Craft: Experimenting with Craft Photography

For a while now I've been wanting to improve the pictures of my craft projects. I really admire some of the craft photography on blogs like Monsters Toy Box and Fresh Stitches. I came across this post from Caught on a Whim which details Erica's process for taking pictures for her blog. She makes it look so simple and uses very basic equipment - a low table, two pieces of foam board and a camera (she also recommends a furry assistant!). I found some foam board in a craft shop last weekend and set up a trial photo shoot. Unfortunately it was too late for natural light but I gave it a go anyway.

For subjects I used these cute tiny chickens that I have been knitting up for the Mochi Mochi photo competition. The pattern is from the Teeny Tiny Mochi Mochi book which I have previously raved about.

I decided to try experimenting with some bigger toys....

And then this happened... the background somehow disappeared...

I almost managed to take a picture with no visible background, replicating the pictures I like from other craft blogs. I have no idea what caused this to happen, but it was easier to get the effect if I took the picture from an angle where the vertical board couldn't be seen at all. These photos may be far from perfect but they have definitely inspired me to keep trying :-)

Book Review: Teeny-Tiny Mochi Mochi

Anna Hrachovec, the creator of the website Mochi Mochi Land is one of my favourite designers of knitted toys. Her knitted creatures are are both wacky and adorable. Best of all, for me, are her tiny Mochi Mochi - a collection of people, creatures and objects all knitted in miniature! I decided to buy the book about thirty seconds after discovering it and it's one of my favourites, proving very useful for last minutes presents or speedy knitting gratification.

The first pattern I tried was this little gnome. He lives in my pencil tin at work and has made me feel better about life many times!

Here are a trio of monkeys, another pattern found in Teeny-Tiny Mochi Mochi. Although I do have a habit of knitting animals in unnatural colours, these guys were always intended to be blue, like the monkeys in a barrel toy.

My favourite pattern from the book are the bride and groom. I've given these as presents to two couples recently. While the pattern itself is very quick and easy, I had a lot of trouble making the faces cute. I initially tried the black, beady eyes but decided they were too creepy. Googly eyes were hilarious, but not really flattering for the bridal couple. In the end I decided to draw eyes on paper and coat them in clear glue before sticking them on.

Overall the patterns in this book are simple and fun to knit. I recommend it for intermediate knitters, primarily because tiny knitting can be fiddly and it could be nightmarish if you were not confident with increasing or decreasing or knitting in the round. I highly recommend Teeny-Tiny Mochi Mochi and any of the patterns from the Mochi Mochi Land website. It's even worth a look if you've never picked up a pair of knitting needles in your life! Have a look a her gnome vs snowman exhibition, it's great (go on :-P).