can never enlarge a photo past 5% and keep decent quality, especially if the size and resolution are low to begin wtih.

3rd - Even if you dabble with the "limited edition" Adobe or whatever other photo editing program, you don't have full functionality of the software, which can and usually does make all the difference in the result. Even "good" photos many times need a little "touch up". A really good professional photographer, in this day and age, not only knows how to take a good shot but can also work with the software to make it even better, more vibrant for whatever purpose (print or web).

4th - Cropping, resizing takes know-how. A good photo can turn really bad very quickly if you don't know or understand the basics. You MUST know about resolution, optimum file size, contrast, mid-tones, transparency, layers, color correction, image mode, etc., for whichever media you choose, to achieve the desired result.

Oh, and a really good computer, with fast processing speed, lots of RAM and hard drive space is not only convenient, it's a must because the working files are always huge compared to the end file. In most cases print files should be significantly larger in size than a file used for web purposes.

 

[Tracy D'Amico]

We use a Nikon something or other - about $700 IIRC (hubby bought it without asking,,, I mean telling,,, me :> ).

All this adobe stuf .... pretty steep learning curve from what I hear. My brother uses it for his wife's business, and it isn't easy at all. We use Picasa for editing - the newest edition has a modest re-touch option. It's great for re-sizing, cropping, adjusting color moderately. If you're editing for web use, I believe you can use Picasa very effectively, and it's super easy to use. Printing is another story, but can be done well if you watch your image quality. [edit - oh and best of all, free free free on google!]

There are great threads on photography - look for one from Edward, I think his name was wildflower ... he was a photographer considering purchasing a florist & gave great tips.

It's true "designing for the camera" is t o t a l l y different from designing IRL. There are threads on that as well, I believe titled as such by CHR. Easiest tip is less greenery is better than more, variegated better than deep green. Colors are tricky, especially with deep purples/blues appearing black ...

Lighting is key - outside is great, providing you're not in direct sun. Fluorescents are the worst, washing out color. I can't use flash effectively inside yet - flattens everything out & distorts the color too much. My easiest & best shots are outside - many of the wedding pics on our site I took myself. I think all of the shots in the gallery here I took ... but I don't recall ATM.

It's another art - I truly admire photographers who can capture emotion & light & movement, make you feel as if you're there.

 

[Palms]

I take mine of arrangements and bouquets etc outside sitting on a pedestal against a black wall. The natural light does really work well for me. Although mine dont look no where near as good as some others on here. It works for me now though.

I have a photographer who takes event shots when he is doing the wedding and will just put them on a disc for me. For event shots i find that taking them at eye level looks good or with an arrangement slightly to one side of the view so it looks a bit quirky looks good too. If that makes sense??

 

[Queen of Weddings]

Give me a couple of days and the King will post all the stuff on how to do it yourself, step by step, Since he does this for a living, and I will get all the links to you as well, So that will help you all .

 

[Pandalou]

What type of bulbs (wattage) do you use?
Thanks,
Sharon

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

I get more compliments on my pics than anything else on this board.

Taking a good pic is one thing BUT when you design for pics YOU NEED TO DESIGN FOR PICS.

The only altering I pretty much ever do is I "lighten up" my pics and I crop. That's it.

I don't photoshop, IOW, I don't move the flowers around. I usually can spot a bad photoshop and quite frankly, I feel it's somewhat deceptive. I feel the arrangement should be done well to begin with. But what do I know, I'm just a designer.

I have zero problem with creating your design, taking a pic and then altering your real arrangement and taking a new pic. It will make you a better designer. It did me.

I have noticed arrangements I make that I think are very grand, after I take the pic and really look at it I find things that could have been tweaked.

Also, it's better to take a darker pic (but not too dark) rather than an over exposed pic. You can lighten it but you can't fix an over exposed pic, or at least I can't.

Another trick is do not pokon or leaf shine your arrangements before you take the pic. The foliage can get reflective.

The pic attached is an arrangement that I thought was just fantastic when I made it. Now I think it's ok, I can see so many things wrong with it.

See how reflective the fatsia japonica is? My eye is competing between the fatsia japonica and the cyms. Plus the fatsia japonica is too heavy at the bottom of the design. The pic is slightly over exposed, and there's just too much stuff in it. It's not a clean pic. The recipient thought it was great, so that's good, and the customer is an AIFD designer and she was pleased that her aunt was happy.

But still, it's just an ok photo, the more I learn and the more I take pics the better I get at designing for the camera, designing for real life, and taking the photos.

 

[Rhonda]

personally Shannon, I think the shine on the fatsia adds to the picture. It gives a dimension of color of the green and makes it "look real"

Are you using a black backdrop?

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

yes, black back drop.

Rhonda, does your eye compete between the focal and the fatsia?

Mine does, cyms should be the focal, not the fatsia.

I was told this trick of no pokon by by Marie Ackerman and Susan Ayala
but sometimes I forget anyway!!

 

[twiggy]

Shannon- taking pictures has improved my designing .. I have felt the same way .. there's just something about the impersonal, one-dimensional view of the camera--it tells the brutal truth!
I love your black background- what do you use?(what is your backdrop? fabric of some kind?)

 

[LJVF]

I use a very basic pocket sized 4.0 mega pixel camera. When I sell a few more flowers I'll get a better one. Photoshop can do wonders. I crop out the background, replace with a white background and create a shadow for most of my unique images on my website (a la CHR).

For my email blasts, I darken and blur the background and enhance the coloring on the flowers (a la RC). All can be done with Photoshop. Below are before and after pics of a recent email blast:

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

black velvet.

However dark containers get lost on the black, I've been experiments with other surfaces in the shop.

Amy had the black when I got to the store.

Honestly, Amy and Dave (her hubby) gave me some basic tips on taking pics. I've figured out alot on my own as well, trial and error.

She uses a cannon camera, I bought a kodak easy share. the software is different. And I had to play with it before I could figure it out. Which is unusual for me, cause if I don't get it right away I usually say the heck with it and move on. But I feel that being able to take good pics and having good pics are important, so I sucked it up and I'm teaching myself. I really would like to take a simple digital photography class. I don't want to mess with chemicals like in traditional photography.

Taking pics, and knowing what I'm looking for in a good pic (elements and principals) has been such a useful tool in helping me to become a better designer.

kodak easy share camera with the soft ware are around $100. well worth it if you ask me.

Also get a big memory card.

I take about 20 pics of any given design. I can't really tell which one is the good one until I get them on my 'puter and really look at them.