my cool etsy find and a look behind the scenes. . .

I discovered this awesome camera stamp by MOXIEpear via a blog giveaway I spotted on Facebook. Assuming that I would most likely not be winning the giveaway, I went ahead and ordered the stamp. A little retail therapy, if you will. I do plan to use it for packaging my camera strap covers and am rather excited about it. Can I just say how much I love the way this stamp was packaged? It came in the cute drawstring bag shown below. Anywho, as cool as I think this stamp is, I didn't think I could write an entire blog post about a stamp. Sooooo....I decided to add in some behind the scenes images of where I take my photos for blog posts and shop updates!

Now, I don't have an actual photo studio or even a permanent set up. I use my daughter's room.  I clear a spot in front of the window, kick a couple of toys around, and set up my back drop, aka white poster board and/or white foam core board. I use random toys to help prop stuff up if need be. Hey, you gotta go where the light is!

My "photo studio" has some pro's and con's. What's good? I get great indirect natural light through this particular window for several hours a day. The table comes in handy by allowing me to place my subjects in the light. What's not so good? Those evil lime green walls! One of these days I will paint those walls white and get a proper back drop stand. Until then, this is what I'm working with. . .

If I'm taking photos of something flat, I'll just put my foam core board on the table and shoot down. Below was my set up for the photo I took of my stamp above.

If I'm taking a photo of something that I need to shoot straight on, like a purse, or Ming Ming, my model for today; I put a piece of poster board on the table and then prop the foam core board upright as my back drop. I use whatever is handy as a prop. The board also acts as reflector and helps to bounce light at the subject.

I also process my photos in Adobe Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5. If my poster board wasn't all wrinkled and would lay flat, I would probably not completely remove the seam where the two boards meet. However, since that seam looks kind of rough and isn't straight, I got rid of it.

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse behind the scenes of this blog! If you're a fan of photography "pullbacks", here are few more for you to check out:

Ponder and Stitch  - jewelry

Gingercake - staging

LJHolloway Photography - garage studio/child photography

Erin Elizabeth Photography - newborn set up


I'll leave you with a couple of shots of our new puppy, Stella. She's a Boston Terrier and an absolute sweetheart! Another fast moving object to chase with my camera ;)