Red Brolly

Photographing your craft :: Creating a "blurry" background

Have you been following my tips for taking great craft photos for the amateur? Remember, these are simple tips and tricks for the lil' ole crafter who needs to take some professional looking photos, for whatever reason that may be. If you'd like to read past posts, you can read them here.

Today, we'll be looking at creating a "blurry" background. Yes, before I get a rush of emails from professional photographers...I know all about using the aperture and depth of field etc, BUT, remember these tips are for your everyday amateur photographer. If you'd like more professional photography tips there are plenty of great blogs that will give you advice on using the manual mode on your camera.

So, let's begin.  You may have seen some great photos on the web and in magazines of delicious recipes, tablescapes, garden scenes etc and one thing a lot of these great photos have in common is a blurry background. The main subject is in focus, whilst the props in the background are out of focus and a bit blurry. This photography technique is created by professionals by creating a short depth of field. Photographers use this technique to keep focus on the main subject, but still have objects in the background which complement the subject matter and add details and points of interest to the photo.

I'll first say that you do have greater control of these effects when photographing in the manual mode on your camera, but this requires a lot of camera knowledge and lots of trial and error. So, to create this same effect you can do so, using the auto modes on your camera- just by tweaking a few things.

Firstly, you will need to photograph in the macro mode, or "close-up" setting on your camera. This is the flower picture you'll see on the dial on top of your camera. The macro setting is used when you want to take close up photos of something in detail.

So set up your photo shoot. Make sure you have your subject, your hero of the photo, at the front. Add some points of interest to the background. Are you photographing a finished recipe? Perhaps you could add some ingredients or flowers to the background. You get the idea.

Here's a shot of the image used in the title photo again.

The teapot is blurred and out of focus, where the teacup in the front, is in focus. The viewer's eyes are drawn to the teacup, but the background props add to the overall photo.

Let's have at how this photo was actually set up. Here's the same photo but from above.

I have the teacup, in the foreground (she's the hero), then in the mid-ground I have the macarons and bits and pieces and then in the background I have the teapot. Each prop is placed 1 ft apart from each other.

Once you have your subject matter set up and your image styled, grab our camera and set it to the macro setting.

Using this setting and the auto-focus function on your camera, you can create a"blurry" and out of focus background. Aim your camera at the hero, use your auto focus and make sure that the focus points are on the "hero" in the front of your shot, the background props will automatically go out of focus (you will see your focus points when you look through your camera). The photos on the above left are taken this way. The photo on the above right has been taken with the focus points not on the cup and cake in the front, but the focus points were on the teapot at the back. The props in the front are now out of focus.

By playing around with the automatic focus points on the camera and the objects in the photo, you can achieve different effects.

Let's look at the teacup and teapot setting again.

As you can see from the photos above, you can experiment by focussing your camera onto different objects  within your setting.

Let's have another look at the row of teacups to get more of an idea.

Here's the row of tea cups again, with the front cup in focus and the rest are slightly out of focus.

Here's how they were actually positioned. Here's a photo taken from above so you can actually see how they were placed.

What happens when we change where we aim the focus points on the camera?

By using the macro setting and your focus points you can make different parts of the shot stand out and other parts blur. If your background is still not blurry enough...try taking a few steps backwards, this will help too. So maybe you have an embroidery just finished. Try placing the embroidery in the front with a few sewing bits and bobs in the background. See how you go and experiment with the macro setting.

Love to hear how you go.

Happy Snapping!

 

Life:: If teacups could talk- Tea Etiquette 101

Are you taking part in this year's Biggest Morning tea? The offical date is this Thursday and it's a fun way to raise funds for cancer research. I thought that if you're heading off to a morning tea, or even hosting one, you may like some etiquette tips for drinking tea.

So welcome to your masterclass-Tea Etiquette 101....a basic introduction to drinking tea the "proper" way. When talking tea drinking, no one does it better than the English, and you know what a huge Downton Abbey fan I am.

Traditionally tea would be served in the afternoon, at 4 o'clock,  at intimate small gatherings of specially invited guests. It would be refered to as "low tea." If tea was served in the morning it would be at 11 o'clock and was called "Elevensies."

Guests would be predominantly women. Once everyone is seated, the hostess would pour the tea for her guests. She would then offer milk, sugar or lemon. Tea first, then milk. And sugar before lemon. Milk and lemon were never served together. The teaspoon goes behind the teacup, and one should never leave it in the cup! Tut-tut.

If there was a large number of guests, close friends of the host were asked to be the "pourers." This was considered to be a great honor.

Never pass a cup of tea. Tea should be poured one cup at a time and should be taken directly from either the host or the assigned server. Though, if you are in a tea-house, the tradition is the person who is closest the teapot serves the tea.

Along with the tea, there would be three distinct courses of delicate food served- small, bite sized sandwiches (crustless of course!), scones and then pastries. And I know you are not going to dunk anything in your tea.....gasp, quelle horreur!

Drinking your tea

Never, hold your tea cup with your pinkie finger extended! Drinking tea this way is actually considered to be rude- ....tut, tut tut!!

One should place their saucer in their left hand, just resting on the tips of your  4 fingers- which are slightly apart.  The thumb rests on the rim of the saucer. A handled cup is held with the index finger through the handle, the thumb just above it to support the grip, and the second finger below the handle for added security. The rest of the fingers follow this curve. One must never cradle their teacup in one's hand either- a social faux pas.

If stirring your tea, the sound of the spoon hitting the sides is also a faux pas. One should "stir" their tea without any sound, moving the spoon in a gentle, back and forth arch motion- a swish more than a stir. No clinking of teapoons please! Swishing only! Look into your teacup when drinking-not over it. Are you feeling very "proper"?

If teacups could talk, what do you think they would say? Do you think each teacup has it's own personality? Do you think your teacup could keep a secret? Is it elegant and a bit posh, is a friendly looking cup, or perhaps  it looks like it would be a  bit of a gossip?

In Victorian times, well-to-do ladies would bring their own delicate tea cup in an ellaborate box. Well, I know how they feel, we all have our favourite tea cup don't we? If you like to take your teacup with you, you could make my Mug bag so you could take your teacup with you- just like Victorian ladies did.

Afternoon tea would be officially over at 6 o'clock, and was indicated by the host standing and removing her napkin. It would be time then for the guest to remove their napkin, stand, place their napkin on their chair, and thank the host before leaving.

So I was thinking, does one's teacup reflect the owner's personality? Even back in Victorian times women took their favourite tea cup with them. I have a favourite cup and it has been for a few years now. It's something familar. What do you think? What is your teacup like?

I hope you've brushed up on your tea manners ahead of Thursday and don't commit any social faux pas.

Remember, always...

Have a lovely morning on Thursday.

 

Le Jardin Quilt.

  This is a photo of me looking out the window of my office through the clematis that's happily enjoying the sunshine.You can just see me if you look through the hole in the clematis to where the window is. See- I'm waving! Behind the venetian blinds.

Sadly the garden doesn't look like that at the moment- the clematis has gone into hiding for the winter.

But luckily there's the Girls Own Stitching Club with it's embroidered flower samplers to keep the spring memories happening.

  I've been madly sewing the first sampler we did into a block and written the instructions, so you have it ready before the Girls own Stitching Club Second Sampler next Thursday.

   I've called the quilt we're making:

                                                                                        LE JARDIN QUILT.

              Following on with our French Country Garden Theme.

  So... here's the First Le Jardin Block. I've used Tilda fabrics- but you can use whatever fabrics you like.

  If you need any Tilda fabrics for Le Jardin Quilt- don't forget they're available in the Red Brolly shop. Just click on the Quiltshop icon in the side bar.

  I'll work out the entire fabric amounts you'll need for the quilt - for next week's tutorial.

For the time being- you'll need 25-1/2" (65cm) of background fabric for the embroideries.

 And the same amount of stabiliser (lightweight woven, fusible interfacing or similar) to back the fabric with after you've traced the designs.

 

LE JARDIN BLOCK 1:

Here's the first page of the instructions for Le Jardin Block 1:

  Read the instructions here- BUT download them as a PDF file where it says to "Download GOSC SAmpler 1".

 

Download GOSC SAmpler -Sampler 1 

 

 

  And the second page....

 

 

Download Gosc Block Layout

 

 

 

     It's a good idea to keep all your needlework tools, threads and instructions in one place along with the embroidery you're working on.

Don't forget the Girls Own Stitching Club Needlework Bag which is ideal for just this!

  The pattern is under the "Free Patterns" button on the sidebar.

 

 Make sure you keep your finished Le Jardin Block 1 in a safe and clean place.If you can get your hands on a clean Pizza box- this is ideal for storing all the blocks in until you're ready to put them together into the quilt.

 

  If you've got any other great ideas for storing the blocks- please let us all know in a comment at the end of the post.

         Maybe there's better things than Pizza boxes!

 

  And finally- Always keep our Club Rules in mind....

 

 

 

   Happy Block Making-

 

P.S.

  I've put  Le Jardin Quilt threads together in a kit with a needle pack of the needles you'll need for the embroideries ( two general embroidery needles and two milliner's needles)- which will be available in the Red Brolly shop tomorrow if you need them- special price for the Girls Own!

 

 

Make:: DIY Felt Hydrangeas

Feel like making something crafty? I was discussing the other day on facebok how lovely hydrangeas are. I think my favourites are the pretty vanilla cream ones with tinges of pinks on the tips, though I do like those green tinged ones too. My mother has them growing along her driveway, and when in ful bloom they look so pretty.
So today's craft project is how to make some pretty felt hydrangeas. I made mine into wall art, but you could make a cushion covered in hydrangeas, or a brooch, a hair clip or bag button.

• felt- one larger piece for the background and then several different colours for the flowers
• a pair of very sharp pointed scissors
• needle and thread (thread can be matching or contrasting with the felt)
• fabric marker
• glue
• pins (optional)
• Hydrangea template-  Click here to download PDF Hydrangea template by Red Brolly

Have you got all of your materials? Ok, let's go.

• Download and print your hydrangea template
• Cut out the flowers. There are 3 different sizes to choose from.
• Place your paper template on top of the felt. Pin into place if needed. Carefully cut around the paper template. This is where you need your sharp scissors. Cut as many felt flowers as needed. You will probably need about 30 as a minimum.

• Get your embroidery hoop. Cover the inner ring with your background felt.
• Place the outer ring over the top and tighten.

• Roughly place your felt hydrangea flowers onto the felt background to work out where you are going to stitch them. When happy, you can pin them into place, or you can just work freehand.
• Take your needle and thread, and with 2 strands, stitch a small cross-stitch in the centre of each flower to secure into place.
• Keep on stitching the felt flowers into place. Position the felt flowers quite close to each other. Make sure some overlap.

• Using your preferred method, transfer the word "hydrangea" onto your background piece (you may need to take it out of the hoop to do this part and then put it back in)
• Using 2-3 strands of thread, backstitch the word "hydrangea." Click here if you'd like a tutorial for backstitch. I added some extra "flourishes" at the start and end of the word.

You are finished.

I might go and make another one in pinks. I think that might look quite pretty.



Well that's about it for the French Garden. I know I promised some lavender, but I decided to save the lavender stitchery for teh Girls Own Quilt. Thought that it went better.