Photography for knitters

I recently ran across some posts on ravelry about photographing one's work to best effect. I had been getting decent photographs of my work, but not fabulous ones. The tips that I found most helpful were these:

1. Use natural daylight whenever possible. This means being patient and waiting until a nice sunny day (or lightly cloudly one). When impossible (ie you've got a deadline), use diffuse light by putting parchment paper over lamps, and positioning them around the work to be photographed.

2. Keep the background simple to avoid distracting from your work.

3. Don't use the zoom. Instead, hold the camera as close as possible to the work.

4. Photograph your work in use if possible. If it's a garment, have someone model it.

Using these tips, I took this picture of my most recent finished work, a crocheted shopping bag.